desert OASIS....the MISSION INN in riverside, ca...!

My grandparents (who I speak of frequently as they have influenced me greatly) planted their roots down in Riverside, CA, in the late 1950's. They raised my mother there along with my two aunts and one uncle. My two aunts still live there along with a few cousins however the trips down there are much less frequent as we have all gotten older and dispersed across California and the US to start our own lives and families (hey, dogs count!).

When my grandparents passed away years back the memory of their house and all the memories that were made there started to fade. It all gets less vivid over time but not for one second are they not missed. In fact, in some ways I ache for those carefree times even more so as an adult with loads of responsibility.

I don't even know what I am writing all that because really I just want to share pretty pictures of The Mission Inn Hotel & Spa where we have started staying on our visits to the IE since the grandparents home isn't available.

I went down there last weekend with my sweet mother to celebrate my aunt and uncle's 50th wedding anniversary...it was a short trip - just over 24 hours - but we enjoyed our short stay at the Inn, had a nice good catch up with my other auntie and visited grandma and grandpa at National Cemetery.

The Mission Inn is grand. It takes up an entire city block. It has an air of mystic to it with several winding paths, arched doorways, secret doorways, secluded gardens, domes and tropical gardens. You feel like you're in a different world. A world that beacons old Hollywood and the people that would come here to escape the desert world around them. Bright bougainvillea spills over every surface and the millions of palm trees remind you that you are still in California lest you think you're in a European village....

 

we miss you every day G&G....xoxo

all images by janel holiday interior design - be cool and ask for permission before using, k?