25.09. San Diego / Arrival Joshua Tree

Unfortunately, our time in San Diego comes to an end today. To make the most of our last day, we decided to drive around to some interesting spots in the city.

So we packed our backpacks again and set off at 10 AM. 

The decision to explore a bit more before heading to Joshua Tree Park turned out to be a great one. 

At the harbor, we discovered a huge aircraft carrier, which thrilled the boys, while Julia and Franci unsuccessfully searched for dolphins.

As we drove through Little Italy, we immersed ourselves in the colorful, lively streets with their inviting cafés and restaurants.

Next, we continued to Old Town San Diego, where we could experience the city's history up close. The well-preserved historical buildings and rustic boutiques transported us back in time. The market there invited us to stroll, as it was beautifully decorated in the style of Día de los Muertos.

With many unforgettable impressions in our luggage, we finally made our way to Joshua Tree Park. We quickly noticed that the temperatures were rising. 

Since we discovered an outlet on the way, we couldn't resist making a small stop there. What was planned as a short break quickly turned into an extended stay and shopping trip. 

Thank goodness all the stores were air-conditioned, as we had now surpassed the 40-degree mark. Moritz wasn't too enthusiastic about the spontaneous shopping trip at first, but eventually ended up with most of the items from the Nikestore. 

After three hours of extensive browsing and shopping, we headed to our next accommodation in the heart of Joshua Tree Park. The drive was already a small adventure: Suddenly, the paved road ended, and we drove over a rough mix of sand and clay. For ten minutes, we were shaken around while the car's suspension did its best until we finally reached our accommodation at sunset.

Before us lay a lovely little house, surrounded by the vast, sandy wilderness – no other person in sight for miles. The interior was lovingly designed and offered everything we needed for our stay.

As dusk was already setting in, we quickly unloaded our things. Moritz fired up the grill so we could have dinner promptly. Originally, we had planned to dine outside, but as it got darker, we felt a bit uneasy about the animals that were now becoming active. The thought of sharing our food with large black spiders led us to decide that we would rather eat indoors. So, we enjoyed our dinner in the cozy interior while the starry and pitch-black night fell around us.