Safe and Secure Palm Springs Getaway

To say 2020 has been a whirlwind of a ride is an understatement. When this year began, we could’ve never imagined what was in store for us. After staying put for 5 months due to the pandemic at-home orders here in California, we finally decided to embark on a small weekend getaway to the desert. We needed to get away even if it was still local, because at least for now, I’m not flying.

I immediately started planning the trip and knew I had to make the road trip accompanied by one of my favorite vehicles. Chevrolet was nice enough to loan us a vehicle for the weekend and we couldn’t have been more excited for the trip! The destination? The Palm Springs desert area, a short, less than 2 hour drive from LA.

For the trip, we got to drive an SUV I’m very familiar with since we used it during our road trip to San Francisco in 2018: the Chevy Traverse! The best part about it was that they had followed all protocols and made sure to thoroughly sanitize the vehicle before dropping it off at my house. Such great attention to detail; made me feel safe about driving it, especially during these times.

We packed our bags and I took my best friend and my sister and off we went into the California desert. First stop: Lavender Festival in Cherry Valley. It was the cutest field, but oh, so hot, so we quenched our thirst with a lavender lemonade, a lavender margarita, and a lavender red sangria! So good, especially considering it was over 100 degrees! Even then, we made sure to wear our masks and practice social distancing. Just because we’re on vacation, doesn’t mean the pandemic took a vacation, too.

After spending the afternoon there, we headed to Palm Springs and our final destination: The Renaissance Esmeralda Resort in Indian Wells. We chose this destination because we wanted to just rest by the pool, eat and sleep! The resort is more secluded than the ones in the Palm Springs area and we wanted privacy.

Once there, we did exactly that. We ate, rested, slept and lounged by the pool. It was exactly what we needed. We ventured into Palm Springs one on of those days and drove around since it was 118 degrees that day; impossible to walk around in!

Best part of the stay were the safety measures put in place by the resort to make you feel at ease and safe. If you head over there (which I highly recommend), these are the changes being implemented:

-Housekeeping is only done after your fourth night in order to avoid contact between the guest, the room, and the housekeepers. Towels are provided upon request, if you’d like.⁣

-Irons and hair dryers have been removed from the rooms and are not available for use.
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-Face masks 😷 are required at all times during your walk through the hotel.⁣
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-Hand sanitizers are located everywhere in the hotel, as well as outside and inside the elevators.⁣
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-No more than 2 persons are allowed inside the elevator at once, unless of course, you all belong to the same party.⁣
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-Spa and restaurants are closed.⁣
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-Guests in the pool area are being restricted to a smaller number, and the pool has restricted hours as well.⁣ I highly recommend going as soon as it opens in the morning to avoid any kind of people.

-You are required to wear a mask to and from the pool area, as well as when you go to the bar to order drinks.
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-All of the hotel employees wear gloves and masks at all times.⁣
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Of course, continue to do your part just like you do when you’re at home (masks, hand sanitizers, and disinfecting wipes, etc.) and you’ll be fine.

On our way back to LA, we stopped by Pioneertown! Remember that place? I visited a couple of years ago precisely on a media trip with Chevy and had to bring the girls to check it out.By the way, planning another trip to stay at the Pioneertown Motel!

2020 Chevrolet Traverse High Country

This time around we drove the 2020 Chevrolet Traverse High Country which seemed more of a luxury SUV from the previous model I had the opportunity to drive to San Francisco. I loved the brown leather interior of the SUV which makes it look so beautiful and gives it a touch of luxury. We didn’t even feel the drive there because it drove so smooth and was so comfortable. It’s also a very safe vehicle as it has earned an NHTSA 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score for safety. It’s no wonder we felt so safe while riding in it.

The interior was even more beautiful than the exterior! It had two rows in the back with the first row being two seats and then a back row. We ended up folding the back row to better accommodate our luggage because you have 3 girls going on a trip for a weekend, so needless to say, there was a lot of luggage! The seats were super comfortable and had all the specs needed such as rear A/C, outlets and USB connection. The SUV also had two sunroofs! Two! This model also had a feature we absolutely loved in another Chevy vehicle we drove in Seattle which was the wireless charging available for your phone!

A few of the many specs in the High Country include:

• Premium content and technology, including unique interior trim with Loft Brown perforated leather-appointed seat trim, 20-inch polished wheels, High Country badging, D-Optic headlamps, standard twin-clutch AWD and power-fold third row seats
• LED D-Optic bi-function headlamp
• Keyless Open and Start
• Remote start
• Power liftgate with hands-free operation and bowtie emblem projection which reflects on the floor
• Tri-zone automatic climate control is standard on all models
• 4.2-inch diagonal display
• Heated, leather-appointed front seats as well as ventilated front seats and heated second-row outboard seats. The ventilated ones came very much in handy for this trip since it was so hot outside!
• Automatic heated steering wheel
• Power-folding third-row seats
• Rear Seat Reminder

It was an amazing and much needed escape from the reality we’ve lived in the past few months. I couldn’t have asked for a better vehicle to accompany us on this road trip! Again, one of my favorites!

Thank you, Chevrolet, for the loaner!