Day 2 - What is a Joshua Tree?
We all have different ideas of what makes a fun day on vacation. I'm a believer that if I've spent good money to rent a new van, we should spend a little time driving around in it. Our 2005 Chevy Uplander is very nice . . . part SUV, part mini-van. I voted for a road trip.
Sandy thinks there's nothing better on vacation than seeing God's creation. She voted for Joshua Tree National Park, with the mountains, rocks, cactus, strange animals, and most of all, Joshua Trees.
Adam likes Pizza and arcades, so when he found out about Good Stuff Pizza, he insisted that we find it.
Anna rarely asks for anything, but swimming, nature, and climbing seem to make her happy.
Alex is happy anywhere he can find a McDonald's playplace.
Put that all together, and we came up with something to make everybody happy.
The kids rolled out of bed at 6:15 am, even though they had gone to bed very late Sunday night. I took a walk along the streets and sidewalks of our neighborhood while listening to Hank Hannegraaf's "The Prayer of Jesus." Good book, beautiful view of the mountains, and hardly any traffic was out. No bugs, no dogs. In fact, I saw the funniest sign while walking. It's apparently an ordinance, and this sign is posted in almost every yard in our neighborhood: "Pets seen unleashed or littering are subject to a $50 fine." I'm not sure how the dogs and cats read that sign, or how they pay the fine, but it must work, because I didn't see one stray dog or mess.
All we had for breakfast was oatmeal we brought from home and bananas from a late night grocery store run. Still, they didn't seem to mind. The pool opened at 8:00 am, and we were there by 8:30. It was already about 88 degrees (and would make it to at least 107 later in the day). The kids and Sandy swam for an hour, then they went to the lobby looking for things to do. I jumped out of the pool in time to go to the orientation session at 9:00 am for our resort. The Guest Services manager (Paul) was interesting, telling us about the resort in its heyday. Here's the brief version of his story.
In the sixties, the Trinidad lounge (which I sat outside of last night while blogging) was frequented by many Hollywood stars. He dropped names of Sammy Davis, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, and several others. It was apparently a favorite because the tourists didn't come to it so the stars wouldn't be bothered while they enjoyed a drink. I can't prove otherwise, but I find it pretty hard to believe. I'll walk through the bar some day while no one's drinking and take some pictures to let you see what it's like.
Anyway, most of what the owner said was a blur, because I was reading the Drudge Report and getting upset about the Supreme Court decisions. I don't think I've ever seen nine people more deceived into thinking that they are the masters of our society. We truly have become an oligarchy, and it is very frustrating to read of their decisions.
As a family, we decided to take a road trip that would consist of the following . . . Drive to La Quinta (a small town near here) for the pizza place, then drive to the Joshua Tree national park for a driving tour of the place. We ended up stopping at Yucca Valley on the way back for a quick supper at McDonald's. Then we got back to the resort at 7:00 p.m., just in time for another swim before bed. Here are a few pictures and comments:
Good Stuff Pizza is a local version of Chuck E. Cheese’s, with fewer games and better pizza. It’s quieter, smaller, and less expensive. The kids were excited and mom and dad were pleasantly surprised. A bonus . . . I picked up the wireless Internet from Remax Realty and chatted with Cheryl Ratzlaff a bit online, until I lost the signal. Here’s Adam and Anna shooting baskets.
Here is a Joshua Tree.
The plant is actually related to a fern and has a long name that you wouldn’t want to try to pronounce. The Mormons actually gave these trees their name, perceiving that the trees were Joshua welcoming them into their promised land. Yeah, I don’t really get it either, but that’s not the most confusing thing I’ve heard the Mormons say. We must have seen a hundred thousand of these trees of all sizes.
On the long drive to the National Park, I noticed a business that I had to take Sandy’s picture in front of. On the way back, we pulled in for a second and I snapped this shot.
We got a few snacks to eat within the park, as it takes at least two hours to drive through and see things. When the kids would whine a little bit, we’d pull off at a little picnic place and eat some chips. At the first place we stopped, we saw some desert wildlife . . . lizards, kangaroo rats, and an interesting bluebird. Adam was afraid we would see a rattlesnake, but it was too hot for that. However, the bluebird was almost like a pet.
We were strictly told not to feed the wildlife. But this bird helped himself to some of our chips. He really wasn’t scared of us at all. He pulled a Sunchip out of the bag, hopped away, and ate it while we watched.
After he was done eating and we were done, we loaded up the van to continue the driving tour. But first there was time for a quick picture.
We drove to a place called “Key View” (elevation 5500 ft.) and looked out over the mountains and valleys below. We were able to see for about 95 miles from up there. On the way walking down Sandy took this picture.
If you haven’t been able to see so far, there are so many cool rocks. We stopped at a little trail, which looped for 1 / 2 mile and was pretty easy. Anna and Alex especially liked climbing around on the rocks. Here’s Anna posing on a pretty small one.
The kids ended the day the way they started it . . . in the pool. It’s not a huge pool, but here’s Sandy and the boys in the hot tub.
Anna’s swimming here in the pool.
Both shots are taken from our front balcony, which tells you just how close we are to it.
I’m still thinking about Saddleback. Maybe I’ll get those thoughts up soon.
