Memories Journal #29- In love at Joshua Tree National Park

 Something a little personal-my husband and I took a 6 month break in our marriage a couple of years ago. It was a reset of everything, and it did so much good for us. We had been married 17 years at the time, and they weren't all that easy.

When we resumed our marriage, we dreamed about a getaway alone. Nothing too exotic, but somewhere we both had never been before but wanted to see. That place was Joshua Tree National Park, and so we loaded up our Jeep Gladiator, and made the journey south. 

Our first stop was in San Luis Obispo. This is such a quaint college town, and super friendly. We only stayed one night, and then headed to Santa Monica Pier. My husband had never been to the L.A. area, and on our way there, we drove through Santa Barbara and Malibu. Gorgeous part of Southern California!

Our second night we stayed in Palm Springs-I immediately fell in love with this fun city! It was extremely hot for April. Finally, we made it to our hotel at Desert Hot Springs. This town is well known for natural hot springs, and we took advantage daily to lounge in the pool, soak in the outdoor tubs, and we got a room with our own indoor tub. I was super relaxed staying here.

The real treat however was touring Joshua Tree NP. This is a beautiful park! I loved the rock formations, the trees, and because it was spring-lots of desert flowers! 

We watched a sunset while drinking some wine. This was by far my greatest memory-

I hope to someday get back to this park, I really enjoyed the vibe here!

Memories Journal #28- Reunion with Aunt Ann

 She was determined to live to 100 years old. Her Roman Catholic faith unwavering. Pride of her Sicilian heritage. And she radiated so much light. She was my great Aunt Ann, my grandmother's sister who had been a major maternal force in my infant and toddler years. She was always smiling, always speaking positive about everyone, and loved to chat on the phone even at 100 years old. 

I visited with her when I was 18 years old, and then lost touch for 30 years. I found her on Facebook! She was in her mid 90's and on Facebook! In 2021, she was turning 100, and there would be a big party for her. Immediately I began to plan my trip to see her, and bring my oldest daughter with me.

She lived in Costa Mesa among her children and some of her grandchildren. When we got off the plane, we went right to see her, and what a sweet feeling that was. I had been speaking with her on the phone up until our visit, and then to hug her was an incredible feeling. She showed us old pictures, and that in itself was a gift.

The following day was her birthday party. She was wheeled in with a tiara crown! She had hundreds of people gathering around her-she was so well loved. She was presented with a plaque from the mayor of Costa Mesa! AND then she was presented with a Papal blessing from the Pope! This was incredibly special for her. Here we are celebrating her mega birthday-

For her birthday, I made her a throw blanket with flowers. She was a homebody and I wanted to give her something handmade-

During our stay in Southern California, my daughter and I stayed in San Clemente. This is a beautiful city, and we really enjoyed this little getaway.

I was so grateful and glad I made the visit to see Aunt Ann. She passed away the following May. She lived to 100-1/2. While I know she lived a wonderful life, I miss her light. The day my cousin gave the news, this was in the sky above me. For me, I felt her light one last time. I love you Aunt Ann.

Memories Journal #24, #25, #26 & # 27- A desert road trip in 2021

 I have not updated my posts on the Memories Journal I keep for all of my travels, so here I am doing just that...

In the spring of 2021, I took my two older kids on a road trip to Arizona and California. We spent 7 nights traveling down through Nevada, northern Arizona, then south to Tucson, and back up into the lesser traveled parts of California. 

Our first night we spent in Tonopah, Nevada where the infamous Clown Motel is at. I could not convince my oldest to spend the night in this motel unfortunately. On our way south, we stopped in at the Area 51 Alien Travel Center, bought a few trinkets, got some photos of the alien locals and made our way south. Here is the journal entry for that stop-

The second, third and fourth nights we spent in Cottonwood Arizona. This was where we would venture into the Grand Canyon, spend a day in Jerome, and on my bucket list was to visit the vortexes in Sedona. I was able to escape alone to Bell Rock and walked around the area in total peace and bliss. It was April 20th, and the weather was perfect. If I ever get the chance again to hike the area, I will definitely do it. Parking at Cathedral Rock was full, but Bell Rock had plenty as I got there very early.

After we left northern Arizona, we headed south to Tucson. When I lived in Arizona, I never made it down there, and always wished I had. We toured the unique homes in the Catalina Foothills and dreamed of desert living. We visited the Tucson Mineral and Gem World and hauled away a lot of cool stones-plus visited with the T Rex outside the shop. But the real gem I had wanted to see was the Saguaro National Park because the desert was in full bloom! Hummingbirds everywhere, radiant red and yellow flowers blooming on the cactus plants..it was a feast for the eyes. While it's a small park, this was a real treat for me to indulge in, and grateful my kids tolerated an extra couple of days to visit.

Once we left Tucson, it hit me just how far we were from home. So, we headed out early on our last morning in Arizona for the grandest desert of them all-Death Valley National Park. This is an absolutely HUGE park. It took a long time to get into the The Ranch at Death Valley where we would spend a night at. For the cost of the room, I was not impressed with the quality. I do realize a) California is expensive, and b) we were hundreds of miles from anywhere. We did get time at Badwater Basin, which was surreal. The drive took a lot out of us, and we ended up resting more than sightseeing in the park unfortunately. 

The last day we decided to just get home. That was 15 hours of driving! We left early enough to watch the sunrise, and got home close to midnight. In hindsight, I would have left off Death Valley to save for another time and spent more time in northern Arizona. It is truly one of my favorite places to be in all of the U.S.