After our flight landed at John Wayne Airport, we drove into the desert. I admired the windmills, which I remembered seeing the last time I drove through California.
We made it to our rental, which was in a small town called 29 Palms, not far from Joshua Tree National Park.
The landscape was very different than what we were used to in New York City. It seemed like we were on another planet, but the grocery store had most of the same things we were used to.
The United States was a miraculous and horrible place, I thought, as I relaxed next to the pool.
The day seemed to last forever because we had gained three hours by flying west.
Eventually we went to local diner where the food was cheap and delicious. The menu had a lot of non-meat options, and somehow they had beer from all over the world. We asked the server how they did it, and she said it was delivered by aliens on UFOs, as depicted in the mural. Somehow it made sense.
I wondered what it would be like to live in the California desert.
This week I would have a chance to find out.
