Discovering the High Desert

As a part-time Floridian, I’m in love with the coastline, the ocean, tropical plants and birds. I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy an adventure into the California desert, but I did!

My daughter booked an Airbnb in Yucca Valley for a couple days’ visit to Joshua Tree National Park, and we got to hike and explore the “high desert,” something new to me. I found the Joshua Trees to be really funky, and the sandstone boulders fascinating too.

We could see the snowy peaks of the San Bernadino Mountains in the distance, while taking in the textures of the high desert terrain at our feet. Just a short time after sunrise, the sunshine was brilliant.

We were lucky that the temperatures were moderate for our May 20-21 visit, and that we stayed close to the national park, in order to get there for sunrise. Stay tuned to this blog for more photographs from this special national park, Joshua Tree.

The (Almost) Perfect Proposal in Point Loma

The stunning coastline in Point Loma, California would be an amazing setting for a marriage proposal. That was the plan. Engagement ring in his pocket, our future son-in-law was poised to pop the question to our daughter as we took a morning walk along the coast, admiring the cliffs and the surf. It was pretty special that he waited until we, her parents, could be there to share the joy of the moment. Only problem was that we innocently messed up the plan.

I was busy taking photos. Well, that’s what I do when you take me for a walk in a beautiful natural setting like this with my Sony camera around my neck. My husband was concerned the restaurant would give away our table, and turned around to wait for our table at the Little Lion Cafe. We didn’t know about the plan!

But not to worry, Cameron had a back-up plan, and before the sun set that day, our daughter Erin had a diamond ring on her finger and a smile as big as the sun in Southern California.

Point Loma near San Diego features some amazing cliffs along its Pacific coastline, seen here in the morning light, May 18, 2019.