Petersen Automotive Museum

The Petersen Automotive Museum is really fun. And, I'm not interested in cars at all. You get to see the Batmobile, enjoy some of the favorite vehicles from classic Hollywood film stars, sit on a CHPs (California Highway Patrol) motorcycle and even learn about Hot Wheels. On its top floor, kids can play with handmade, handheld wooden derby cars.  I recommend it even for those non-car enthusiasts.

BUT - Do NOT go for the Cars the Movie (i.e. Lightning McQueen) Special Exhibit unless you want to see an otherwise great musuem at its worse. Alex has more of the toy pieces at home. A marketing gimmick to draw in children with naive parents' pocketbooks, the museum did a very poor job with its exhibit. Seriously...we have a better display at home. [Museum Curator Take Notice!  You should be fired for this one!]

Luckily, not officially on exhibit, some guest had parked his/her yellow with black-striped corvette in the museum parking lot, so we got to see BUMBLEBEE. (If you don't know Bumblee, just ask any six year old boy for all the details.)

Laguna Beach Thanksgiving Break

 

 

 

The tidepools at Laguna Beach in Southern California are within the State Marine Conservation Area. When the tides recedes, the rocky points become homes to little fish, crabs and other anemones. When much of the rest of the country prepared to go "over the snowy river and through the snowy woods to grandmother's house," we headed south and spent the day enjoying the sun, surf, sand and starfish along one of California's most beautiful beaches. 

A Spooky Trip Around the Block

Happy Halloween 2011!

 

Getty Center

BC (i.e. Before Children), I enjoyed many of the best art museums of the world. Visiting the Lourve and Musee d'Orsay in Paris, the Uffizi in Florence, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York,  Art Institute of Chicago and the National Gallery in Washington, DC, I reveled in getting lost, inspired and awed. Since Alex was born, touring inside the Getty, just a hop, skip & jump from my front door, might as well be 10,000 miles away. But its gardens are a great place for a play date.

The Getty Center sits atop the city of Los Angeles. It is known for its extraordinary views, gardens, architecture and is home to one of two locations of the J. Paul Getty Museum, home to one of the world's most impressive art collections. Alex has visited several times, but never made it inside the museum. He does like the tram ride that takes over a million visitors annually from the parking lot to the hill top. Its not quite Travel Town (see other blog posts), but one of these days, the Getty family will get it right and offer a longer train ride for the little guys and gals. And one of these days, we'll probably make it inside the museum to check out the art too, but I think I'll wait until baby sister Serene stops insisting on touching everything she sees with her sticky little fingers. The curator might frown on that. 

Harvest Time!

Its hard to avoid Underwood Family Farms in October. And, who'd even want to? Its wonderful fun all-year-round, but in October they really go all out. Alex and Serene snacked at the food tents, enjoyed a wagon ride, danced to some live music, ran through a pumpkin patch, got lost in a corn maze, plus all the usual stuff like pony rides, goat feeding, mining for minerals, train rides, bouncers and more. It's an ideal stop for any city kid to learn about farming in a fun, interactive way that allows them to play and pick their own food.

Brevard Zoo

 

At the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida kids can zipline atop the tapirs, impalas, lemurs, kookaburas and hundreds of other animals. The exhibits will introduce you to the wilds of Florida, Africa, South America and Australia.

Airboat Tours in Florida

 

 

If you want to see dozens of Florida alligators up close, then there is no better way than to speed through the everglades in an airboat. With the wind whipping through her hair, Serene dozed off on mommy's lap as our airboat captain skirted the top six inches of water racing pass gators galore.