That's all for tonight. I somehow got connected to Internet from my room. Too bad I missed listening to music in the lounge!
Tomorrow: Day 3 – Boomers and family time
Sandy thinks there's nothing better on vacation than seeing God's creation. She voted for Joshua Tree National Park, with the mountains, rocks, cactus, strange animals, and most of all, Joshua Trees.
Adam likes Pizza and arcades, so when he found out about Good Stuff Pizza, he insisted that we find it.
Anna rarely asks for anything, but swimming, nature, and climbing seem to make her happy.
Alex is happy anywhere he can find a McDonald's playplace.
Put that all together, and we came up with something to make everybody happy.
The kids rolled out of bed at 6:15 am, even though they had gone to bed very late Sunday night. I took a walk along the streets and sidewalks of our neighborhood while listening to Hank Hannegraaf's "The Prayer of Jesus." Good book, beautiful view of the mountains, and hardly any traffic was out. No bugs, no dogs. In fact, I saw the funniest sign while walking. It's apparently an ordinance, and this sign is posted in almost every yard in our neighborhood: "Pets seen unleashed or littering are subject to a $50 fine." I'm not sure how the dogs and cats read that sign, or how they pay the fine, but it must work, because I didn't see one stray dog or mess.
All we had for breakfast was oatmeal we brought from home and bananas from a late night grocery store run. Still, they didn't seem to mind. The pool opened at 8:00 am, and we were there by 8:30. It was already about 88 degrees (and would make it to at least 107 later in the day). The kids and Sandy swam for an hour, then they went to the lobby looking for things to do. I jumped out of the pool in time to go to the orientation session at 9:00 am for our resort. The Guest Services manager (Paul) was interesting, telling us about the resort in its heyday. Here's the brief version of his story.
In the sixties, the Trinidad lounge (which I sat outside of last night while blogging) was frequented by many Hollywood stars. He dropped names of Sammy Davis, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne, and several others. It was apparently a favorite because the tourists didn't come to it so the stars wouldn't be bothered while they enjoyed a drink. I can't prove otherwise, but I find it pretty hard to believe. I'll walk through the bar some day while no one's drinking and take some pictures to let you see what it's like.
Anyway, most of what the owner said was a blur, because I was reading the Drudge Report and getting upset about the Supreme Court decisions. I don't think I've ever seen nine people more deceived into thinking that they are the masters of our society. We truly have become an oligarchy, and it is very frustrating to read of their decisions.
As a family, we decided to take a road trip that would consist of the following . . . Drive to La Quinta (a small town near here) for the pizza place, then drive to the Joshua Tree national park for a driving tour of the place. We ended up stopping at Yucca Valley on the way back for a quick supper at McDonald's. Then we got back to the resort at 7:00 p.m., just in time for another swim before bed. Here are a few pictures and comments:
Good Stuff Pizza is a local version of Chuck E. Cheese’s, with fewer games and better pizza. It’s quieter, smaller, and less expensive. The kids were excited and mom and dad were pleasantly surprised. A bonus . . . I picked up the wireless Internet from Remax Realty and chatted with Cheryl Ratzlaff a bit online, until I lost the signal. Here’s Adam and Anna shooting baskets.
Here is a Joshua Tree.
The plant is actually related to a fern and has a long name that you wouldn’t want to try to pronounce. The Mormons actually gave these trees their name, perceiving that the trees were Joshua welcoming them into their promised land. Yeah, I don’t really get it either, but that’s not the most confusing thing I’ve heard the Mormons say. We must have seen a hundred thousand of these trees of all sizes.
On the long drive to the National Park, I noticed a business that I had to take Sandy’s picture in front of. On the way back, we pulled in for a second and I snapped this shot.
We got a few snacks to eat within the park, as it takes at least two hours to drive through and see things. When the kids would whine a little bit, we’d pull off at a little picnic place and eat some chips. At the first place we stopped, we saw some desert wildlife . . . lizards, kangaroo rats, and an interesting bluebird. Adam was afraid we would see a rattlesnake, but it was too hot for that. However, the bluebird was almost like a pet.
We were strictly told not to feed the wildlife. But this bird helped himself to some of our chips. He really wasn’t scared of us at all. He pulled a Sunchip out of the bag, hopped away, and ate it while we watched.After he was done eating and we were done, we loaded up the van to continue the driving tour. But first there was time for a quick picture.
We drove to a place called “Key View” (elevation 5500 ft.) and looked out over the mountains and valleys below. We were able to see for about 95 miles from up there. On the way walking down Sandy took this picture.
If you haven’t been able to see so far, there are so many cool rocks. We stopped at a little trail, which looped for 1 / 2 mile and was pretty easy. Anna and Alex especially liked climbing around on the rocks. Here’s Anna posing on a pretty small one.
The kids ended the day the way they started it . . . in the pool. It’s not a huge pool, but here’s Sandy and the boys in the hot tub.
Anna’s swimming here in the pool.
Both shots are taken from our front balcony, which tells you just how close we are to it.
I’m still thinking about Saddleback. Maybe I’ll get those thoughts up soon.
That's all for tonight. I somehow got connected to Internet from my room. Too bad I missed listening to music in the lounge!
Tomorrow: Day 3 – Boomers and family time
posted by Central Christian College of the Bible at
11:20 PM
