When I found out that a friend from Ottawa was going to be in Indian Wells (near Palm Springs) for a conference, I seriously considered going to visit her. Then I looked into the conference more – the Literacy Research Association (LRA) annual conference. My academic supervisor suggested that I could benefit from attending. Going involved a long drive, but I decided it was worth it. It was a chance to visit a friend, and also to be immersed in an academic space for a few days.

With access to a hotel room at the conference (I actually slept in my van and showered in the hotel – sleeping in the van meant I was much more comfortable and had my own space, so I wasn’t disturbing anyone). It worked out well, and I enjoyed the sessions that I attended. I also, especially, enjoying doing Virtually Connecting at the conference. It has been a long time since I’ve been the onsite person for Virtually Connecting. I had forgotten just how rewarding it can be.

After the conference, my friend and I escaped the resort in Indian Wells and drove up through Joshua Tree National Park before I delivered her to her hotel in Fullerton CA. It was awesome just spending a day with a friend showing her one of my favourite parts of California. We also took some fun pictures.

Taking off for a week, unexpectedly, at the end of the semester may not have been the best idea, but from a self-care perspective it is what I needed. I’m so glad I did it.

Here are some photos.

Julie and I with Joshua Trees in the background.

Selfie in the Cholla garden.

Cholla garden overlooking the Colorado desert.

Cholla garden.

Cholla close-up – notice the spikes and blooms

Julie and I in front of an Ocotillo plant

Ocotillo flowers – Julie had a sharp eye and spotted a blooming plant from the road. There were a lot of the plants but this is the only one that we saw flowers on.