A MINI HONEYMOON.

Since we moved from Portland to Los Angeles a mere 31 hours after our wedding, we never got a honeymoon. Thankfully, we just managed to take a mini one out to Palm Springs over the weekend- five months late, but better late than never! I hadn't visited Palm Springs since I was pretty young, way before I got into modern design. This time, I was able to take in all the incredible midcentury design- I'm sure my husband got tired of me hopping out of the car every half mile, snapping nonstop photos with my phone and film camera. I thought I would share some of the iPhone photos that I took over the weekend. I definitely want to go back soon.

• 1. We didn't stay at the Ace Hotel but we were right next to it, so we kept stopping in for drinks and food. It's such a well-designed location, redesigned from a former Howard Johnson hotel.
  
• 2. The Kaufmann Desert House, designed by Richard Neutra in 1946.
  
• 3. The Alexander Estate, a.k.a. Elvis's Honeymoon Hideaway, built by Robert Alexander in 1960.
  
• 4. Papa Tony's Diner in San Bernardino. We ate here for breakfast on our way in- we both absolutely adore old diners.
  
• 5. The Cabazon Dinosaurs right outside Palm Springs. When I was a little kid, I was terrified of these (ha!), but now it's one of my favorite roadside attractions.
  
• 6. Del Marcos hotel, designed in 1947 by William F. Cody.
  
• 7. Now a Chase bank, but originally Coachella Valley Savings & Loan, designed by E. Stewart Williams in 1960.
  
• 8. On our way in, I had to make a stop at the Wigwam Motel on Route 66 in San Bernardino. I'm making plans to stay here as soon as we can. Built in 1949.
  
• 9. The Edris House, designed by E. Stewart Williams in 1954.
  
• 10. The Movie Colony Hotel, designed in 1935 by Albert Frey.
  
• 11. The iconic Tramway Gas Station (now the Palm Springs Visitors Center), designed by Albert Frey and Robson C. Chambers in 1965.
  
• 12. Me, enjoying vacation life in a cabana at our hotel (not pictured: fruity blended alcoholic beverage).
  
• 13. My husband proposed to me inside a photobooth at the Portland Ace Hotel. Since then, we have started a tradition of taking photobooth pictures in every Ace Hotel, hoping to have one from each of them someday. The Palms Springs Ace Hotel crosses number 4 off our list.
  
• 14. Our hotel: the Caliente Tropics, built in 1964 in classic Polynesian style.
  
• 15. Royal Sun Inn. Not sure when this was built, but we passed by it and I loved the look of it. Good signage is the best.
  
• 16. An old cargo train in the distance on our way out of Palm Springs. I love the desert.
  
• 17. It was hard for me not to constantly take pictures of all the beautiful cacti everywhere! These ones were in front of the Ace.
  
• 18. The Chase Hotel, built in the late fourties.