Idyllwild

PALM SPRINGS TRIP
DAY TWO
BREAKFAST IN IDYLLWILD


So, after a fun packed first day now we were more familiar with the area as we had been driving up and down the previous day we were ready to go out and see some more of the sights. Since we cancelled our reservations at "The Travel Lodge" which would have been around $65.00 dollars a night and opted for the more expensive "Spa Resort Casino" at way over a hundred dollars per night we decided to check out and maybe stay at a cheaper hotel the next night.

I had googled the area and found out that some 50 miles away from Palm Springs there is the little town of Idyllwild. The google map said it should take about an hour to get there so we decided to go and have some breakfast there. To get there we needed to get out of Palm Springs and to get on I-10 towards L.A. Then we exited in the town of Banning and went towards the mountains on highway 243. By this time an hour had already elapsed and we were getting close. Or so we thought, we got to the foot of the mountain and we started the climb. The view was breathtaking as little by little the road was higher and the valley got small. The sign said 22 miles to Idyllwild, that should be a piece of cake is what I thought but guess what, I was wrong, little did I know that the next 22 miles consisted of nothing but twisties. I took us another hour to get to the town and that is including a couple of stops that had the most beautiful view imaginable. From the top of the mountain at an elevation of 5000 feet Lake Hemmet looked impressive.

The scenery constantly changes during those 22 miles and the reason I didn't take a million pictures is because I was the driver. Mi chica helped and she did take about five or six shots of the area. There were mountains that had nothing but rocks, and then all of a sudden there were trees all over the place. We kept driving and then there was nothing but pines and oaks, the pines impressive as always as they seem to shoot for the sky. It was at this time during our drive that I realized fall was here, there were plenty of green trees but many also had those orange and purple leaves that are so representative of fall.

So, we finally get to Idyllwild and by now it's already 2:00 p..m., so much for breakfast. We stopped at a souvenir store and started to browse, after buying a couple of knick knacks we asked the lady there for a good place to go eat. She recommended "The Aroma Cafe" an Italian bistro not to far from there. She did warn us to drive as it was going up the hill and it wasn't really close. We got there and immediately knew that it was a great place to eat. Being that after all this trip is our 27th anniversary honeymoon, the setting couldn't have been more romantic.

I could go into detail as to how great the food was and how tasty the different fresh breads dipped in oil and garlic were but suffice to say that the food there exceeded all of our expectations and the service was top notch all the way.

(When you get a chance please google Idyllwild, California. Perhaps you'll make this wonderful little town your next vacation stop.)

Basically, we just enjoyed our lunch and got in the van ready to head back to Palm Springs. We asked if there was a faster route back and were told to keep going on highway 143 until we hit highway 74, eventually we would find highway 111 towards Palm Springs. We followed those directions and in about an hour we could see Palm Springs from the top of the mountain. By the way Idyllwild seats at a little over 6000 ft. of elevation.

We started the torturous descend and all of a sudden both mi chica and I realized that the smoke smell from the day before as we were coming back the Tram station was back. It mostly smelled like burnt tar. Just a few feet ahead was a vista point where you could take in the most breathtaking views and so we decided to stop there.

I started to put my nose by every wheel in the van and when I got to the front passenger wheel I didn't even have to smell it, smoke was coming out of it as it was super hot. We stayed there about 35 minutes. I was driving behind a white van and from the view point I could see it go down the never ending winding road. I timed it from the time we stopped to the time it finally got all the way down and it took it about 15 minutes.

I told mi chica we were only 15 minutes away from the bottom but also knew the next 15 minutes would be the worst as it was the steepest part of the mountain. I put the van in low gear and just let it coast down while letting the engine reduce the speed on it's own. Sure enough 15 minutes later we were at the bottom and we could see the sign of relief in both our faces.

Fifteen minutes later we were back in Palm Springs. We needed to rest but didn't have a hotel to get to. We had planned to attend an event called "Villagefest" which takes place every Thursday night all year round, but it started at 6:00 p.m. and it was barely 4:00 p.m. What to do? What to do? "I know" said mi chica, lets go back to the hotel, park the van, and walk over to the casino. I agreed and it was then that I asked her, "Not that I'm counting, but how much have you lost so far?" The tally was at $65.00

I didn't know then but because I asked her about her losing streak she went in determined to win. The previous night a lady next to her kept winning in this machine and so she went it looking for it. Wow, nobody was sitting by it so she took the chair and put in her next $20.00, in the meantime I went to get us some more of those most excellent .98 cent Margaritas. In about ten minutes she was up almost $70.00 she played a few more games and then she said, "That's it, if I continue playing I'll lose it all again, if I stop right now I would only lose $10.00 from both nights. I thought that was a most excellent idea. lol

Only problem, now was that "Villagefest" was still almost two hours away. Well we decided to go to the street and see how it all happened. One by one, the vendors started to get there, tow trucks started towing away those cars that were not moved by 5:00 p.m. as the signs stated, and in no time a nearly empty street was busy with thousands of people.

We walked up and down the whole lenght and actually had a great time. Mi chica even got a 12 minute massage, but the lady must have lost track of time because it was more like a 20 minute massage and she only charged us $12.00, what a bargain. After that mi chica was just super relaxed.

We had to pass on the tram, since we got back to Palm Springs so late, but what we saw from the top of the mountain during our Idyllwild trip, probably showed us everything we could have seen from the tram and then some.

At eight o'clock we still had no hotel to stay at so I suggested that we just get on the van and head back to Phoenix. That would give us all day Friday to recuperate from two very busy days. So we gassed up the van, stocked up on coffee and headed back. A little bit pass midnight we were home, sweet home.