They call this the (Spagh---) Getty Museum?

Ninjas attack the The J Paul Getty Museum?

Alex enjoys the Getty Museum Gardens.

Serene played in Getty Gardens.

Looking for art at the Getty Museum.

Riding my bunny at the Getty Gardens.

Serene runs around the fountain at the Getty Center.

Getty Fountain.

Serene the pirate and Alex ride the tram to the top of the Getty Center.

The J. Paul Getty Center cost $1.3 billion to build. Its art collection is literally priceless.  And, over 1.3 million people visit the center annually. The Getty management is, however, apparently not interested in any of those visitors being children who may one day grow up to become world-class artists or (better yet!) donors who will fund their museum for all eternity. If they did, they they might consider spending a few thousand more dollars to expand their "Family Zone" to something larger than my living room. The "Family Zone" is a small room, hidden well-beyond where any visitor would care to venture with grandparent-aged docents posted at the doors to holler if your kid wonders beyond the tiny corridor they've (finally) been allowed to explore. I understand its not a museum for kids...but, given that Getty has more money than God, my suggestion for their 'box', is to spend a few bucks more on the next generation.

In the meantime, Alex and Serene "awed" at the sculptures and were "wowed" by the paintings as I dared to bring the children into the galleries. Alex kept his hands in his pockets and Serene used her pirate telescope to search for the art. (She also wore an eye-patch and 'arghed' like a pirate all the way through each gallery!)

Mostly, they loved the gardens. Robert Irwin, the designer of its exquisite central garden, called it a "sculpture in the form of a garden." Children are allowed to run freely in there. And, shhh --- don't tell the Getty staff that Alex and his buddy scaled the walls like ninjas.

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. 

Blowing Kisses and Splashing Around

Have you ever stood on a busy street corner and blown kisses at the cars? Probably not. People would think you're crazy.

Have you ever jumped into a fountain at the entrance of a world famous museum and splashed about? Probably not. Security would escort you off the property.

A few weeks ago, my little son Alex and I stood in downtown Anchorage, Alaska on a busy weekday morning blowing kisses to cars racing by us. Some drivers ignored us, but many more smiled and I am pretty sure we almost caused an accident as one driver blew a kiss back. Some 10 days later, and 3700 miles south, in the City of Los Angeles, Alex jumped into a fountain at the Getty Museum. I jumped in to get him out. No one ignored us, a few people smiled and only Alex blew kisses.

At just 18-months, I can see my son is just like me. He wants to do everything and he can do it all by himself. For me, traveling everywhere with Alex means often having to do things his way. He will push his stroller when he wants to, he will choose when to sit in a high chair in a restaurant, and he will jump into fountains now and then. My mother will say, I need to start enforcing some rules. But, I like that Alex has brought out my own inner child that's been secretly buried since sometime in college. (What would have happened if I had jumped in the fountain then?) As a mom on the road with baby along for the ride, Alex gets strapped down in car seats for extended road trips and dragged through airports. He is forced to tolerate temperatures from 100 degrees to minus 30, and adjust to time zones stretching the globe. So, every now and then....you just gotta jump in, splash around and blow kisses to the crowd.