We changed up our hiking terrain by spending spring break at Joshua Tree. With an SUV from LAX, we drove to Diamond Bar’s Chan Kee for congee and noodles, stocked up on groceries and mini taiyakis from H-Mart, then headed to the high desert. The town of Joshua Tree greeted us with dry winds and sandy gusts that challenged Melody’s contacts. Having missed the farmer’s market, we stopped for photos with Murtle the Turtle, a bracelet from the Rock Shop, a visit to the Art Queen’s Crochet Museum, and time-travel at the Beauty Bubble salon museum before checking into our Airbnb. Staying inside an Airstream camper was a highlight, as we experienced close-quarters living for the next 3 days. After cracking into our kalbi, banchan, japchae, and naengmyeon for dinner, we introduced Westley to Go Fish while listening to U2’s eponymous album before bedtime. On Sunday, we picked up a Junior Ranger booklet from the JTNP Visitor Center on the way to our ranger-led tour of Keys Ranch, where we learned about the resourcefulness and colorful tales of Bill Keys and early settlers. We munched on kimbap in Hidden Valley, stopped briefly by Skull Rock, headed to Pioneertown to dine at Pappy & Harriett’s, and returned to our camper to toast S’mores under the stars. We spent next morning exploring Noah Purifoy’s desert sculptures and piecing together a tragic tale at the Oasis Visitor Center, then retreated to the camper for more Korean food and a nap. We returned to the park in the afternoon to hike to Barker Dam and Arch Rock before a sunset kimbap dinner at the Cholla Cactus Garden. On Tuesday we made our leisurely way to San Gabriel Valley for lamb noodles, lamb soup, and lamb dumplings at Shaanxi Garden. We relaxed at our hotel’s pool and lounge prior to check in, then feasted on Peking duck from Ji Rong and mochis and pudding from Phoenix Dessert. Our HK-style breakfast at Delicious Food Corner kept us energized for next morning’s timed entry to the Huntington, where strolling through art exhibits, research library, and Chinese and Japanese gardens delayed lunch to late afternoon. We fell into food coma after Mr. Champion’s rice sticks and Ho Kee’s roast duck and wonton noodles, and awoke early on our last day for sweet and salty soy milk and fan tuan from Huge Tree Pastry for breakfast. After fancy dim sum at Sea Harbour, we stopped by Marina del Rey for rental bikes to catch the beachside breeze along the Marvin Braude Bike Trail before our flight home. We relaxed over the long weekend with my parents and hung out with in-laws for my niece’s birthday as we prepare to return to the grind next week. 

It has been a godsend to have my parents back in town, as Melody was gone for a conference last week and I was taking off for Vail Vitrectomy this week. I am no skier, but was grateful to be invited to one of the most pretigious and exclusive meetings in my field. With little time to plan the trip, I was relieved to find two friends to share a rental car for the 2-hour drive from Denver. We stopped at Idaho Springs for lunch, but opted for muffins and coffee over the hour-long wait at Beau Jo’s, before arriving at the Hythe in Vail. The meeting was small, which combined with the lifting of mask mandates, made for livelier discussions. On Sunday, I strolled past Lionshead Village for Indian food before returning for Susvimo training and my talk. I stayed in my hotel room the next day to get work done and binge on a Crime Scene series on the Cecil Hotel. I made instant noodles using the hotel room kettle for lunch, which saved me some cash to hit up Matsuhisa solo for their so-so omakase menu. Tuesday’s schedule was light, giving me time to go fat tire biking at the Vail Nordic Center. Biking in the snow was much more of a workout than I had anticipated. So I turned back before completing the 8-mile trail to fill on wood-fired bone marrow and short ribs at Mountain Standard back in town. We left the hotel at 4am for the return drive to the airport, which allowed me to catch an earlier flight back to join Westley’s school potluck and share night. After tonight, I’ll have just a couple of days to assemble Westley’s bookcase bed before we depart for spring break.

We showed some Westley love for his 6th birthday by waking him up to a copy of Spiderman: Miles Morales and leading him downstairs to our new PS5 system. After months of following forum threads and restock trackers, I finally scored a golden ticket invite from Sony for their popular console. The ray tracing and 4K graphics were a step up from the prior Spiderman installation, but Westley was more drawn to Astro’s Playroom – the included free 3D platformer that made creative use of the DualSense controller and lots of Sony branding. At his behest, we had his birthday brunch at My Burma with grandparents, although our homemade birthday cake did not achieve Chinese-bakery-level fluffiness. The following weekend, we watched his cousin Ellie’s orchestra performance at DHS, then broke out our binoculars and telezoom lens for birdwatching with the veterinary graduate group at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area. Back home, we solicited quotes for a backyard shade for sun-blocking and outdoor movies, and also learned the difference between window replacements and repairs from glass vendors. Our pet spider Aphider 2 reached his end of life and was replaced by a much younger Aphider 3. On TV, we watched drama unfold on the ice over doping scandals and teenage outbursts during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The Russian ice skating controversy was quickly overshadowed, however, by the country’s invasion of Ukraine, as the geopolitical and humanitarian crises sent shockwaves through the world economy. On President’s Day weekend, we learned about water conservation, solar systems, and snowflake crafting at the SMUD Museum of Science and Curiosity. We continued the theme at home by assembling a hydraulic robotic arm and erupting a volcano kit with coke and Mentos from among his birthday gifts. At work, I completed BMCDB & GGIP interviews and NEI grant reviews, but my stress levels surged when I was drawn into planning the NEI Director’s campus visit after my colleague suffered a last-minute medical issue. Fortunately, the event went smoothly, and I was able to restore my emotional state ahead of my upcoming travels.