The Travels of Dawn and John: The Great West Coast Road Trip: Day 9

Before heading out to the desert, we went to breakfast at M Cafe, and who walks in but Alkaline Trio! The whole band. I'm surprised that I didn't even bother them. No pictures to post. Sorry.

We finished up close to 10:30 am, and wanted to do a little shopping in Melrose, but nothing was open yet! Whaaat?!!! What kind of slackers live in L.A.?

We ended up going back to check out more guitar stores. We passed a lot of street art in L.A., and actually, it's pretty good!

Then we drove over to Hollywood Forever Cemetery. In the summer, the play an outdoor movies right in the cemetery, but unfortunately, we weren't going to be around on Friday when the last one played. What would be really cool to do is their Dia De Los Muertos event.

Driving around, we encountered a muster of peacocks just roaming around the grounds!

Oh hai

We visited Johnny Ramone...

...And Maila Nurmi, best known for her role as Vampira.

We walked around the grounds and saw the Hollywood sign in the distance. It was really beautiful there! Some stained glass from one of the mausoleums.

Grabbed lunch at none other than Veggie Grill. Yup, more buffalo wings. Then...Joshua Tree! We drove for about 2.5 hours and found ourselves in the middle of the desert. We started to get nervous that we were going to get stuck on the side of the road without cell service, and John actually filled the tank with $5/gallon gas at the first gas station he saw. The cost of peace of mind!

It turns out that our destination, Hickville Trailer Palace, wasn't so far from civilization, after all.

It was right next to the town of Yucca Valley. Hicksville Trailer Palace is this cool, secret spot. They don't give you their address. About 4 days before you arrive, you are emailed directions navigating from the town of Yucca Valley. You are given a strict time to check-in, and you're supposed to call 30 minutes prior to your arrival.

Once you get there, though, you understand the reason for the obstacles. It's a retro little oasis that would be spoiled with tourists popping in for a look. You pull up to a purple house/recording studio, and go in through the fenced yard to find a compound of vintage trailers, astro turf, a pool...

...a tee-pee with firepit inside

...a BB gun and archery range

...ping pong table (yes, her dress was really see-through in real life, not just because of the camera. She had to know everyone could see her thong. The guys didn't seem to mind at all! Also, these girls we've nicknamed the "taco girls" as I will explain in a bit).

a free jukebox, fire pits, a communal dining table, a rooftop hot tub, an outhouse, and a Photo Booth.

The most fun was checking out all the different themed trailers. Here's our trailer, the Fifi! It had a very Parisian feel to it, with a twist.

Sparkly gold vinyl!

Our boudoir

Yep, those are wig heads. Check out what they do:

View from our kitchen window

Hey

Here are some of the other trailers. Click on the link to see pictures of the inside.

The alien themed trailer called the "IntegraTrailer"

The punk/tiki/Cramps themed trailer, called "The Lux". We would have stayed here but it was booked up for a long time! I love the leopard carpet.

"The Pony" nestled into it's own horse stall

"The Sideshow", a carnival freak show themed caboose

"The Sweet", a 70s themed Airstream

"The New World" which is huge and can be an editing studio

"The Pioneer"

There are also a couple of little houses that you can rent. And don't forget about "Fort Dog"!

Hicksville is very dog friendly; they don't mind if your dog runs around on the grounds and sleeps in your trailer. But just in case you need a break, there is a little dog corral. Speaking of dogs, here's our little friend "Emmy." Although, I kept calling her Benji.

The place had a very cool vibe.

Bloody Mary hangover kit, sold in the vending machine

Not sure how one gets to be on the White Trash Wall of Fame

Since it was so small and secluded, the guests all got to know one another. Most people were there to get away from L.A., but we met one couple from the Alsace region of France. They were in a psychobilly band, and were the ones who stayed in "The Lux." Another British couple from Brixton (as in Guns of) was on their honeymoon.

People were sharing their alcohol and food. One of the girls in the picture playing ping pong was a caterer and made some awesome cheese and onion tacos, which she shared with us. Those girls were SO drunk, though. We had brought some food with us, but ended up ordering pizza delivery from Papa Johns. Yes, they do deliver to the desert! We mostly all sat out by the fire pit (taco girls presumably passed out in "The Sweet") listened to music, and watch the moon rise.