stormy socal

I started the Great Van Remote Work experiment with zero service at my state park campsite. Luckily, my home for the week had wheels, so I set off in search of a signal. I ended up working for the day outside of a tiny casino!

I did not gamble but I did buy some really salty casino popcorn.

Swaddling le bebe as it continued to be FRIGID.

I was working on EST, so at 2ish local time I closed the laptop and switched to adventure mode. I had plans to camp at Joshua Tree, but realized I would arrive after dark. I decided to push on to Carlsbad.

It was a haul to Southern California, so when Google Maps said “want to save 5 minutes?” I said “suuure!” HA! Instead of taking a major highway, I snaked up a tiny mountain pass in my giant van, in the dark, with a steadily growing line of angry motorists flashing high beams and blaring their horns behind me. (The van was majestic, but she didn’t have the incredible pickup that my Pri Baby does on big inclines). I witnessed the immediate aftermath of a gruesome cliffside accident, which did not help the blood pressure. Finally, I started to descend… into a bank of STEPHEN KING LEVEL FOG! As soon it was safe, I pulled over to let the entire population of San Diego pass. I took some deep! cleansing! breaths! and eventually made it to the coast.

Nothing but sunshine and rainbows in the morning…

I was told it would be warm here?

I spent two nights at South Carlsbad State Beach Campground, which was a great lil spot right next to the ocean. I caught up with my industry buddy Ellen over ramen, reunited with two travel pals Katie and Jen over flatbread, and then tossed some donuts in there for luck. Carb-i-fornia, amiriteeee!

I had paid extra for a beachfront campsite, envisioning watching dreamy sunsets and warming my cold New England bones. The weather gods had other plans and treated me to a hailstorm and hurricane-force gales that had the van swaying like a ship all night.

As the weather started to turn Tuesday, my tire pressure indicator turned on. A picture: me, laying on the ground at an I5 rest stop, googling Toyota Ram Promaster PSIs, whilst being pelted by sheets of rain.

I was unsuccessful at turning off the indicator, got frustrated, and went to bed. I had three IRL meetings the next day that I couldn’t miss, and I was stressin out. In the sunny daylight of the morning, I tried again… success! Everything was perfect until I got on the highway two minutes later and the tire blew.

RATS!

Luckily, it happened right near a rest stop, so I just hung out while Boho Vans magically summoned a local shop to get the spare on. The best I can guess is that I ran over something sharp in the dark when I passed the cliff accident. All things considered, the flat happened at a good spot, Boho was awesome, and I was rolling within an hour or two.

She’s okay!

Even with my little detour, I still made it to 2 out of 3 of my meetings in LA. Afterwards, I snuck in a stop at one of my favorite bookstore/coffeeshops on planet earth: Stories. If vortexes are real, there is definitely a few beneath Stories. The vibe is impeccable, the baristas are super mean in a way I adore, and the place is overflowing with books. I soaked up my little LA moment, happy to be there after a few wonky years.

I met up with Chris’ friends Vee and Alex for tacos at Salazar, an after-times bucket list spot. They gave me all the pro tips on Joshua Tree, where I headed after dinner.

First peeks at Joshua Trees

The plan was to fly home Friday. But, the weather gods were also up to shenanigans on the East Coast. A blizzard in Boston caused my email to fill with warnings from Delta that started like “hey… wanna change ur flight?” and progressed over several days to “hey… ur flight doesn’t exist anymore.” So, I extended my van rental and was oh so bummed about it.

Oh noooo I’m stuck in this crappy beautiful van in the American west!

After working Thursday in a Walmart parking lot (#vanlife!!) I made my way into Joshua Tree National Park for the first time. I came in with some preconceived notions of JTree being a hellhole of LA influencers, and I wasn’t wrong, but DAMN it was beautiful there!

I drove through the park as the sun began to set, getting out wherever my little heart fancied. My favorite stops were a lil’ hike to Arch Rock and walking through the Cholla Cactus Garden, which was damn near the cutest patch of plants I’ve ever seen.

Scrambling with my revised plans, I headed back to my casino spot for one more day of parking lot remote work. Gifted with an extra day to play, I turned the van towards Prescott.


where: carlsbad, LA, and joshua tree, CA//ancestral lands of the kumeyaay and payomkawichum peoples
when: february, super cold, especially in joshua tree at night
how: arch rock trail, suitable for all skill levels!

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