10.04 - Day 86 - Palm Springs to Mission Viejo

Wednesday 10th April - Palm Springs - Mission Viejo, California (Day 86)

Being at higher altitude yesterday, we’d missed the heat of the day in Palm Springs, but today is forecast to be even warmer at 35 degrees. After cereal in the room at Delos Reyes (still in cups with no spoons) I coax everyone out for a short (but steep) walk behind the Art Museum, starting the climb up a rocky path up the side of the mountain looming over Palm Springs. 

The walk is made more exciting spotting a mountain goat standing proudly on a ledge overlooking the trail. It watches us cautiously as we pass it by before effortlessly scrambling along the jagged rocks to join the rest of the herd. We rest and snack under a rock offering shade with views across the flat valet and over to where we now know the Joshua Tree park to be and to Key’s Lookout that we visited yesterday. 

Back in the rooms there’s more coaxing, this time for schoolwork (last week of term). Once checked out the reward is ice-cream from Lapparts in Downtown before starting the drive back to Daniel and Maggie’s. 

We break the drive to stop at Memorial Park in Riverside, where it's 5 degrees cooler and shaded next to a playground alongside a duck-filled lake. The freeways get wider and also busier heading to Mission Viejo where the latter part of the sunny afternoon is spent in the pool and the kids enjoying once again playing with Annabelle and Juliette and their toys. It’s very comforting to come back to home life.