Spring break!

So, I had entered into this spring break with a lot of trepidation - I planned it so long ago I couldn’t remember a lot of the reasons for things I had picked, and as always was going in completely blind to all of these places. Also, it was a full week of camping, and experiencing basically all four seasons: thirties at night in the mountains at the first leg of the trip, ending with near triple digits at the end. However, I can say without reservation that the entire trip was spectacular and every single thing we did was awesome. I’m beginning to think I have a future as a travel agent. 

We started the trip in Descanso, a small mountain town near San Diego, in a yurt campsite that we ended up having all to ourselves. We spent the day in the charming gold rush town of Julian and enjoyed apple pie and a gold mine visit. The nights were very cold and we soon discovered we’d need to lay down several sleeping bags on our blow up bed to not freeze. 

Then we headed down to the Anza Borrego state park to camp at Tamarisk Grove in a basic cabin (a bit how I picture our desert cabin turning out) and spend three days wandering the desert. The first day we went to Borrego Springs to view the many metal sculptures scattered around the desert. The next day we visited a slot canyon and then in the afternoon took a chance on a wild off-road adventure to find the Wind Caves. This was by far my favorite thing we did. It was just risky enough to be thrilling and the views and nature were truly incredible. I may have convinced the BF we need to one day camp in these wild areas even though there’s no bathroom.

Our final location was a hot springs RV resort in Desert Hot Springs. As I had hoped, we were able to swim in the warm pools under the stars each night after spending the days doing more desert wandering, which was truly magical. For this area we visited Bombay Beach next to the Salton Sea, Slab City, East Jesus, and Salvation Mountain, all on a theme of “desert town decay turned art installation”. The places were all utterly fascinating. It’s truly a shame the Salton Sea is on a rapid decline (read: drying up and toxic). If anyone wanted to invest in rejuvenating it, it would be amazing to have a land locked ocean right in our back yard. 

On our final day we decided to stop by the cabin and also check out another property for sale just for funsies. Serendipitously, a neighbor came by to make sure we weren’t messing with the place and I immediately introduced myself as her new neighbor and thanked her for being so vigilant. She owns one of the three cabins (the one that’s being fixed up) and a few other places nearby. She gave us the skinny on the area, and it turns out her BF is a contractor (the one who’s working on their cabin) and might be interested in taking on ours. She also knows other locals who do that sort of work and can be trusted. We exchanged numbers. What a valuable resource she will be! As far as the sale, the owner has started a “quiet title” process which should most likely mean we can close on the place in 8-10 weeks if all goes well. So, good movement there. It’s not like anything can happen out there until the fall, anyway.

So now we’re home and the boys have begun their penultimate week of home school. The BF just got his first shot at Dodger Stadium; I’m eligible in ten days. Everyone I’ve contacted about my event has enthusiastically said they are so in, if it can happen. I’ll be talking to the hotel and the sound guy and applying for that new SBA grant this week. It’s a time of a lot of expansion and change. I just need to hold on and see where it takes me.