So what would encourage a couple to attend a wedding 3K miles away? How about the chance of snagging some son-shine and becoming better acquainted with the boy's friends. The Inland Empire and Palm Springs were our destinations. Our first adventure consisted of a pick-up on Sunday by the boy and his friend C in San Diego and a freeway ride up to Rancho Cucamonga. Great desert views and wonderful conversation; just catching up face-to-face (texting sometimes just does not satisfy as much as a hug anytime you want one, but not while driving, if you please).
Weather near perfect: rain the previous week and some stiff easterly winds blew out all the smog in the LA basin, so mountains were always in view. Warm, but with little humidity (that wet stuff we live with in the East), exceedingly pleasant.
How about friends? Some of the boy's welding buddies and associates got together at Family L's house for some late afternoon into evening socializing around the barby. A tri-tip roast, twice-baked potatoes (a specialty of my Mom's), and lots of other trimmings satisfied our need for nourishment, but the fellowship around the pool and under the tiki-style sun-shading hut was priceless. One of the things that a parent most desires for a child is for them have a community that is supportive, engaging, genuine, full of life, and loving. So with great satisfaction we sat among some of the boy's closest friends in SoCal and just absorbed their warmth and grace. This is one tech-heavy group with more sophisticated mobile apparati and apps than grains of sand in the desert, so the conversation was frequently punctuated with new flashes (like, hey we got OBL) and factoids with the steady rhythm of reggae in the background. The host J was pleasantly loquacious, so we learned a lot of stuff about his house boat project near Las Vegas, in which he enlisted the welding skills of the boy and associates. This is definitely California living.
On Monday, M and I headed East to meet up with the boy and C in Palm Springs, the trip over the mountain highlighted with wind farms; another near perfect day, but expected to reach 100F (no humidity, no problem). We four headed up to Joshua Tree National Park (the boy is the best wheelman this side of the Rockies - M is the best on the eastern side). C did a wonderful job of acquainting us with Palm Springs and surroundings and making us feel so genuinely cared for. The Park is amazing and defies description; a few key thoughts: rattlesnakes, desert blooms, strange squirrels (for Easterners), rocks, rocks, and more rocks, cool breeze, green turning to brown scrub, mountains (with snow), and inland sea (a bit salty), more rocks, sand, and expansive sky.
We enjoyed driving through the park and up to a summit that yielded marvelous views as well as getting out to the car for a tentative walkabout realizing that rattlesnakes were in abundance (we saw at least two on the road). Yes, there is snow on the mountain. The vistas here, especially when the air is so clear, are breath-taking. Makes you wonder: did all this just happen by chance? I don't think so. Somebody has been very busy for a long time.
After the park we headed back to Palm Springs via Pioneer Town, an old outside movie set for westerns. Some folk were actually in residence and gave us the traditional "Howdy". Can't you seen John Wayne in a gunfight right here?
Had a full day yet? We are just getting started. Next stop was the delightful home of C's parents, J & G. More fine folk. How did the boy get so lucky to have all these great people around him? Prayer? These folk live in a golf community in Desert Palm Springs, with more spectacular views, just up the road from PS. G toured me in his golf cart so I could get the feel of the place. I have only played golf once, but I may tread these links as a new adventure on a return trip.
Now back to PS to finish off the day. We wandered to downtown for dinner at a delightful Thai restaurant and then walked around taking in the scene. Marvelous end to the day.
M and I headed back to Rancho and the boy and C met us in the morning for that most challenging of all adventures, driving on the freeway to LAX (thank the Lord for the HOV lanes and a son who knows his way around). Made great time with no stress, which is remarkable for someone a bit OCD about missing airplane rides. Nothing to say about the 7 hour return flights except that we had many fresh and meaningful memories to digest. Home looked pretty good at the end of the day. That's what I call a jam-packed adventure; I think we got more than our money's worth.
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