Favorite place to eat in SoCal: Villa’s Tacos. Not only do they make the best tacos—they have these nopales ones that I love—but the vibe there is always so amazing. You turn up and the music's pumping and the energy is so good. And there's so much love fed into every single taco that you get. I think that's an incredible energy to keep serving.

As you head out of LA, stop off at the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College, host to PST ART exhibit Open Sky, which—in keeping with the road trip’s exploratory theme—asks visitors to consider our place in the universe via the mediums of light and space. James Turrell’s Dividing the Light, also at Pomona, serves as inspiration for the artists’ creations.

A little farther down the road, is another PST ART exhibition, Digital Capture: Southern California and the Pixel-Based Image World at UCR Riverside, a study of the history of digital imaging. Over 40 artists are involved, including a new AI installation by Refik Anadol.

Next up is Joshua Tree National Park, a wonderful place to shift your perspective with its famous, Dr. Seuss-like Joshua trees and incredible rock formations. Wales likes it because “it's just so different from any kind of environment that I grew up in,” she says, “coming from England where it's so green all the time. There's parts of it that I understand and there's a lot that I just don't get, you know?"

Twenty miles north of Joshua Tree is the Integratron, a unique structure with impressive acoustic abilities and a quirky background, including design that may have been influenced by extraterrestrial telepathy. In 2019, it won a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. “I haven’t been, but I’d very much like to go,” says Wales. “Apparently the acoustics in there are incredible.” Make a reservation in advance for the Integratron’s signature sound bath.

Afterwards, refuel at beloved La Copine where meals are comforting and a little bit fancy, from beignets to steak sandwiches to spicy melon gazpacho. “La Copine is delightful,” says Wales. They operate on a limited schedule (smart given the desert heat) so check their website before you go.

“There's loads of brilliant vintage places all through 29 Palms and [the town of] Joshua Tree,” encourages Wales. “They're all great to stop at but The End, owned by Kimi Buzzelli is my favorite.”

Around dinnertime, Pappy and Harriet’s Pioneertown Palace is the place to be. Located in Pioneertown, a town originally built in 1946 to be a movie set for Westerns, Pappy and Harriet’s is big on rustic charm, tasty BBQ, and top-notch live music. “Pappy and Harriet's is brilliant,” says Wales. “There's always good music; I saw the Violent Femmes there a little while ago. The food is great and it's just another example of entering into a completely different culture. So that's always good.”

For a luxurious place to rest your head, book a room at Parker Palm Springs. “The Parker is pretty amazing,” says Wales. “It’s all Jonathan Adler [interiors], so it's very fabulous. The first time we stayed there, we got this incredible deal and that was because we were stupid English people who didn't realize that Palm Springs was not hot all year,” she laughs. “We tried to go through Joshua Tree with two small children in summer dresses in the middle of winter. It was an utter disaster.”

While you’re in Palm Springs, visit PST ART exhibit Particles & Waves: Southern California Abstraction and Science, 1945-1990 at the Palm Springs Museum of Art. The show explores the effect physics has had on abstract art during those years, and includes artists such as Man Ray, Lee Mullican, The West Coast Minimalists, and Light and Space artists like Mary Corse and James Turrell.