A perfect summer in Palm Springs

STEVE SMITH

When our minivan bit the dust last April, it marked the passing of an

era in our home. For more than seven years, that van not only

shuttled us around town, it also took us on countless road trips,

long and short.

The van has been replaced by a sedan, but the road trips continue.

And because school is just about out, it’s time to offer some

suggestions for summer getaways and some general family travel tips.

We like road trips. Being cooped up in a car or in a hotel room or

rented condo has a lot of benefits, the best of which is that people

are more or less forced to get along. It’s not that we don’t get

along anyway, but everyone’s spirit seems to be a lot more free and

our anxieties at a lower level when we’re on the road.

One of our favorite weekend trips is to Palm Springs, which we

rediscovered last Memorial Day weekend. Not Palm Desert or Rancho

Mirage, but the actual town of Palm Springs. In fact, we were so much

in Palm Springs that we could sit and watch the traffic on Palm

Canyon from our hotel balcony.

And what traffic there was! Having been to Palm Springs off and on

since high school and the glory days of spring break (that was before

it got rowdy), I’ve witnessed the decline into what became a rather

unwelcome area.

But I’m very pleased to report that Palm Springs is back. The foot

and car traffic on Palm Canyon, which may seem to some to be a

nuisance, is actually a hoot. People are everywhere, and no one is

getting out of hand. Businesses are thriving once again, and the town

has a renewed vitality.

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Suites, which is right in the heart

of downtown, right on the strip. It’s a very nice place to stay not

only because of the location but because it is a family hotel. All of

the rooms are mini-suites with a separate bedroom and a balcony.

On our first night, the hotel sponsored a “dive-in” movie.

Families were encouraged to watch “Pirates of the Caribbean” on a big

screen from a float in the pool or a chaise lounge on the deck. The

hotel has full service at the pool, a small gym, a spa and a couple

billiards tables, which our kids discovered and grew to love. Pool is

cool. The only significant negative of the hotel is that the swimming

pool is too small.

Dinner on our first night was at La Taqueria, a wonderful outdoor

restaurant with a very competent four-piece band playing lively

music. We ate the next night at the Kaiser Grill, which I am sorry to

say I cannot recommend.

The heat in Palm Springs has never bothered us. Most of our days

are spent in or next to the pool, and the nights cool down enough to

take long walks. We did not visit any of the casinos in the area, but

on the way down, we did visit the Desert Hills Outlet Mall. That was

our biggest mistake of the weekend.

That mall should be avoided at all costs. Not only is there too

little parking, the shops are spread out over a strip that is about a

half-mile long, making it almost impossible to get anywhere on one

side of the mall if you are parked at the other end. Plus, one

section has a large parking lot separating the two rows of stores.

What a nightmare. And to top it off, I didn’t notice any screaming

deals, which is what I expect at one of those places.

Don’t let the summer heat in Palm Springs bother you, unless it’s

a health risk. Go for the weekend, and it may seem to you, as it does

to us, that we’ve been gone for a week. We just missed the big drops

in the hotel rates for the summer, but they’re on now, and the

savings are huge.

And here’s a hot Palm Springs travel tip: On your way home on

Sunday, you can avoid the bumper-to-bumper traffic by taking Highway

10 out of Palm Springs for a few miles to Route 79. Go 15 miles south

on 79 until you hit Route 74, which will take you all the way through

to San Juan Capistrano. From there, take the freeway north.

This will add a few miles -- not many -- to your trip, but because

the traffic on Highway 10 is so bad, you’ll probably get home sooner.

There is no heavy traffic on 79 or 74, and you can stop along the way

for fresh fruit.

Other tips: Leave the video games at home. Bring books on tape or

CD (I recommend the “Harry Potter” series) so that everyone can

participate. And when you get to your destination, leave the TV off.

Try board games, card games or books instead.

For those of you who can’t bear the thought of 99.9999% of the

population of Newport-Mesa being responsible with their fireworks on

July 4, try Palm Springs. They have a huge fireworks show at a large

park, and you can lay down on the grass on a blanket and take it all

in.

And don’t forget to wear sunscreen during the day.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Readers Hotline at (949)

642-6086.