Palm Springs-The Ace Hotel, of course.

We had the first official family vacation a couple days ago. It was very needed,a nd damn was hot in the desert. It was 118 Sunday when we arrived, and 115 on Monday. We stayed until Tuesday afternoon, then headed back to Los Angeles. The Ace Hotel is many things to many people. To most, it's the swimming pool scene between Vegas and LA. It's loud on the weekends, with DJ's spinning and tons of tomfoolery around the pool. It's a scene, but that's only one aspect of it. Everyone leaves on Sunday to head back to where ever they came from, and the whole vibe changes. It becomes the best mix between an old Howard Johnson(which it is) and a group of beach bungalows with no ocean in site.

You see freelancers carrying their laptops from the cafe, people who decided to stay there for one more day, and the people who purposely go when no ones around. Helen and I have been going to the Ace for three years, and every trip has been fantastic. Mostly, its because of my wife being the best travel partner I could imagine. The tone of our vacations was really set on our road trip moving to LA. No rules, no times, no schedules. Deal with it as it comes or as it strikes or fancy. This time, there was a little more planning, because our son needs his naps. Since it was so hot, we swam early int he morn and late in the afternoon. But, even Herc was chill. He sat in his Bumbo, watching a Baby Einstein feeding himself while Helen and I ate our Room Service Dinners. One of my favorite trips, was when Helen and I went with JuJu, our dog, and got a room with a fireplace and a private patio. It started to rain as we lay in bed with the french doors open listening to music, talking about what it was going to be like when we become parents. We then walked around the grounds as it rained, a rarity in the desert. Holding hands with my best girl, enjoying every moment. This trip was different, only because we had a little boy sleeping between us, and it was just as good. One of my favorite things is just how much of a Dad I felt like. Actually, I felt like my dad. Packing up the car, keeping it cool, make sure check out went smooth. I learned from the best, he made a vacation with a family of six look easy.