California is crazy-beautiful, you all. I can't believe it took me 45 years to get to the West Coast. I am just suffused with gratitude for the chance to enjoy it now. Better late than never.
A 6am flight (3:30am wakeup time) took us to LAX...
... where we switched from a Mustang convertible to a Jeep Wrangler so we would have enough trunk space. Ivy is big on trunk space.
Then we took our tired crew out for breakfast. Nat found us just the perfect spot, a little cafe in the beautiful Manhattan Beach.
It was love at first sight for me when I saw that bit of ocean at base of the hill, and the palm trees and the flowers and the blue sky-beautiful of it all. That love was tempered a bit by the $15 pancakes-- we quickly learned that eating out in California is as expensive as the scenery is gorgeous.
After breakfast of course we had to go put our toes in the ocean...
Time to drive!
We looped south around LA along the coast to make our way to the desert...
Early morning flights are tiring.
A stop to swim in Newport Beach....cloudy and cool but lovely.
Heading inland... so many windmills! So much heat! From 65 dregrees on the coast it just got warmer and warmer. We wound our way through mountains and into the desert.
We detoured just a bit before heading to Ed and Angela's to visit Salton Sea, which has been on my list to see ever since I heard a podcast about it years ago. Nothing like going out of your way in 100 degree temperatures to see an abandoned resort town next to a toxic inland sea that is one of the biggest man made environmental disasters of the last century.
It was totally worth it. Probably ended up being one of my favorite stops of the trip.
Finally made it to our first stop at abour 9pm California time... after being up since 3am Ohio time...What a day! Ed snd Angela served us an amazing taco bar dinner, and we capped off the day with a night swim in their lovely backyard saltwater pool.
What a way to wake up! 85 degree brilliant sunshine, palm trees and a pool...
After our extra-long travel day on the 6th, we decided to take it easy on day two, and what better place to take it easy than at Ed and Angela's vacation property in Palm Springs? It is hard to narrow down the best thing about this house. Was it the amazing midcentury design? The schnazzy new kitchen? The pool and patio? The fridge stocked with nothing but a wide variety of alcoholic beverages? Who can say.
The grownups took a walk through downtown while Jack and Ivyhung out at the house. Hot as blazes but such a cute town. Summer is the off-season here, so not much was open on a Tuesday. But we cooled off in cute shops and enjoyed public art.
Got back to this scene in the pool. The kids were happy as could be to spend ALL day just like this.
The day drinking was intense, let me tell you. Here's Ivy getting in on it, tasting my Truly. Which she liked a little too much...!
After eating up all the snacks we brought with us, we dried off and ventured downtown for dinner. My cousin Valerie joined us which was so great. Haven't seen her since she was 7 years old. She's grown into just a delightful young woman.
Cousin Ed is a riot, it turns out. We joked for much of the trip about the fact that he was used as a cautionary tale for me as a child-- he was apparently a handful there were many "Eddie Bill" stories. He's turned out pretty well :) but still has an irrepressible energy!
Nightcaps at the pool and then back to Indio.
Day three: Coffee, palms, pool- then Joshua Tree.
We got an early start to try to avoid some of the desert heat. Which kind of worked (it never got above 100 while we were there! Yay!) but it was still pretty oppressive. Didn't stop us frome bouldering and hiking and enjoying the amazing desert plants.
Well, it didn't stop most of us. This little girl just does NOT like the heat. We spent most of our time at the Hidden Valley hike seeking out spots of shade under pinion pines.
Stopped at Key's view to take in the .... view.
Then more bouldering at Skull Rock and Jumbo Rocks.
Then back to Indio (with a stop in Yucca Valley for Jack in the Box and the best thai takeout I've had in years) to COOL OFF.
Had the pleasure of meeting Ed and Angela's daughter Brianna and her family. Their 6 year old twins were the sweetest!
After dinner we went on the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway. One never knows with these touristy attractions but this one was worth every penny.
A great ride up the tram, with view like this out over the desert... and fun swinging each time we passed a support pole.
And then at the top- you stepped out IN the mountains. Twenty degrees cooler and all pine-scented air and boulders and woodsy perfection.
My heart is always happy in the mountains.
A great way to end our time in the desert. Which I liked so much more than I expected. I didn't even mind the heat. 5 stars, would visit again! (Maybe for New Years!)
Up next: Disney day!
... where we switched from a Mustang convertible to a Jeep Wrangler so we would have enough trunk space. Ivy is big on trunk space. 
Then we took our tired crew out for breakfast. Nat found us just the perfect spot, a little cafe in the beautiful Manhattan Beach.
It was love at first sight for me when I saw that bit of ocean at base of the hill, and the palm trees and the flowers and the blue sky-beautiful of it all. That love was tempered a bit by the $15 pancakes-- we quickly learned that eating out in California is as expensive as the scenery is gorgeous. 
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