I’m sitting in Water Canyon eating a spinach and walnut salad, sipping a jasmine tea, and sitting to some pretty good music being belted out by a songwriter passing through town (Corby Lanker?). Bella and Dawkins are hanging out with their friends at Denny’s for a post-promotion dance debrief over dessert and so, I get a brief moment of respite at a local cafe.<\/p>\n
I love this: chilling in a cafe by myself – although in a town as small as this, there is no such thing as “by myself.” I’ve already run into two long-time friends: finagled a trade for my weight machine with one, and said my good-bye’s to the other. It’s only now hitting home that I am going to be leaving the hi-desert in a few short weeks. I started to panic about having make to new friends – and then I realized that I already know some great people down by the beach: Chad’s sisters! Talk about ready-made friends.<\/p>\n
Last weekend I went a Korean bathhouse with my three future sisters-in-law: Lisa<\/a>, Corrina<\/a>, and Asia<\/a>.<\/p>\n It is important to make a distinction between a Korean bathhouse and an American-style spa; a Korean bathhouse is not about being pampered and indulged, but the utilitarian concept of getting clean, very clean – perhaps cleaner than you ever imagined you could be. Now, I have only been to a Korean bathhouse a half dozen times, but no matter the city, Sydney, Seoul, or LA, the experience is virtually the same – and deeply infused with Korean culture.<\/p>\n The Olympic Spa<\/a> in Koreatown is no different. Despite the (free) valet parking and all the beauty products lining the reception, it is a no-nonsense place. To use the spa facilities (all day if you like) only costs $15. The classic Korean scrub is an additional $30 and lasts for 20 minutes. A reservation is recommended, especially on the weekends. We had reservations for noon, so we arrived early to soak.<\/p>\n Once we paid, we were given a key chain with two keys and a number. To enter the spa, you must pass through a series of spaces, gradually shedding clothes and the grime of the outside world. Just past the reception desk we pushed passed thick, wooden double doors and entered a small vestibule with woven matting on the floor. There are small wooden numbered lockers lining two walls from floor to ceiling. These little locked cubby holes were for our shoes.<\/p>\n In bare feet, we padded into the main “dry” area. In front of us, robed women were lounging on a big leather sofa drinking barley tea or resting on a large heated marble-lined stage. We headed to the lockers to our far right. There was a clean towel and robe inside each locker. We stripped down to our birthday suits and donned our light cotton robes.<\/p>\n to be continued…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I’m sitting in Water Canyon eating a spinach and walnut salad, sipping a jasmine tea, and sitting to some pretty good music being belted out by a songwriter passing through town (Corby Lanker?). Bella and Dawkins are hanging out with … Continue reading