Road Trips, Palm Trees and Bradley Cooper
A couple months ago after seeing "A Star is Born," I found out that Bradley Cooper was receiving the Director of the Year honor at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. My family and I used to go during the summer when I was younger, and I've been wanting to go back to Palm Springs.
In fact, we stayed at the same resort as Beverly Hills Housewife, Lisa Rinna, when I was about 10-years-old, though I didn't know much about her at the time. Her husband actually handed my friend and I our beach ball when it flew out of the pool. But, I digress, this seemed to be as good a time as any to visit with a chance of meeting him and a few other actors I admire in the industry.
Wednesday
My mom and I left Wednesday afternoon and hit traffic almost the entire way. It took us five hours to get there! I mixed up the music with everything from Whitney Houston and Reba to Diamond Rio and Lady Gaga. While the drive was long, my favorite part was getting to see the sunset. It was unreal - a mixture of cotton candy pink turning to a tangerine orange. Seeing the sun set behind the mountains all around was just absolutely gorgeous and perfect road trip vibes.
It was dark by the time we arrived, so it didn't leave time for much else. After we checked into the hotel and freshened up, we went across the street to the Old Spaghetti Factory. I've only been to one a long time ago, so it was nice to try again. Great food and service, and a fun atmosphere. It also had a nice touch of Palm Springs with Bing Crosby's star at the entrance.
Unfortunately, I was starting to get a cold/bronchitis that morning, so we just went back to the hotel to rest up for the next day.
Thursday
I wish I could say that I woke up thrilled and ready to go. But, I was not. I woke up feeling crappy from the cold/bronchitis. We got to sleep in a bit, then got ready and started anticipating that evening's festivities, which is what we were there for. I did have a little fun with the lighting in the room and my Jackson Maine inspired hat before we left.
We went to breakfast at the King's Highway at the Ace Hotel. It's very old Hollywood from the 60s/70s. Very mod decor and has a fun atmosphere, which I felt was appropriate for the classic Palm Springs that Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin put on the map.
My mom and I both had the standard breakfast plate with eggs, toast and bacon. It was good, but nothing spectacular and a little pricey for what you got.
Mom started not feeling so great, but felt a little better after we ate, so we went downtown to shop and explore. I couldn't get over the views - Palm trees and sunshine for miles around. It's exactly the kind of thing you picture when you listen to that song "California Deamin'."
It couldn't have been a more perfect day! The weather was fantastic and there weren't too many people around. Mom and I stopped at the Film Festival Pop Up Shop and went in a few others, including a record store that I wanted to spend all of my money in. It was the "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "A Star is Born" posters that caught my eye in the window. They had Hollywood memorabilia, posters and 8x10 photos of classic film and TV stars, like Lucille Ball, Clark Gable and more. I bought Audrey Hepburn, "A Star is Born" and "Bohemian Rhapsody" posters to hang in my room for the corner by my desk. We also walked in home decor stores and "Free People," where I wanted to buy all of the things, but was just a bit out of my price range. Always a great store to get style ideas from, though.
I also had fun spotting the Hollywood stars on their very own Palm Springs Walk of Fame and got my picture with a few, including Beverly Hills housewife, Lisa Vanderpump and Marilyn Monroe. Others included Frank Sinatra, George Lopez and more.
Once we'd seen everything we wanted to, we drove by the convention center to get an idea of what things would be like for the red carpet and parking, then went back to the hotel to relax for a bit. We changed and touched up our makeup, then went across the street to Starbucks for a pick-me-up because we were starting to experience that mid-afternoon crash.
We hit a lot of traffic, due to The Parker Hotel hosting the after party for the event, and fancy black SUVs were starting to arrive to pick up the stars, who also might've been staying there during their time in the city.
We made it to the Convention Center near downtown again, went through security and found a spot (a little further down from the entrance). It's always so hard to tell where to stand for these things, as you never know how the celebrities are going to sign or which direction they'll go once they get there.
We waited a little over an hour or so before celebrities started arriving. But, once the first artist takes a step out of the car, the cars just keep coming. We saw Melissa McCarthy, Yalitza Aparicio ("Roma"), Mahershala Ali, Spike Lee, Olivia Colman and a few others.
