Thursday, March 7, 2013

Battleship New Jersey


On the Delaware River in Camden, NJ, facing the Philadelphia skyline is the Battleship New Jersey.  This historic naval vessel allows visitors to explore most aspects of its interior, as well as the top deck.  During your tour, you'll see many signs indicating what everything is, as well as giving an historical context for it.  For any military geeks, this is definitely an excellent place to visit.  For those though who are a bit claustrophobic, being inside the ship may cause some issues.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Rosenbach Museum & Library


The Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia is located on Delancey Place between 20th and 21st street.  This hidden gem of the city offers visitors the opportunity to learn about the Rosenbach family, as well as see their extremely rare book collection, which is what I found to be the highlight of the tour, which lasts about 1 hour.  The tour is given by a very knowledgeable guide, which definitely helps to enhance the experience.  You'll get to see rare books such as Alice In Wonderland, Moby Dick, Ulysses and The Bible. The reason why these books are rare are explained on the tour, which is what makes this visit so unique

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Desert Riviera Hotel




The Desert Riviera Hotel in Palm Springs, CA is a top-notch boutique resort.  This family run hotel feels very welcoming from the moment you walk through the gate into the central courtyard.  Throughout our stay the hotel staff greeted us by name, and if it was an employee we hadn't met yet, they made sure to get to know who we were.

The amenities provided were also excellent.  There is an outdoor hot tub and heated pool, available 24 hours a day and are both quite relaxing.  Also, since the hotel only has 11 rooms, you know it won't get overcrowded in these areas.  In addition, in your room upon arrival is a snack basket, bottled water and cans of soda.  We were also offered complimentary wine and beer every time we went into the lobby.

The room itself is spacious and pleasant, with a very comfortable bed.  The housekeeping staff did an excellent job each day refreshing the room.  In addition, in the lobby there is a large DVD selection you can choose from if you want to watch a movie at night before heading to bed.

The staff was also very knowledgeable about the area, offering various dining tips and activity ideas.  When we mentioned we were going to the Joshua Tree National Park, they even gave us binoculars to use and frozen bottles of water.

Without a doubt, if visiting Palm Springs, CA, this is definitely the hotel you should be staying at!

Monday, March 4, 2013

The Living Desert


About a 15-20 minute ride from Palm Springs, CA, the Living Desert (located in Palm Desert, CA) is a zoo that plays up the desert angle.  We did arrive late in the day, but in just an hour we walked through the majority of the zoo.  Unfortunately, we were a bit disappointed due to the lack of animals out.  Granted, zoos are typically better in the morning if you want to see animal activity, however, in this case, many animals just weren't in their enclosures, which made us feel a bit cheated.

There are many activities to do in the Palm Springs area, and this one just can't get our recommendation based on our experience, especially if you are going in the afternoon.