There are many amazing places to shop when in Palm Springs. In the downtown area there are tons of fun shops and trendy gay stores where you can pick up some great off the wall gifts that you won’t find anywhere else. But for serious shoppers, a trip to Palm Springs is not complete without stopping at the Outlet Mall.
The Outlet Mall is only about 20 miles from Palm Springs and it actually has two malls: Desert Hills Premium Outlets and Cabazon Outlets. However, the two are separated only by a road, so it’s easy to do both in one day.
The mall is normally open from 10am to 8pm, but since we went the day after Christmas, they opened at 7am. We decided that we weren’t going to get up quite that early, so we slept in and went for a coffee run before starting the drive out there. We took 2 cars for the 5 of us, because we were certain that my dad and Jerry wouldn’t stay as long as the rest of us girls. We managed to find excellent parking spots on the street.
It was about 10 degrees colder at the Mall and very windy. After hitting the restrooms, we immediately split up and everyone went their own way, desperate to get indoors. After about an hour of shopping, my dad sent a text to meet at the Food Court so that we could swap car keys as he and Jerry were about ready to leave.
By the time we took our break, the winds were really picking up. One of the cashiers at the store told me that they were supposed to have gusts up to 60 mph. Since the Food Court is the only place with indoor seating, it was packed. Somehow, my dad had managed to get us a table and we figured we might as well take advantage of it, so we took turns ordering lunch while there. My dad and Jerry left and my mom, sister and I continued shopping.
I didn’t really have anything that I needed and just wanted to poke around a bit, so I knew I wouldn’t need much longer. I flew through the rest of the stores, a little miserable, as the wind was also blowing around the dirt and sand.
The mall can be a bit of mayhem on a regular day. Going the day after Christmas the crowds were even bigger than normal. Personally, I think it’s fun to see all of the people and listen to the different languages, but make note, there are a lot of tourists, and not everyone speaks English. Due to the high volumes many of the stores (Prada, Swarovski, Kate Space, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, etc.) had lines out the door. While most of these stores aren’t my taste, I would’ve liked to pop into Swarovski, but there was no way that I was going to stand outside in the cold wind to do so.
I finished shopping a bit earlier than my mom and sister and I went back to the car and read my book for about an hour. It was great to sit down out of the cold wind. Although, even though I was sitting in the back seat with a book, I still had people come knock on the car window to ask if I was leaving soon. Like I said, we had a great parking spot.
Despite the weather, everyone had a nice time shopping and picked up a few new things. My mom got a bag, my sister got some make-up and clothes and my dad and Jerry got a couple shirts. I only bought one thing: underwear. What can I say; I’m a classy girl and a big spender.
Where are you favorite places to shop in Palm Springs? Have you ever been to the Outlet Mall?
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