Our flight had been cancelled so we got rerouted to LAX, and rented a car on Thursday night to drive to Redlands to the hotel. On the way there we stopped off and check out a few of the sites, such as Rodeo Drive and the Hollywood Walk of Stars, but ultimately were pretty exhausted from the trip and went to the hotel.

Friday was dedicated completely to Coachella. I couldn't remember the back way to parking from last year, so we waited it out in traffic for a couple hours. It was surprising to see how busy it already was at 1pm on Friday. We got through security and in just to catch the last bit of Tokyo Police Clubs set and a little bit of the Comedians of Comedy. The order went Satellite Party, Tilly and the Wall, Of Montreal, Silvesun Pickups, Arctic Monkeys, Peaches, Jesus and Mary Chain, Busdriver, Peeping Tom, Interpol, Sonic Youth, El-P, and wrapping up with Bjork. Tired and unconditioned, we called it a night and headed home after a few Bjork songs.

Saturday we got up a little earlier and went to Joshua Tree National Park. There are quite a few pictures of our visit on my Flickr page. We ended up climbing a rock formation and kind of basking in the complete quiet and serenity of the desert. You can see for miles in all directions, and being from Ohio, the mountains all around is an amazing sight. There in the middle of the desert, with my best friend, I found complete peace and it was extremely sobering to realize just how small you are in the world when there is hardly anything for miles around you. Joshua Tree is an amazing place, and I highly recommend it to anyone. Its a complete 180 to New York City, or other places that you feel immersed in your surroundings, and just gives you an interesting clarity.

After that, we took our short cut to Coachella and caught the following line-up. Fountains of Wayne, Hot Chip, The New Pornographers, MSTRKRFT, The Nightwatchman, Peter Bjorn & John, Andrew Bird, !!!, the Arcade Fire, Blonde Redhead, Girl Talk, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Good, the Bad, and the Queen, The Black Keys, and the Rapture.

Sunday was Tape n' Tapes, Grizzly Bear, Explosions in the Sky, The Roots, CSS, Kaiser Chiefs, Willie Nelson, Placebo, Lily Allen, Ratatat, Teddybears, and Rage Against the Machine.

All together, a great trip. But something about the desert topped it all.