I also met Viggo Mortensen, Rami Malek ("Bohemian Rhapsody") and Timothée Chalamet ("Beautiful Boy"). I almost didn't get a picture with Timothée and Rami, because their publicists started to pull them away right when they got to me. But, after asking 'please, just one more,' they made it happen. While I was there for Bradley Cooper and was SO close to meeting him, they pulled him away for the red carpet before he could make it to our side. My heart fell into my stomach when he walked back across the street and waved goodbye to us. I do have to say, even though I didn't meet him, he seemed so kind and generous of his time, spending time with people, taking selfies and signing autographs for those that he could. So at least I still have a good impression of him, ha! It was still so cool seeing him in person, knowing I was just a few feet away.
Let me also just mention...It was FREEZING. For California in January, it was SO COLD. We didn't bring our jackets and I forgot my gloves in the car, too. So that is just part of the reason that my pictures came out blurry...Also, I realized that I had the "live" function turned on. D'OH!
Knowing what I know now, I wish I would've felt better and waited all morning for a prime spot in the front by the barricades. I would've met Bradley for sure. If I was to go again, I'd definitely get there early, knowing it's worth it if there's someone you'd like to meet. I also might splurge and buy a ticket for the actual award ceremony and some of the movie panels and screenings with some of the stars. I was tempted to buy a ticket to the awards gala, but just couldn't fork over 300+ for the ticket.
If you'd like to find out more about the Palm Springs International Film Festival, visit their website for a complete list of events, prices and more.
As soon as Bradley walked inside, that was it for me, so we went back to the car to thaw out for a bit and tried to find somewhere to eat. We were going to go to a popular Mexican restaurant, but it was hard to find parking near the main strip of town. We decided on going to The River shopping center, which was just around the corner from our hotel. We walked around looking for something different to eat, but ended up at The Cheesecake Factory, which is always delicious. We were wiped out and hungry, so it was good to site for awhile and eat a full meal, since we hadn't eaten since breakfast and it was almost 9 or so.
We went back to our hotel and started packing up, relaxing and turning in for the night. I had a case of the giggles and couldn't stop laughing over Lady Gaga's "There can be 100 people in the room..." speech for the forty-third time in a span of two days and other random things that came to mind. I was also glued to social media for photos from the red carpet that night and interviews from inside. I knew they'd done a lot of filming in the area at Coachella/Stagecoach for the festival and concert shots in "A Star is Born," but it turns out they also filmed a scene or two inside the convention center, too, which was cool and a few other spots nearby.
Friday
We took our time getting ready, got our stuff together and packed up the car. We found a cute little breakfast spot just on the outskirts of town called CJ's Diner. I had a waffle and coffee, which was perfect. We recapped the night before and figured out which way we were going to go home, crossing our fingers that it wouldn't take five hours like it did getting there.
After our tummies were full, we made one last stop, which was on the way out of town - the Cabazon Dinosaurs. It's a fun picture spot and there is also a small museum/exhibit that you can buy tickets to, which allows you to walk around the garden area with dinosaurs. Otherwise, you can just get your photos with some of the larger dinos or walk in the pink dinosaur for all of your dino needs.
There weren't really too many people around, so we took our time taking pictures and selfies with the famous landmarks. It's certainly not something you see every day!
After stopping for a few road snacks, we hit the highway and ventured home - again, I filled the airwaves with the "A Star is Born" soundtrack, Kacey Musgraves and other peppy songs to keep us awake and going.
If it wasn't for both of us feeling kind of crappy, we probably would've stuck around to check out some other sights. I'd love to go back to the area again this year and spend a few more days. It's the perfect place to relax, especially by the pool and the golf courses when the weather is a touch warmer. There's so much to do and see from the Palm Springs Living Desert and Zoo, shopping, dining, the aerial tram, and of course, some of the most Instagram-worthy picture spots.
Although it wasn't a very long trip, I'm glad I got to hang out with my mom a little more, meet a few cool celebs and get some time away to clear my mind.
Now, it's time to get ready to go back to reality after my extended Christmas break and look forward to the rest that 2019 has to offer!
That's all for now,