DAY 2: JOSHUA TREE CALIFORNIA TO BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA

The Joshua Trio wakes up with the sun at 6 in the morning. After a paltry breakfast, they start on the road to Los Angeles. A Burger King stop is made in Yucca Valley – where Jim fumbles to put in his contact lenses and Matt shaves off the mean beard he has grown over the past week. The road to Los Angeles starts out beautifully. The road drops off to the south, heading toward Palm Springs, California. The horizon is dominated by Mount Jacinto (over 11,000 feet high), and high winds are encountered in the valley, which is dotted with a constellation of huge, white windmills that spin giant, three-pronged, turbo-prop blades. The scenery soon changes as oak and grass chaparral gives way to the concrete moonscapes we call Los Angeles.

After traveling through the city, and getting on I-5 north, the trio arrives at Six flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, about 20 miles north of Los Angeles. The first roller coaster, called the Flashback, was a lesson in acceleration for all three travelers. Matt left with numb knuckles, Jim with a disoriented stumble, and Jae with a hysterical laugh. The Viper, skying 188 feet into the sky and reaching 70 mph, is first ridden by Matt and Jae, then ridden by a courageous Jim twice in a row. Jae claims that Jim could not stop yelling, “Nelly, I’m coming for you!” during the long trip to the top of the coaster track. The Batman, a roller coaster that lets your feet hang out, the Revolution, the colossus, the Pscyclone, and the Ninja are all ridden. At around 6 pm, the three leave the park with pleasant memories, pictures with Daffy Duck, and very discontent stomachs intent on seeking revenge on their masters. After driving an hour and a half to Bakersfield the exhausted group stays in an Econolodge hotel room after a satisfying dinner at Wendy’s.