Looking back at the long arc of saratreetravels (as we, and maybe occasionally our moms, often do), it’s clear that the deeper into adulthood we get, the more we must make the most of every opportunity to travel, no matter how brief. From nearly a year in South America to four months in Europe to one wild week-long blitz of Beijing, I am so grateful to have learned so much from so many different places on this planet, even if the lessons have gotten steadily more condensed. This was our rationale behind taking off to California with only five days allotted for travel, thanks to Sara’s residency schedule. Our destination: Joshua Tree National Park.
JT has always held a special place in our hearts, to the point that it even found its way into the name of this blog via an Irish rock band and my parents (Joshua Tree National Park -> U2’s Joshua Tree album 1987 -> Joshua Tree Luke, born 1988 -> Josh and Sara love to travel -> saratreetravels).
We realised just how integral Joshua Tree was to our lives when Josh needed to share his email address with a kindly professor climbing an adjacent rock mountain, who offered to take our picture and email it to us. Across the desert, Josh shouted, “joshua… okay, you’re not going to believe this but: tree… @gmail.com!”
Finally seeing it in person, I get it. It is truly a world apart. Its labyrinthine rock formations and desert vistas ignite the imagination. The sky is huge, even for a Manitoban. And, of course, the titular trees are wildly addictive to look at, growing in gnarled curves that seem to defy logic.
Cliche as it may seem, I do love listening to the U2 album, along with their desert-bred protégés the Killers, while meandering through Joshua Tree. Their music sums the place up perfectly: wide open space where dreams can run free, but indifferent to your survival.
(After all, while you may be running through the hills or climbing the highest mountain, the desert will go on with or without you. Okay, I’m done now.)
All rhapsodizing aside, it was a jam-packed five days well-spent. We also satisfied our inner wizard and witch by spending New Years Eve at Universal Studios’ Hogwarts, drinking butterbeer and watching the fireworks explode over the castle. It was as magical as it sounds.
Just over a year later, we found ourselves essentially planning the same trip, but with one key difference: this time there were 3 of us. The third was our wide-eyed, smiling, gurgling baby boy who had burst into our lives four months earlier.
I remember my mom often saying that one of the best things about having kids is the opportunity to share with them all the things that have shaped you. So, again with five days to spare, we set our sights on the desert!
Some things we learned about travelling with a baby:
- Four months is a fantastic age for travel. The initial shock of being a parent (for you) and existing (for them) has worn off, but they’re still immobile and not in need of solid food.
- Your baby is not a carry-on. You still have to let the airline know they’re coming and ‘buy’ them a ticket even though it’s free. (This resulted in some very long phone calls with Air Canada. Oops.)
- Vegas is only a couple hour drive from JT, and Friday night flights are super cheap. They’re also rowdy enough that no one will care if your baby cries. (Fortunately ours did not. He was, in the words of the extremely inebriated football team a few rows behind us, “just the best little sh*t” #parentgoals).
- If you stop to watch a game of blackjack in a Vegas casino, you will get escorted from the premises. Even if it was from a distance. Even if there’s a sign that says “Beginners, come learn to play!”. Even if the only underage person involved is 4 months old. (We still wonder if we would have been allowed to stay if we had stretched the truth a wee bit, say 18 years or so, when the dealer asked us how old he was.)
Once in California, we were very fortunate to meet up with my mom & co., which made the whole trip even more special. We spent the next few days wandering the rock formations, exploring the breathtaking canyon oasis at the nearby Cahuilla reservation, and re-visiting the Cholla garden, which is where the inspiration for our baby’s in-utero name came from the year previous.
Now, will Zan remember anything from his first travel experience? No. But I’d like to think that somewhere in his tiny developing psyche a spark of imagination was lit by the colours, smells, and sensations that were so completely foreign to him.
What happened shortly after we returned would make us all the more grateful we had taken advantage of those five days. But that is for another post.
saratreetravels 