Where to Stop for Date Shakes on California Road Trips

We don’t order date shakes at home in Phoenix. We could. There are a couple places that serve them, since date palms grow here.

But we only look for them on road trips through a certain western Arizona/eastern California corridor.

I-10

If you’re headed from Phoenix to Los Angeles on the 10, there’s the Hadley Fruit Orchards store in Cabazon near the dinosaurs.

The decades-old farm store recently moved to a shiny new building. They still have a little cafe, and it’s still a great place to stop for snacks – all kinds of specialty trail mix and dried fruit and veggies, much of it from the local area and/or their own blends.

Shakes come in a reusable souvenir cup. Last time, we got there near the end of the day and they said they were out of regular date shakes but had banana date shakes. So they must mix them in advance-? Anyway, you could mostly just taste the banana, and it wasn’t the same.

I-8

If you’re on I-8 headed for San Diego, I’d recommend skipping the well-publicized Dateland and opting for Martha’s Gardens in Yuma instead. Coming from Phoenix, it’s about another hour down the freeway but worth it. The shake we got at the Dateland Travel Center tasted overly, artificially sweet with dates in clumps. The Martha’s Garden shakes were blended well and sweet without being sickeningly so.

The Martha’s Garden store is smack in the middle of a working date farm, down a dirt driveway surrounded by rows of palm trees. While Martha’s store shelves are mostly stocked with bulk dates, they do sell some other local products like honey and salsa.

From the counter at the back, you can order sandwiches, date shakes, coffee, or a shot of espresso in your date shake. Behind it is a room of tables and chairs – and a couple outlets if you need to recharge.

Have you ever tried date shakes? Do you have food/drinks you only get on road trips?

August 15, 2016August 15, 2016

July Photo: Pasadena

July was our trip to Pasadena, nicknamed “the City of Roses.” I took this photo in the inner courtyard of its iconic City Hall.

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August 4, 2016

L.A. Photo Hunt during #BlogHer16!

The first year I went to BlogHer, I challenged myself and fellow attendees to a photo scavenger hunt. It was just a fun way to share what we were seeing of the city and connect.

This year, BlogHer is in LA, and I thought a SoCal photo scavenger hunt would be in order.

Downtown LA

If you’re in Los Angeles this week, see how many of the things on the list below you can spot. Tag photos #LAphotohunt16 on Instagram and/or Twitter.

Palms
Hollywood
Sunglasses
Stars
Traffic
Theme parks
Studios
Waves
Santa Monica
Your choice!

#10 is for whatever else you think belongs on the list.

Since conference schedules tend to be really packed, feel free to take some creative license! (Like I did the last time.)

Hollywood sign

The list has some room for interpretation. “Waves,” for example, could be in the ocean or your hair or when you’re saying hello to friends.

If you’re not going, feel free to post whatever you’re doing this weekend and tag it #notinLAphotohunt16.

Disneyland Anaheim
Afterwards, I’ll share some of the scavenger hunt results here. Can’t wait to see what you find!

July 30, 2016July 22, 2020

Anaheim Resort District Dining 2016

I got a little obsessed hunting for local food options in the Anaheim Resort District (where the Disney Theme Parks and Anaheim Convention Center are located) ahead of Star Wars Celebration last year.

I talked to frequent Disneyland-goers about their favorite spots, exchanged emails with the Anaheim Convention Center and their concessions-provider Aramark, and even tried sorting through online business license records.

Once I was in Anaheim, I walked into restaurants I hadn’t been able to find information for to ask questions and pick up take-out menus.

In the end, I had this list of restaurants that are some combination of unique to the area, highly recommended, and/or offering something local, as well as being walking-distance from the Disney Parks and Anaheim Convention Center – without requiring admission.

So here it is, updated with current information and grouped geographically. I marked up a map to help you visualize it all.

1. Downtown Disney and Disneyland Resort Hotels

Located between – but outside of – the Parks, Downtown Disney includes shopping, restaurants, and live music.

While this is not the place to find indie eateries, there are plenty of unique spots that are true to their location in Mickey’s backyard. (I mean, it’s not like every city has an Enchanted Tiki Bar.)

Catal Restaurant – frequently recommended as one of the best restaurants in Downtown Disney.
Earl of Sandwich – for a quick bite.
Napa Rose Lounge (at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa) – for seasonal small plates. Full dinner menu available in the main Napa Rose dining room (reservations recommended).
Tangaroa Terrace (at Disneyland Hotel)
Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar (at Disneyland Hotel) – for drinks.

