SoCal { Adventure } Recap

700 miles on the rental car allowed for us to cover a lot of ground in five days. Here's my recap...

As I've probably mentioned many times before, I LOVE the desert - especially Palm Springs, Palm Desert and La Quinta. Each March, my aunt and uncle rent a condo in La Quinta for the entire month. Each year they invite family and friends to come stay a few nights throughout the month. Finally, after all this time, Steve and I took them up on this offer and stayed for two nights.

The walkway up to the condo in the Palm Royale Country Club


Les, Kathy, me and Steve
Joshua Tree - nearly 800,000 acres - we saw just a bit








Cholla Cactus

The Salton Sea - Located about 25 miles from Indio, it is actually a lake which occupies a desert basic known as the Salton Sink. It's 30% saltier than the ocean and covers 376 sq. miles making it the largest lake in California. Max. depth is 51 ft. The lake is a bit erie and we honestly had no clue what to expect. We were so intrigued, that we went to watch the sunset and then went back the following morning to explore some more. The towns along the lake are run down, mostly abandoned and mainly consist of trailer parks. Definitely not a lake you'd want to take a dip in to cool off during the 100+ degree summer days as the beaches are full of dead (stinky) fish.

We also headed west and stayed two nights with Brie, Massimo and puppy Mahoney at their new house in Claremont. This is a temporary move for them while Mass completes grad school at the Claremont Graduate University. We had never been to Claremont before so it was fun to check out this adorable college town and catch up with the Backus'. Tara and Jackson even made the drive up from Huntington to have dinner with us on Friday night. I'm in love with Jackson - his eyes, his smile, his chubby legs - he's so happy and Tara is such a wonderful mama.

Brie, Jackson, Tara and me




How cute is she??? If we ever get a little dog, I would want to get a Cavapoo (cross between the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and the Poodle) like Mahoney - so well mannered, so sweet, doesn't shed, the list goes on.


running full speed at the dog park


Family photo


Out for drinks at the Hip Kitty jazz bar after a delicious dinner at the Back Abbey

Venice Beach (my old stomping grounds) is always a necessary stop on any SoCal vacation for us. We met up with Christy and Avery at C&O for lunch and then met up with Lyndsy and her new man Brandon for some day drinking at the Whaler and Libray Ale House.

L&B walking down Main Street

And to wrap up the trip, Steve and I shot our friend Shawna and her fiance Tom's engagement photos in Pasadena. Check here for the entire post (soon), but for now, here is a sneak peek