By: Samie

Travel Dates: November 23rd-29th, 2024

Day 2

(Coffee at Civil, Relaxing Morning, Drive to Joshua Tree, The Tiny Pony, Shopping, Airbnb)

We had a beautiful start to our morning for our first full day in California! We did set our alarms since we had stayed up late the night before, so we started to stir and get up for the day around 8:00am. We weren’t in any particular rush for the day, so we were able to take our time sipping coffee, chatting, having some TV on in the background before actually heading out to get our day started.

The first thing on our agenda was to get some groceries that Luke and I were going to take with us on our extra special adventure to…Joshua Tree! As mentioned in our previous LA post, we had flown in a couple days earlier than we had originally intended due to our change in flight plans. This meant that we had about 3 extra days to fill. We decided that we wanted to fill those days with a couple nights in Joshua Tree National Park!

We planned on eating at a popular spot for lunch but would eat in at our Airbnb for supper so that we could spend the evening using some of the special amenities our Airbnb offered. Alyssa and Evan’s apartment is a short walk away from a Ralph’s, so once we were all dressed and ready, we made the walk over. While we were there to get our groceries for our adventure, Alyssa wanted to pick up some items for the impending Thanksgiving dinner we would be having together in a few days. We found a good variety of cheeses calling our name, so we grabbed some crackers and meats to accompany them for a charcuterie board for the evening. We also picked up some snacks like chips and pretzels.

After getting our designated groceries, we made our way back to the apartment to drop them off before heading back out to grab some coffee from a nearby coffee place. Like being only a quick walk away from Ralph’s, Alyssa and Evan are even closer to The Shops at Sportsman’s Lodge, a beautiful and bustling outdoor shopping mall where Evan’s workplace, Erewhon, also happens to be located! We made the lovely walk to Civil Coffee. Alyssa and I both ordered The Figueroa, made with espresso, sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, and a Maria cookies! Luke decided to try a seasonal drink they had available, a Sweet Potato Pie Latte.

Something we got to learn upon our arrival is that when it rains in Los Angeles, snails come out, which is something we don’t get to experience back home in South Dakota. Although it was a pretty clear morning, it had rained the previous day when we arrived, so it was still wet enough that a few snails were still sliding about. We came across a lovely little snail friend outside of the apartment when we first stepped out, and it was still there when we returned. While this might seem like a small, insignificant things, if you weren’t aware, I’m a huge animal person, so any sort of sweet animal interaction gives me energy and excitement.

Fully prepared to make our journey, we soaked up a few more minutes of each other’s company, including the company of Alyssa and Evan’s pets, their dog Nova and cat Artie. However, as much as we enjoyed Alyssa’s company and comfort of their apartment, we had another adventure we were also looking forward to getting to, so it was time to be on our way. We hopped into our familiar, reminder of an old friend rental car and plugged in the coordinates for our intended lunch spot.

We had barely gotten on the road when I looked down and realized I didn’t have my crossbody bag. We had to made an immediate u-turn back to the apartment, where Alyssa met us out on the street to hand off my bag and also some baked chocolate chip banana bread she had made yesterday that she thought would make a good travel snack! Then we were back on the road! Before tearing into Alyssa’s banana bread, Luke had gotten his own breakfast during our time out and about and enjoyed getting to snack on that as we kicked off the drive through the Los Angeles palm trees, onto the wide paved interstates, and into foreign territory.

When researching what we wanted to hit up during our time in Joshua Tree, one of the eateries that had popped up in multiple blogs or videos was a place called The Tiny Pony Tavern, located in the incorporated town of Yucca Valley area. The Tiny Pony is a trendy bar that serves a wide variety of tasty and desert-themed bar snacks and foods, as well as a large span of beers on tap and tempting cocktails!

We would be arriving at a time where the lunch rush wouldn’t be to booming so that it would hopefully be easy enough to get a table. We knew it was a popular spot to eat, so we assumed it would be busy, but hopefully not overly busy was our goal! Sure enough, pushing open the door around 1:30 ended up being a great time arrive! There were still plenty of full tables, but we were also able to be seated right away at a small table close to the door. Luke took the both side, and I sat at the table side, facing the wall. I got to look at all the fun and unique desert artwork using a kind of fabric material that made them almost appear to glow!

We started by ordering some drinks because there’s something even more refreshing about a nice, cold, alcoholic beverage in the middle of a hot and dry desert. Luke went with one of his favorites, a Bloody Mary, and I went with one of my go-to drinks, a mimosa. For food, I went with a classic bar entree and ordered a 12 piece order of buffalo flavored “Pony Wings”. Luke went with an order of Loaded Yuca Fries, yuca fries smothered in house made queso, crispy bacon, and cilantro with jalapeño cilantro ranch or chipotle aioli.

It was a very tasty meal with great vibes. We can understand why it’s such a big hit with locals and travelers alike! We highly recommend a stop in if you are in the area!

After finishing our late lunch, we had just a small window of time to visit a couple of the local shops before their 5:00 closing time. During our research, we were surprised to discover that shopping of all kinds is a big hit in downtown Joshua Tree. Whether you are looking for vintage or new clothing, antiques, souvenirs, desert made or themed decorations, or any variety of local candy, drinks, alcohol, jewelry, or pottery, they had it all. If your style is boho, eclectic, or strait desert vibes, they were cultivated for every person of every taste! More on that later though.

