This story really starts last summer. You see, we were supposed to be in Portugal now. My bestest girlfriend lives in Germany, with her Army Captain husband and two kids. Last summer we hatched a plan – a Covid plan- Nathan and I would fly to somewhere cool in Europe and she and her little family would join us for Memorial Day weekend 2022. We decided that Portugal would be that cool place. When push came to shove, after tickets were bought and plans started to hatch, her little family was due to grow by one, and we had been propositioned to do something else in Europe in July 2022. So we scrapped our Portugal plans and rebooked for later in the year. A different European adventure that was also, not going to work out as planned.
And it all worked out in the end. Because by the time we got Nathan’s nephew Max’s wedding invitation for Memorial Day weekend in Joshua Tree, we had decidedly NO Memorial Day weekend plans. So we booked flights, Airbnb, rental car, and away we were.
We left Longmont at 4 pm on Friday. Drove to DIA, parked, donned our masks, and settled in for our journey to Joshua Tree via Palm Springs. The journey was for the most part uneventful, aside from the older, disgruntled gentleman sitting on the aisle next to Nathan. He was upset by any number of things. No free headphones – sucks. No pretzels!? – Sucks. We got to Palm Springs, or at least we were soooo close, when over the PA they were asking for a doctor or a medical professional or someone who speaks Spanish. Crap. We landed, met by paramedics and fire personnel, and stayed firmly glued to our seats while they wheeled the patient off the aircraft. I’m sure the fellow next to Nathan had some choice words about the whole ordeal. (Sucks!)
We disembarked, collected our bags, and picked up our rental car – Hello Silver Nissan Sentra! I had sent Google Maps directions to our phones, so we left the airport, drove towards Joshua Tree, stopped at a local Von’s for groceries, and arrived at our Airbnb a little after 10:30 pm. That’s 11:30 pm Colorado time and WAY after my bedtime. We quickly settled in, put away our groceries, picked out our room, and fell asleep. Tomorrow is a big day.
Saturday came too quickly, and by 5:30 am we were both up. That’s 5:30 California time. We showered, made coffee, fixed our breakfast, and made some sandwiches. I logged on to the National Park Service website and paid for our park entrance, and we set off in our trusty Nissan Sentra to explore Joshua Tree National Park.
We decided to stop off at any ‘Exhibit Ahead’ sign to explore. At 7 am, the promise of a hot day was on the horizon, but short desert hikes were possible. We explored the park until noon, ate our picnic, and drove back to our little house in Joshua Tree.
Nathan dropped me off and headed to a nearby pizza restaurant where his siblings were gathered. I washed my filthy, dusty feet and laid down for a nap.
Being that I’m full growed up now, and naps are hard, I was up by 1:30 or so and decided I would walk to the local LQ for some adult beverages. Dennis, Melody, Deb & Phil arrived as I was leaving, so I gave them the grand tour, and set off to Mike’s Liquor Store on foot.
Selections were made, and I carried my purchases back to the house. We all gathered in the backyard and visited under the shade awning. Before too long, Deb and Phil had to get ready for the rehearsal dinner and we had to drive to Pappy and Harriet’s for dinner with Donna, Josh, Dennis, Melody, Veronica, John, Damian, and Ellen.
