I was also fortunate to get in visits with my cousin Julia who was in town from the East Coast and my cousin Lisa, her husband Jim, and there 5-month old baby, Haley. I stayed with them for a couple of nights in Van Nuys. There was lots of action in a short period of time including a poker night, playing basketball for the first time in 6 months, and an art festival in South Pasadena with a group of Lisa and Jim's friends. The big thrill though was meeting Haley for the first time. It was great spending time with the Boyd's in "Family Land"!
I also got to spend some time my friend Beni who I've kept in touch with since we met in Panama. We had a great dinner in the Koreatown section of Los Angeles and also went mountain biking in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. Beni's got mad skills on the bike and always makes a huge effort to get together when I'm in town which is much appreciated.
Even with all the time spent with family and friends I still found a couple of interesting places to visit on a day trip. My brother tipped me off about an interesting place in Landers, CA called Integratron. Along with 40-50 other people I had a 30-minute sound bath at the Integratron. No idea what a sound bath is? Do a little reading on the Integratron or better yet take a ride out to Landers and experience it for yourself.
After the sound bath I did a short visit to nearby Joshua Tree National Park. The best time of year to visit Joshua Tree is in the spring with it's wildflowers in full bloom. I found the park to be beautiful this time of year despite the dryness and dust. I'd like to come back to this park again and see more of it. The second picture below is a Joshua Tree up close with many more across the landscape.
