Monday,  Jan 28th, 2019

It was an early morning workout for the kids so JP and I decided to get some sunshine and a walk before breakfast. We headed downtown for breakfast at Pinocchio’s in the Desert (and why would Pinocchio NOT be in the desert?) a kitschy, busy sidewalk cafe and bar. The hours are 7:30 AM – 2:30 PM and funny enough, that’s the same hours as their happy hour. It was busy, the food was good and plenty so it earned its Trip Advisor rating of # 44 of 243 restaurants. I’m not certain that Marilyn Monroe had a thing about Pinocchio but evidently Pinocchio’s has a thing about her.

After breakfast we decided to check out one of the “top 15 things to do in Palm Springs” so we headed out to the desert to visit Pioneertown.

Pioneertown is an Old West town built as a 1940’s movie set. A bunch of investors (think Roy Rogers and Gene Autry) wanted to create a town that was more dimensional than just the false front buildings of old. They built all kinds of authentic looking buildings and businesses and then actually filled them with real businesses (think bowling alley, ice cream shop, motel, gift shops). In the 1940’s and 50’s over 50 TV shows and movies were filmed there. Its rumored that you can still catch mock gun fights in the streets, that there’s a great place for ribs and a bar where Robert Plant and Leon Russel have played in the past AND that killer ribs are served here. But alas – all this must happen on a day Pioneertown is OPEN. We on the other hand were in town on a Monday when all but 2 shops were closed. So we did what all good tourists do and took photos, meandered around and decided we likely won’t come back to see if the town actually comes to life at other days and times. 

After the kicking back from our western town adventure we decided to eat in. Ben and JP cooked up the traditional Pomeroy Holiday Taco Dinner. Nothing better!