DAYTRIPPING - Joshua Tree

Last Saturday we finally took a trip to Joshua Tree National Park in Riverside County. We drove there from my In-Laws home in the Imperial Valley and it took us about 2 hrs. We started in the Westgate entrance and drove through the whole park, following the main road. Along the way, there was lots to see.
Usually there is a $15 per car to enter the park. Lucky us, we went there during National park week and got to enter for free. But $15 are definitely worth it!
There are a bunch of hiking trails, but even if you aren't too much into hiking, there are many things to see that don't require a lot of walking (I still wouldn't recommend wearing heels or flip flops).
When you enter the park they give you a map and most of the "attractions" are clearly labeled and easy to find. Here is a map that helped me to plan the trip.
Dog are allowed in the park, but not on the trails. We brought our dog with us and we didn't know of that rule. You dogs can be up to 100ft from the main road. We hadn't planned on doing too much long hiking anyways, so it was ok. But if you can, it's definitely recommended to not bring your pooch.

DAY TRIPPING - Imperial Valley Desert Explorations

My husband is from a small town in the Imperial County, about 2 hours east of San Diego. Since the first time I visited there in the summer of 2011 (bad choice btw - never go there in the summer unless you want to literally melt), I started to really like the place. The desert is so different from where I grew up (green mountains all around me) and there's actually quiet a few things to check out around there.

On our most recent trip last weekend, we went to the California Mid-Winter Fair & Fiesta and before heading back to San Diego, we decided to drive a little bit further east and check out the tiny town of Felicity, also known as the Center of the World.

I don't quiet remember how I found out about Felicity (probably Pinterest or something), but seeing pictures of part of the original stair case from the Eiffel Tower and the pure fact that there IS an officially center of the world, made it worth being checked out. And since we were kind of close by, why not!?

Felicity is close to the border to Arizona, about 30 min west of Yuma. To read more about the town and why in the world is even exists and became the Center Of The World, check out the website .

On our way to Felicity, we passed by giant Sand Dunes. I just couldn't believe my eyes when I saw them, so I forced Manny to stop on our way back west and climb up those Dunes. (Which are apparently nothing impressive to a Desert boy). People rode quads on them!! Soo cool.

Anyhow, enjoy some pictures from our little Desert trip and 2 other Roadside Attractions in the Imperial Valley that we had visited a while ago.


California Mid-Winter Fair & Fiesta, Imperial, CA