Diversity Rules Magazine

Joey Amato is the founder and publisher of Pride Journeys, an LGBTQ travel website and syndicated column. For more LGBTQ travel ideas, please visit www. pridejourneys.com. Palm Springs is my happy place. The city and the surrounding area provide me with the perfect mix of relaxa on and enter- tainment. Having been to Palm Springs numerous mes prior to this visit, I wanted to partake in things that I have never tried before, most notably a full body massage at El Mo- rocco Inn & Spa, but we will get to that later. A er checking in to Triangle Inn, a lovely mid-century modern gay guesthouse located just one mile from the Arenas Road district, I decided to unwind from my flight and take it easy by the pool. I struck up a wonderful conversa on with another guest from Los Angeles who was in town for the weekend. Ap- parently, Palm Springs is his happy place as well. Everyone I encountered at the clothing-op onal resort was very friendly and eager to give advice on the ho est spots to visit during my stay. I decided to head to Cathedral City for happy hour. Before Palm Springs became the gay mecca of today, Cathedral City was the epicenter of LGBTQ culture in the desert. The area is home to an array of nightlife establishments includ- ing The Barracks, AMP Sports Lounge and One Eleven Bar, a beau - fully decorated space which on the evening of my visit was cele- bra ng female voices of the 80s. I sipped a delicious Espresso Rum- ni while grooving to music from Whitney, Madonna and Tina. The me change was hi ng me hard, so I de- cided to re re early to my room at Triangle Inn and when I say room, I mean something closer to a 1-bedroom apartment. The suite contained a full living room, dining room and kitchen, in ad- di on to a king size bed and large walk-in shower. Triangle Inn usually offers a con nental breakfast to guests but current COVID restric ons didn't allow them to provide that during my stay, so I grabbed breakfast the next morning at a cute LGBTQ-owned restaurant called Sunshine Café. I don't normally eat a heavy breakfast but when I saw the Banana Nut Pancakes on the menu, I knew I had to at least give them a try. The extra calories were definitely worth it. Today was my Zen day in the desert and I heard about this wonderful shop crea ng organic skin care products called The Body Deli. The busi- ness uses raw and organic superfoods to create their products which range from fa- cial moisturizers and scrubs to hair sham- poo and condi oner. I sampled a few prod- ucts while there and you can actually smell the freshness of the foods they use to create the products. The store offers a 6 | Diversity Rules Magazine | July 2021 Pride Journeys Palm Springs, CA By Joey Amato

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