A few months after Vernon died, his sister Vanessa booked airline tickets for her family to visit California. They planned for an entire year, and just two weeks ago, they came out for nine lovely days.  There were five in the Corbin clan: Vanessa, Paul, her sons, Aaron and Lewis, and Aaron’s girlfriend, Kayleigh.  They were thrown into the culture shock of driving (and parking) a massive Chevy Tahoe on the wrong-to-them side of the road with the chaos of wild freeway drivers speeding by on either side of the lane without ever indicating. One realizes how strange their own world when guests from another country are visiting.

The weather was fantastic, an early springtime. We did lots of shopping and sightseeing and eating out. Paul treated us all to a day at Disneyland. It was lots of fun. But the most significant day was when we went to Joshua Tree National Park on a day when my kids were in school. Vanessa wanted to see the place we’d scattered Vernon’s ashes.

It had been 15 months since we’d gone out as a group of friends to lay the ashes, and I hadn’t been back. I wasn’t sure I could find the exact spot, and even as Paul drove further and further into the park, I kept saying; “Keep driving, I don’t recognize it yet.” Then: “Wait, turn around, I think we passed it.”  And sure enough, we’d found the small group of boulders.  I could hardly believe it myself.

We only had an hour because we had to get back on the road before the traffic got bad, but I could tell everyone enjoyed the strange landscape. Disneyland was a mere preparation.  I took a photo of Vanessa in the inner sanctuary of the rock pile and saw this wonderful light behind her, the shape of a large lightening bolt. We all took a moment to recognize the spot, and I told them what had happened that day with our close friends and chaplain.

I wish we could have stayed longer. It’s a magical place, more so now than it was before. We dropped by the antique store in Yucca Valley. Every time I’ve gone to Joshua Tree, I’ve bought something there. This time, I bought an $8 wooden bracelet and told the ladies behind the counter about the significance of our visit. They were anglophiles and may have gotten more excited about Vanessa’s English accent, but we had a moment, and hugs were given. “This place is magical,” she said. “I could tell you stories to prove it over and over.”

Sometimes, you just need a witness.