For starters, The Tiny Pony is located directly next to, connected to a wine shop and market called Desierto Alto, where we were inclined to pick up a few different local alcoholic beverages and spritzers to sip on during our time out in the middle of the desert. Plus, anything we didn’t finish, we could bring with us to Thanksgiving in 4 days!

Then, we plugged in the coordinates to our Airbnb but happened to pass an intriguing and eclectic shop called Mojave Flea Trading Post along the way and had just enough time to stop in. It was filled with new and vintage items alike! It’s a curated mix of vintage clothing, accessories, furniture, decor, and statement pieces, as well as local artisans products like handcrafted jewelry, artwork, ceramics, and so on. There was so much to take in with such little time to do it.

I was able to find a sweatshirt that I really liked. They only had XL and XXL left, but I knew I would regret leaving it behind and decided I could make the XL work because who doesn’t love a good, cozy, oversized crew neck anyway. While all the vintage clothing was fun to look at, it was real vintage. Like, the kind of vintage that costs hundreds and hundreds of dollars. We weren’t quite that invested in it. We found some fun stickers and a cool citrine keychain for me because citrine is my modern birth stone. I also found a beautiful carved heart-shaped shone that glimmered when the sunlight hit it but was otherwise dark and unsuspecting, and I just couldn’t seem to walk away from it.

The cashier that checked us out was very nice. She chatted with us and gave us some suggestions about some other things we could do during our visit. Then, she included a little guide their store had created filled with eating and shopping recommendations that we absolutely planned to put to good use!

After that, it was time to start making our way to our Airbnb, our home for the next couple of days. We had specifically wanted a place that was out in the desert a little bit and away from big groups of civilization so that we could soak up the starry quiet the desert can truly offer when given the chance. We also wanted to be in a location that would make it easy to bounce around to all the places we had put on our list to visit during our short stay. This lead us to a lovely little place in Landers, a small unincorporated community in the High Desert region of the Mojave Desert.

Our Airbnb was called Luna Lookout, which is already the perfect start for us. Our longest-owned pet, our sweet Rat Terrier/Whippet mix is named Luna, so that was already a sign of its own. The amenities our Airbnb provided were also a big draw for us! Starting with the inside, there was no television provided, which was the first time we had booked an Airbnb without one as they are pretty much second nature in most homes at this point in time. However, we liked the idea of having to rely on nature or other resources to fill our time.

It was also very modern-looking which huge, almost portal looking windows to allow the desert sun to illuminate the space in an other-worldly light. It was one big space, so we also very much enjoyed the open concept of it. Lastly, for inside, there was a telescope and record player provided, and while we definitely made good use of the record player and provided albums, we weren’t ever able to figure out how to operate the telescope properly.

As for the outdoor amenities, there were somehow even more than what we were being provided with inside!

Right off the back of the building, there is an outdoor coach with a large, electric fireplace to sit out and enjoy the desert chill without being too chilly and uncomfortable yourself and also hopefully keep any curious wildlife at bay. Looking at the other side of the back of our abode, on the right side if you are facing it, there were two double glass doors. These doors actually opened up into the bathroom, specifically the shower, so that we actually had the option to shower with the doors open and enjoy a view of the vast desert while soaking up either the heat or cool of the shower water!

The last amenity that was tucked in directly to the main building was actually a deck, where two side by side outdoor bath tubs were set up! They were HUGE, and the plumping allowed to choose either hot or cold water to fill the tubs with. This meant they could either be an ice bath or a hot tub, depending on what mood we were in! There were beautiful string lights hung up around a privacy partition that illuminated us with a warm light but kept it more a secret for just us if anyone were to drive by.

There was one other area that was slightly set apart from our main building, the lookout tower! Our Airbnb had a separate outpost that provided the opportunity to enjoy a lofted lookout into the desert land and sky.

When you walk in, the lower level of the tower actually has some storage space and a washer and dryer available. Then there is a wooden ladder that leads up to the lofted area with some soft cushions and blankets, and an air conditioner/heating unit to control the temperature. It would make a great spot to soak up some afternoon sun or dusky moonlight and stars.

Outside the building, there is an outdoor shower with another privacy divider for an outdoor showering experience. There were also two large hanging basket chairs that were perfect positioned to enjoy some morning rays of the sunrise or the evening fingers reaching from the sunset. Both could be seen and felt from one side or the other of the suspended seat.

Finally, there were two hammocks even further from the main building that you could walk out to and take full advantage of relaxing in the warm desert sun.

The end of our very full evening making our way to Joshua Tree was relaxing as we settled into the almost immediate comfort of our Airbnb. We made up our charcuterie board to snack for supper. We turned on the fireplace and cuddled up in some blankets on the couch and simply enjoyed each other’s company with conversation and quality time together, things that often get overlooked in our fast-paced and busy world.

While there wasn’t a television, we were able to set up my personal iPad and pull up some Netflix and watch a few episodes of a travel show hosted by a comedian we enjoy. It wasn’t a late night for us because we would’ve been tired already from a full day of travel and trying new things. On top of that, we were planning to wake up just before sunrise in order to make the 30-minute drive into Joshua Tree National Park at sunrise. That is a story for next time though!