The San Diego Botanical Gardens (formerly the Quail Botanical Gardens) are located in Encinitas, a bit north of San Diego proper. From certain pathways and the overlook tower, you can view the blue Pacific in the distance. The new Hamilton Children's Garden was a great time for my school-aged kids: lots of climbing and hiding around the big (man-made) jungle treehouse, chasing butterflies and dragonflies, and checking out how the garden sundial works. For smaller kids, the Seeds of Wonder garden is small and charming, with a dinosaur-bone dig, more climbing, and a small model railroad. Note that the Seeds of Wonder garden is actually more active during the week than the weekend, when there are lots of art and hands-on activities.

Other parts of the park were also fun for both kids and adults--- the waterfalls, the bamboo pond stocked with frogs and tiny fish, and checking out some of the new sculptures placed around the gardens. The bamboo grown here actually supplies food for the pandas down south at the San Diego Zoo!

There are restrooms, and a small snack and gift shop, but there are no "meals" here, just chips/cookies/ice cream.

We stayed here for one night, the day before we explored the Grand Canyon. I give it 4 stars not because the room and amenities are so great, but rather because it is such a unique location and experience. Located right on Hwy. 89, it boasts a large and comprehensive trading post shop, a small museum of Native American art and artifacts (which was closed when we arrived) and a small, peaceful flower garden in the back. Oh, and also on-site dining in spacious room, with a tin-stamped ceiling.

We had a clean, spacious room with 2 double beds, and a small balcony that overlooked the scenic dry riverbed of the Little Colorado Gorge. This was our first night's stay in a week-long road trip through Arizona, and the southwestern vibe of the room, along with the scenery, made my kids really feel that we were someplace quite different from home!

Please see more of our stay in Cameron in my blog post here:
http://theroadrunnermom.blogspot.com/2011/07/arizona-road-trip-days-1-and-2.html

I am well familiar with Palm Springs; we come here as either a family or for a romantic getaway at least once a year. Recently, we had reason to stay for a couple of nights for a school-related event. Since this was not a true "vacation" type of weekend, I was willing to pay less for just a standard motel room, vs. a larger resort.

The web site and pictures of the Palm Springs Travelodge would have you believe that the motel is more of a "hotel" and some kind of secret gem, updated in the popular mid-century/retro style. In fact, it is still very much what the name says: a travelodge, a motel, and just a place to lay our heads for barely under $100 a night.

The location on the south end of Highway 111 means that you need to hop into your car and head north about 10 minutes to reach the true downtown retail hub of Palm Springs. There is not really anything here within walking distance, except for an Old English type of pub/restaurant that doesn't look too family-friendly. (For dinner, we headed east on 111 and ate at possibly the world's worst and slowest Coco's.) The Travelodge offers a continental breakfast, which consisted of the standard small muffin/danish and coffee.

The rooms are adequate at best, and have been re-furbished, but the age of the property still shows. Unfortunately, slapping up (literally, very sloppy paint job!) some trendy paint colors and hanging black & white photos seems to be the true extent of the modernization. There are 2 pools on the property, both are pretty basic. There is also a spa/jacuzzi. For a little more money, I wish we'd headed a a bit further along the highway to the Caliente Tropics, which seems to have much newer rooms and a huge pool. That said, my children, aged 6 and 9, were more than happy to jump into ANY pool for the first time this year, as the weather was wonderful for early March!

Bottom line, unless it is high season and the town is booked solid, I see no reason to recommend this to anyone, especially to families.