Homeless and Unemployed

So that’s it. Done with LA and free as birds. Daniela accomplished her mission at Kaplan and has officially left the company after 12 years of dedicated service. We are both now completely homeless and unemployed. Never have I been so happy to say that!

We left LA this morning, the car loaded with all we have, and headed out on the freeways to Joshua Tree National Park.

I had been there before, stayed in a campsite there 12 years ago. I wanted to return as it’s the high desert and beautiful and hot and incredibly fragrant. When we were in London we lived near Kew Gardens. They have a large greenhouse there dedicated to Diana Princess of Wales. It houses all the plants from desert areas in the world. And when you walk in you smell that beautiful smell that you only get in extremely dry and hot regions. Joshua is that and so much more. All the tiny plants and cacti fighting for every hint of moisture. The sun scorched Daliesque rocks crumbled and broken down by the millennia of heat and wind (and very occasional rain). It’s a beautiful place. Silent, melancholy and lonesome.

After a wonderful drive through the park including a detour along a somewhat off-roady bit to test the abilities of the jalopy, we came back down to the land of the living. We are staying in a very basic but typical motel in Joshua Tree Town ( https://goo.gl/maps/MdA44c35sb32Sxbc6 ) It’s simple, reasonably cheap but most of all quiet. I like quiet. No constant sirens here. New York and LA were a constant barrage of noise which I had become accustomed to. But here. Now. Peace….