Palm Springs

A couple of weekends ago, Ryan and I took Carter out to Palm Springs for a couple of nights. We stayed at the Embassy Suites right off Highway 111. We left on a Sunday after church and let Carter nap on his way out to the desert. Driving on the tollway, we had an upfront view of some of the Santiago fire damage. It was a huge wildfire.
Ryan went swimming with Carter once we got to the hotel, and I tried to take a nap, as I was just starting the healing process of a bad cold (17 days later, I am still sniffling and coughing from time to time). Carter loves swimming, as long as you bring a ball into the pool. He is obsessed with throwing things, "high", as he calls it. Usually that means throwing the ball straight up, having it land on his head, and then watching him giggle himself silly. He also likes any rough and tumble play with daddy.
While we were in Palm Springs, we enjoyed pool time, the Living Desert Zoo, the Children's Museum, parks in La Quinta, and eating at all the fun restaurants at The River. By far, Carter's favorite activity was watching all the trains at the miniature train "land" at the Living Desert. Forget feeding the giraffes or petting the goats, watching the tiny trains travel around was the highlight of the trip. I've never seen a child so in love with choo-choo trains. He doesn't even watch Thomas the Train on television. He just loves choo-choo trains, whistles and train crossing guardrails. Ryan and I have taken him to San Juan Capistrano, just to sit and watch the commuter trains and Surfliner trains stop and go in the station. He is fascinated!
We had no injuries or trips to the emergency room! As many of you know, that is always a worry after our Seattle trip. We had a great time in Palm Springs, and we made sure to stop and see the giant dinosaurs near the freeway on the way home. Enjoy the pictures!