Over the past week, we’ve had four visitors from Western Massachusetts with us here in Los Angeles. Sovahn, the son of our old friends Sonny and Emily Crawford, along with three of Sovahn’s friends: Nick, Devon, and Chris. The boys are all in their early 20s and we’d met Nick and Devon on previous trips when Sovahn visited LA and Ojai. Our family also visited Sonny, Emily, and Sovahn in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts three years back.

The boys had a full week of activities here in LA. Unfortunately, they came during one of our rainiest periods, but then again, they’re used to massive amounts of snow so they didn’t seem to care that much. They hiked to the Hollywood sign, went down to the Chinese Theater and the Walk of the Stars, stood out with the crowds as celebrities arrived for the Oscars, went mini-golfing and to the gym, spent lots of time at 3rd Street in Santa Monica and also at Venice Beach. They left this morning to visit the Natural History Museum, then were going to a spa where they could not only work out in the gym but also spend time in four different types of saunas. They also hoped to wind up their visit with Korean Barbecue in Koreatown before heading to the airport.

I don’t think we’ve ever had four boys visit us at one time. However, I’m pleased to say they were very respectful house guests. They bought their own groceries, washed dishes, kept the downstairs tv room fairly tidy, and kept us informed of their comings and goings. I did, however, have to run into the kitchen last night after smelling natural gas. Turns out the pilot light on our oven had gone out when they were trying to bake some chicken tenders.

They are headed back to Massachusetts tonight where there is lots of snow from a recent storm. We’ll see if they actually go or else return here if their flight is canceled. The last time we checked, their flight was still listed as “On Time.”

We wish them safe and happy travels.

Here are the boys before they left this morning.

Nick, Devon, Ben, and Sovahn