Find character dining, menus, accessibility, hours, etc. on Disneyland Resort’s site.

2. East of Disney

We walked by a lot of the places listed below en route from our hotel to the convention last year. We tried a few and liked breakfast at Chambers (and were guests of Hotel Indigo Anaheim), lunch at Tanor, late-night take-out from Sabrosada/Alertos.

We ran out of time to try the Pizza Press while we were in Anaheim, but the Pasadena location hosted us for lunch on our more recent trip. Summary of the upcoming review: it was super good!

Pizza Press build-your-own-pizza concept (similar to Fired Pie here in Phoenix). They’ve expanded to 6 Southern California locations.
Chambers Bar & Bistro at Hotel Indigo Anaheim – breakfast, sandwiches, flatbread, local produce, and seasonal desserts. While it appears the chilaquiles are off the menu (sad trombone), we also enjoyed their breakfast burritos.
Gandhi Palace – Indian restaurant recommended by Whitney Drake on last year’s BlogHer post.

Anaheim Resort Centre

In another post, I called this “Anaheim’s Local Food Corner,” because one unimpressive-looking strip mall contained 5 different non-chain restaurants.

California Pizza Place (menu) – narrow dining room with walls crammed with retro paraphernalia serving pizza, burgers, and pancakes. Delivery is also available.
Tanor Mediterranean Grill (menu) – Mediterranean/Persian food with delicious chicken shawarma.
Star Burger (menu) – fusion of burgers, kimchi, and bulkogi (Korean-style grilled beef).
Sabrosada (menu) – formerly known as Alertos Mexican Food, family-owned taqueria with five Southern California locations. We liked the al pastor and pollo asado mini tacos.
Panda Kitchen (menu) – American Chinese food. You can call ahead to pick up your order or dine in.

Anaheim GardenWalk

This is a bigger, newer shopping center populated mostly by chains, including the Cheesecake Factory that the German Big Bang Theory fans we met last year were so excited to visit.

Kip Barry’s Cabaret – Cafe, magic gift shop, and performance venue. Formerly Houdini’s Hideaway.
House of Blues – Restaurant and music venue, opening at the GardenWalk this fall. (Moving from their previous location at Downtown Disney, which has already closed.)

3. Anaheim Convention Center

The Anaheim Convention Center is across the street from the Disneyland Resort. I was pleasantly surprised to learn they are serious about sourcing local and sustainable food and beverages. If you’re attending a conference or convention there, you can check out ecoGrounds / Java City Fair Trade coffee in the lobby. They may also have the Hearst Ranch Grill open with all-beef hamburgers from the Convention Center’s own herd of free-range, grass-fed cattle.

If you don’t have an event badge or just want to get out of the crowded Convention Center halls for a minute, here’s what’s right next door:

Anaheim Marriott on southwest side of Convention Center has a bar/restaurant called nFuse that serves local craft beers and seasonal microbrews. There is also a nice lobby with lots of seating. I believe there is also wifi and outlets. (Otherwise, there’s also a large Starbucks off the lobby. They handled the extra long line like it was child’s play.)
Hilton Anaheim on west side of Convention Center. In the food court…
- Just Grillin’ Express – Burgers, salads, and fries (spicy or not) made from ingredients delivered daily. Based in Alhambra, California.
- Submarina – a Southern California based sub sandwich chain.

– More info –

Disneyland Restaurants Guide (Disney Food Blog) – information on restaurants throughout the Disneyland Resort, including inside the Parks.
Disneyland Resort Beer List (Beers and Ears)

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A big thanks to Sarah Woloski of the Skywalking through Neverland podcast, Genevieve Eldred, Paul Barrie of the Window to the Magic podcast, and Whitney Drake for sharing their favorite spots!

The map is a screenshot from Apple Maps I modified in Skitch. Other photos by Phillip and me.

July 25, 2016July 25, 2016

Phoenix to Pasadena

Since I couldn’t take all of you to Pasadena with me, here’s the one-minute version of the drive.

You can see us travel from the Phoenix freeways, through the desert, over the state line/Colorado River, past the Cabazon Dinosaurs, and finally make it to the (much cooler!) Los Angeles County and City of Pasadena.

I put it together from the Snapchat photos and videos we took along the way. I snapped most of them from the passenger seat. When I took over driving for awhile, Phillip learned how to use the app and took on the videographer role.

Oh, in case you’re wondering, I’m travelcraftjrnl on Snapchat. Also, I have a couple other new videos in the pipeline, so feel free to subscribe to my YouTube channel to make sure you don’t miss those.

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