douceur vivre: Desert Mirage

Photo taken by our amazing friends from f27 Photography: We did a fun photo-shoot with them, will post photos soon!

We went for our first "official" vacay with Bebe a few weeks ago to the desert, aka Coachella Valley. Being only a couple hours away, I guess you could hardly call it a vacay. I had visited as a child, but never have I experienced it in this way. I guess things have changed over the decades, and traveling is always different once you're an adult. You see the world through "adult lenses," but having a child helps me bounce back into time to see the world through a child's eyes. Child-rearing may age you physically, but I think it keeps your soul young, and in the end, that's most important.

There were many hidden gemstones we discovered- some were new, some were old. Palm Springs reminded me of a sleepier, 60s-70s version of Las Vegas (historically, this place was the Vegas of its time); minus the gambling, provocative women, clubs and add palm trees upon palm trees (which are not native to California btw), vintage shops, the most tastefully reconstructed hotels, barren sandy deserts and super friendly people. This place was definitely more of my cup of tea.

My favorite part of our trip was visiting Joshua Tree National Park. I had been wanting to go since I heard about the gnarly-looking trees in college, but for some reason never made it out there (even though I studied in the other desert aka Riverside). We drove out there late noon, and hiked around the boulders while there was still light. Towards dusk, we went towards the lookout point and saw the most gorgeous sunset that overlooked the Salton Sea with rows and rows of mountain landscapes leading towards the watercolor sky. There was a cloudy haze that created a purple-ish blue glow that made the whole experience rather dreamy. Breathtaking hardly described the view, if only photos could do it any justice. Such beauty could only be painted by a Creator who creates to bring us delight. The best part? The view didn't even cost a penny. It's true, some of the best things in life are free.

We had planned to dine beneath the stars, so we packed food to have a picnic in the car. To the Hubby's dismay, it was a full moon and the glow was too fierce for us to see the glittering stars. However, we were still able to fine-dine in the trunk of our SUV, with a flashlight hanging as a chandelier. It started to get chilly, something we didn't anticipate. We rushed to finish our food and packed up to leave the park. As we left Joshua Tree, the sky turned dark and all you could see were the silhouettes of the Yucca trees, standing almost eerily with their claws, as if it were straight from a horror film. With no visible cars in sight, it very well could have been one. However, the stillness and serenity of it all gave me a sense of calm. Upon returning from our adventure, I declared Joshua Tree as the most beautiful site I have seen in California. We plan on returning, perhaps to go camping or "glamping," as my friend would say.

And here goes the photo diary...