Photos by Drew
Dresses: Duskin, Madewell
Sandals: Swedish Hasbeens
Sunglasses: Karen Walker
Bag: Ebay
I promise that this will be the last of everything wedding/honeymoon related on this blog. After this post be prepared for photos of Georgia in winter, tights and boots, and lots of complaints about the cold . . .
We went to Palm Springs again because we had gone there last year and really fell in love with its desert weirdness and with the hot temperatures and with the Ace Hotel, an old Howard Johnson-turned-modern swim resort. It’s probably one of the most relaxing places I’ve ever stayed, which isn’t all that surprising–when it’s over 100 degrees out there’s really not too much you can do besides take naps inside air-conditioned rooms or sit outside in the pool with a drink in hand.
The heat in Palm Springs is a little disorienting, at least to people used to living in the humid south. Last year when we went I ended up getting sick after spending too much time out in the sun and it messed up our plans to visit Joshua Tree State Park. This time around I was prepared and drank water around the clock. But when we were at Target getting things for our trip to Joshua Tree Drew started feeling light-headed and sick, and had to sit the rest of the day out. So we ate room service, and then I walked around the town, looking for museums and the homes of old Hollywood stars but not really finding anything besides a bunch of banks and liquor stores. To be fair, I didn’t really walk that far.
By nighttime Drew was feeling better, so we decided to wake up early the next morning to see Joshua Tree. Our plane was leaving at noon, so we didn’t have much time. We woke up before the sun rose, got some coffee, and headed through the mountains to the park. The area around it was different than I thought it would be–lots of strip malls and fast food restaurants where I thought it would be completely desolate. But when we got on the long road to the park the landscape started to change, and soon rock formations started appearing and joshua trees were everywhere. We saw the sun rise over the desert and mainly just drove around the park. We didn’t have time for any long hikes, but we did get to walk around the Barker Dam trail that my sister Ashley had taken amazing photos of when she went there in September. I wore heels because I’m foolish and because the trail was only a mile long (nothing), but didn’t really account for all the sharp sand I’d have to keep dumping out of my sandals. Oh well. It was beautiful to walk around, even if the lake the trail is famous for had dried up. We did get to see the Native American petroglyphs, which I read were painted over in the ’60s by Disney so they would stand out more for a movie they were filming there. I wasn’t brave enough to climb the rock to see them up close, or maybe I was just tired and knew I’d probably break my other arm if I tried.
After that we had to turn around so we could go back and get our things packed and drop off our car at the airport. It had been a week since we had left, and I was missing the southern air and my dog.
seriously. these photos are amazing. and that first dress. but even though i live in california, i’d still go to palm springs for a honeymoon.
Wow. These photos are so amazing!! It looks incredibly beautiful.
XOXO
aw, yet again i am in love with your california photos because they are all of the places where i have spent a lot of time at and have such fond memories of. i’m from a town near palm springs and love visiting both there and joshua tree so much. did you stop by hadley’s and get a banana date shake?
Happy to see you doing more outfit/adventure posts again.
Also,…THE. LAST. PICTURE. Amazing!
Wow – this is my favourite set of pics this year!! And I always enjoy everything you post so that is saying something. The images of you in the desert in the khaki dress are so beautiful -the arid landscapes and muted colours are so evocative.
And I must admit that I inwardly groaned when I read that you wore heels for walking the trail, but then the photos are so darn perfect that I’m glad you sacrificed practicality yet again!!
At the moment this is my dream vacation – Ace Hotel and Joshua Tree. Have you ever read Lily Stockman’s blog? http://bigbangstudio.blogspot.com/ She used to live in Joshua Tree and the paintings she made while there convinced me that the place must have some magical power.
Lovely! Such great scenery. I always have to be careful when it gets hot in Australia, it can really set you back and just fry your brain.
I don’t mind post about wedding stuff, you always have lovely photos to accompany.
Please don’t apologise for all the wedding/honeymoon stuff! They’ve been some of my favourite posts on your blog. These photos are especially beautiful, I love the one of you in front of the letters! xxx
Ah, the desert looks so gorgeous. And you can post about wedding and honeymoon stuff all you want!
i literally just came back from the ace hotel yesterday – so weird to scroll and see this post! I love that place, and palm springs especially.
Wow you guys went all over the place! That’s wonderful—I love Joshua Tree.
Here’s a tip next time you guys are in extreme dry desert landscapes: I’m an avid hiker in desert places and it took me a long time to learn this—but drinking a lot of water isn’t enough. You loose salt faster than water and (although you do loose a lot of both) you absolutely HAVE to eat salty snacks while drinking plenty of water. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it TOTALLY works. You won’t get sick or any weird dehydration headaches.
Think Cheese-Its, pretzels, salty chips. All things salty and savory.
Gorgeous photos!!
Your Palm Springs pictures always make me want to take a vacation there. One of these days!
The photos are just incredible <3
Please never stop posting about your wedding!
I’m married for 4 months now and sometime still posting about that day
I love cactus
Nice pics… wish I be there too :p
OH MY GOODNESS. my laptop broke over a month ago, plus I was in the hospital for two weeks, so I missed all your wedding posts! And now you’re posting about your honeymoon. A belated congratulations!
Really like the weird atmosphere. I can not imagine what it must be like. Cool pics!
Your photos give me the chill!!! they’re amazingly beautiful….
YES!! I was just at the Ace this past October and fell in love with it. So relaxing. These photos have such an amazing color to them. You look great. The last pic is stunning!! Cheers to your honeymoon!
xx