For me traveling with two kids is more than twice as difficult than traveling with one. When we went up to WA it seemed like someone was either hungry or tired every other hour (usually Mimi) or playing too rough and running around like crazy (E).
So while there were days on our trip that I crawled thankfully into bed at 9:30 pm, I did go out for a fun night while my mom watched the kids (thanks again, Mom!) It was one of the highlights of my trip.
It was an incredible night. I started the evening by going to a Korean spa. I love Korean spas and every time I'm in WA I try and make it a priority to go.
I've written about the Korean spa experience here, but basically it's a women-only spa where you relax by soaking in pools of different temperatures. As soon as you enter you take a shower to make sure you're all clean and then you soak in these deep hot tubs. Everyone's naked except for little shower caps.
After you've soaked for a hour or so, you can pay extra and get a body scrub where you lie on a massage table and a middle-aged Korean lady scrubs you all over with abrasive mitts. The dead skin just pills off and is sloshed down the drain. It's very relaxing and afterward my skin is incredibly soft. I love getting a scrub!
When I told my friends in Utah how eager I was to go to the spa and I explained about the body scrubs, I got some blank looks. Some of my friends said they couldn't imagine being naked in front of others like that. I'll admit that I still get a little nervous every time I first walk into the spa--there's that "Aagh! I'm naked!" moment--but I get over it in a millisecond. It's a very relaxed and supportive atmosphere--I feel less body-conscious there than I would at a beach.
Away, enough about semi-public nudity. After I left the spa with my silky-smooth skin I met my friend Carol for dinner at an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ place. I first met Carol on the study abroad trip that I went on in college (which was where N and I got to be good friends too) and I love catching up in person with her. (Here's a picture of all of us on our study abroad trip.)
After a delicious dinner, Carol generously treated me to a Chinese foot massage which was incredible! They massaged our feet, but also our shoulders, backs, legs, and arms. When it was over I felt like a limp noodle: a limp noodle with a full tummy and super smooth skin. I wish we had foot massage places like that here in Utah!
Going to the spa, catching up with a good friend over Korean BBQ, and getting a foot massage--a month later that evening still shimmers in my mind like a dream. Labels: friends, Korean
