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Hello there, reader. So nice of you to pop in and read about my trip to Southern California! I will be trying to describe all parts of this trip day-by-day, with lots of detail, and many pictures. So sit back and enjoy! This was the day we planned to go to Palm Springs. My other uncle who's name is Kevin came over to Uncle Brian's house and then we took a road trip to Palm Springs. That was a nice drive. I listened to my CD player and talked with Uncle Kevin, Uncle Brian, and my father most of the time. Since I live here in the flatlands of Illinois, seeing moutains and hills in California captures my attention and never lets it go! I'd like to give a little less on in taking pictures here. I learned this the hard way. Never take pictures while passing a tree while driving. I thought I had gotten a picture of the famous windmills, but as it turns out, I didn't. See below for the lesson.
While on the way to the hotel we were staying at called the Wyndam, we found this pit stop which happened to be a biker bar with a killer view! You might notice that I didn't take many pictures here. See, I forgot to bring the back-up set of rechargeable batteries for my camera, so I was working with my only set of batteries and I didn't know how long they'd last. To my surprise, the one set of batteries lasted the entire Day 3 and Day 4. I got lucky! So I did end up taking many pictures. Especially on Day 4.
Once we were all checked in at the Wyndam hotel, we had planned to go to the tram that went over a mile up one of the mountains that surrounded Palm Springs. We planned to go up, do a bit of site seeing, and do some small hiking there. My Uncle Brian and Kevin hadn't been on the tram for at least a year, so they didn't know that there was a new, more secure one instead of the old rickety one that felt like it was going to fall down all along the way. They both decided not to go, but my dad and I couldn't pass up the chance. Uncle Brian drove us up to where the tram station parking lot was at the bottom of the mountain and dropped us off. We took a small bus from the parking lot to the main station. There were two trams so that a tram could leave the top station or the bottom one every 15 minutes. We got lucky and in five minutes, we were on our way up. It was simply amazing. Truly amazing. I was a little surprised to find out that the floor of the tram turns a full 360° four times on the way up. That way, you aren't facing one direction all the way. I liked that. I was a little nervous though, when it started and I didn't know about it. I was holding on to the railings on the windows when the floor suddenly started moving. But once I realized what was happening, it was okay. *whew!* There was an announcer on the tram talking about the standard facts about the tram and the mountain. When we got to the half way point, where the other tram was coming down from the top station, he said an amusing thing: "Okay, when we pass that tram, that will be the half-way point. Those of you with half-price tickets, you'll have to jump to the other tram as it passes." Hee! Hee! Every time we passed one of the four towers holding up the tram rails, the tram lurched forward and tilted. That was an incredible rush because it lurched more and more with each tower! Every time that happened, everyone in the tram kept saying, "WOAH!!" Amusing. The scenery was amazing. As we climbed, the little tram station at the bottom became just a white speck. When we arrived at the top, the view was spectacular. The temperature was a full 40° cooler than below and then some. Down in Palm Springs, it was 117° whereas up at the top of the mountain, it was 60°! Quite nice up there. There was, of course, a viewing place with telescopes and such. I could see five cities from where I was standing and all the mountains surrounding them. That was facing the direction of the tram cables. Facing the other direction, I saw lots of pine trees in a big forest. The view was great. Below are pictures of where I'm talking about.
Once we got down, and got smacked with the sweltering heat of Palm Springs again, it was time to eat dinner. We roamed around town for a long time trying to decide where we should eat and looking in shops along the main street. Boy, was it hot! Every time the sun hit my face, I cringed. Once the sun went down behind the mountains though, it wasn't so bad. We ate at a nice place called Ruby's. Click below to see what happened on Day 4. 
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