We have the option of a few days in Palm Springs,is there anything to do besides golf?Any dining spots you could recommend? How far is it to drive to Anaheim or San Diego? Any help would be appreciated.

How about a hot-air balloon ride? Or if you've kids along, Knott's Soak City water park is a kick.

Though it's not too far from being a fast-food concept, try Fisherman's Market and Grill in La Quinta for some great seafood.

Palm Springs is 1.5 hours +/- from Anaheim. Don't know to San Diego.

If you don't have a fear of heights, do the tram/gondola thing. Great views.

The Aerial Tram is breathtaking-- and it's nice and cool at the top. There are also nature hikes, high-class shopping at El Paseo in Palm Desert (NOTE: some boutiques are closed until September as the owners escape the desert heat), outlet mall overload in Cabazon, casino gambling at Spa Resort and Casino Morongo.... Still, overall PS is a laid-back, golf-and-poo-time kind of town.

Eats? For Mexican, Edgardo's Veracruz and Blue Coyote (the latter is less authentic, but the food is good). There is a great steak-and-martini joint called The Falls right on Palm Canyon-- a bit pricey, but the prime rib is wonderful.

San Diego is a quick 2-hour drive, it turns out. Anaheim can be reached in as little as 1 1/2 hours, but I'm more inclined to say 1 3/4 to 2 (the stretch of CA-91 that gets you near Anaheim gets a lot of traffic).

I crack myself up...! "Golf-and-pooL".... Otherwise it sounds like preschooler miniature golfing ranges, doesn't it?!

One last plug in...!

I would be quite remiss if I neglected to mention my absolutely FAVORITE Thai restaurant in the desert: Thai Smile, on Palm Canyon. Cheap, great food, popular with the locals (steady business, but you can always get a table). I highly recommend it.

depends when you are going - summer VERY hot. but, a day at joshua tree national park is great. there are several differnt routes to san diego. the boringest is direct on the main freeways (although there is an airplane museum that's interesting along the way) which is about 2 hours. come back that way as it is fast but there are at least 2 other routes you can take to keep things interesting. longest, but very pretty is over the mountain - probably about 3 1/2 hours. if you don't mind driving, you can do a day trip there and back.

Thanks for the info, we are going to be there next week, but coming from South Africa and just having visited Spain I do not mind the 90+ heat. As for the poo I was not even going to attempt a response but thanks for the clarification.

I would recommend the aerial tram as well. Views are impressive, but bring some warm clothes as it is 30-40 degrees cooler at the top than in Palm Springs.

Joshua Tree National Park is not that far and is worth the trip if you have any interest in parks.

Palm Springs also has some great shops for browsing in and the casino across from the Hilton.

Even if you don't like to hike, I'd still recommend a drive through Joshua Tree. It is such a surreal place. Worthy of a look-see.

Another vote for Thai Smile. Other dining options that you might want to consider is hitting some of the local happy hours. During the summer, they've been offering half price appetizer and drink menus at places like The Deck and Atlas in downtown Palm Springs.

There are a lot of casino options in the desert. In addition to the Spa Casino in Palm Springs, there are also choices such as Agua Caliente and Trump 29 - both located just a little further east along the 10 freeway.

The weather's been a little cooler, but more humid the past few days. It's supposed to only be around 102 today, but chances of thunder showers in the afternoon.

The tram is a good way to get out of the heat for a few hours. But the area around Mt. Jacinto has been on fire the past few days. I think they've announced that the fire is under control as of this morning. A drive up to Idyllwild is another option to get some relief from the heat.

Having been in Palm Springs for over a week and not being a desert person we went to Anaheim for one day - about 1.5 hour drive and headed through the hills to San Diego another. It took about 2 hours but I think we took the scenic route as opposed the quickest route. After a few days in the desert, the ocean was a welcome site. We did do the Joshua tree forest and that was enjoyable.