Gay California Side Trips  Why not combine a side trip to one of California's many gay friendly cities with your gay Palm Springs Vacation.  Palm Springs is within a short drive to San Diego, Los Angeles/ Hollywood, Orange County Beach and Las Vegas is only a little over four hours away.    SAN DIEGO  San Diego is fast becoming one of the nation's hottest gay and lesbian destinations. The  seventh-largest city in the US combines the best of a diverse, culturally rich urban destination with and a laid-back, sunny resort. San Diego is a big outdoor playground. You can still swim, snorkel, windsurf, kayak, bicycle, in-line skate, and partake of other diversions in or near the water. And top-notch civic attractions still include three world-famous animal parks and Balboa Park, one of the finest urban parks in the country. San Diego will delight gay and lesbian travelers with many new restaurants, shops, and hotels.  Driving Time Approximately 2 hours from Palm Springs   LOS ANGELES/HOLLYWOOD  Los Angeles, home to the world's first amusement park , regularly feels like itself like one, as the line between fantasy and reality is often obscured. From the unattainable, anachronistic glamour of Beverly Hills to the vibrant street energy of the Venice Boardwalk, each of the city's diverse neighborhoods is like a mini-theme park, offering its own kind of unique adventure.  With more museums per capita than any other North American city, a world-class symphony and opera company, hundreds of cutting-edge art galleries and performance spaces, historical sites dating back hundreds of years, a rich tapestry of diverse ethnicities, live theater productions at dozens of venues every night of the week, the world's best collection of modernist architecture and design, plus real live movie stars, Los Angeles is a must see.  Driving Time About 1 Hour from Palm Springs.  ORANGE COUNTY  Laguna Beach  - Framed by the San Joaquin hills, the coves and bluffs have a decidedly Mediterranean feel. Here you will find a small gay paradise with some very nice restaurants, gay beaches, small hotels and nightlife. Laguna is a popular getaway for L.A. gays,  Long Beach - Long Beach boasts the completely renovated Rainbow Harbor, a magnificent aquarium, a large base of industry, a pretty steel-and-glass towered downtown and a sizable gay community. Although it is not a traditional resort destination, it is a convenient stop on the coastal route down to San Diego, and offers a number of tourist attractions. The most notable of these is the R.M.S. Queen Mary, one of the last remnants of the golden age of ocean-liner travel, used in The Poseidon Adventure, and now a floating hotel and venue for events including the annual Long Beach International Film Festival. The beach here is long and wide, with a bike path, calm surf and pretty setting. The gay community in Long Beach is one of the largest in the state, and has been ranked as the number one place to live for lesbians. Travel down East Broadway, and you'll find a low-key but rainbow-flag waving concentration of businesses catering to gay locals and visitors. East Broadway is just a few blocks from the gay section of the beach, and a few minute's drive from down town.  LAS VEGAS   From its roots as Rat Pack hangout to today's ultra-glam, glistening towers of hedonism, Las Vegas consistently rates as one of the world's top destinations. Nothing quite screams gay like Vegas' glitzy mix of Celine Dion, Liberace, Elton John and Barry Manilow. Top that off with world-class dining, fashion, shopping and club-hopping.  About 4.5 hours from Palm Springs