We were able to sleep in a little late on day 2 then hit up some of the Los Angeles museums. I chose the museums that I thought my son would be most interested in visiting during our trip. The Petersen Automotive Museum and La Brea Tar Pits were at the top of the list. Since both are on Museum Row on the Miracle Mile, I decided to make a day of the area. We took the Metro Rapid 380 Bus which put us right in front of the Petersen. However, we decided to do the tar pits first which is on the opposite end of Museum Row, and work our way back.
POLO | JEANS | FANNY PACK | SNEAKERS
Although I decided to skip LACMA we did stop by the Urban Light exhibit to take photos on the way to the Tar Pits. I wish we could have seen it at night. It’s such a beautiful exhibit.
We also stopped by the Wende Museum Wall Project since it was also on the way to the Tar Pits.
The La Brea Tar Pits are a group of tar pits that’s seeped up from the ground in the Hancock Park area for tens of thousands of years. The tar preserved the bones of trapped animals over the centuries. Not only does the on site George C. Page Museum display the fossils found in the tar pits, it also has a dedicated lab to conduct research on the tar pits and specimens found. We were extremely excited to receive complimentary tickets to visit the museum. The tar pits themselves are free to visit.
We were able to see scientists at work in the lab along with many interesting exhibits. Including this Columbian Mammoth, which is the only species of mammoth found at Rancho La Brea. Most of the specimens were excavated from Tar Pit 9 in 1914. The museum isn’t very large but had tons of facts to read through for the inquisitive.
The tar pits themselves were interesting to look at and included many facts on the fences surrounding each pit. There were even some current excavations going on that we were able to take a peek at. Overall it was a pretty cool and unique experience.
After the tar pits we headed across the street to The Counter to build our own burgers for lunch.
Esean decided on an all natural beef burger on brioche with smoked gouda, grilled red onion, lettuce, tomato and mayo with a side of sweet potato fries.
I had a grilled mahi mahi burger on brioche with cheddar, grilled red onion, spring mix, tomato and chipotle aioli. I also had a side of sweet potato fries. Both of us thoroughly enjoyed our burgers. They were amazing!
Next we headed back to the opposite end of the LA Museum Row to spend the rest of the afternoon at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Esean was super excited to visit since he LOVES cars. So I was hyped to be able to receive complimentary tickets to the museum and The Vault. We arrived about 15 minutes before our tour of The Vault. So we browsed the Porsche Exhibit on the main level until it was time.
The Vault is a segment of the Petersen that you can only visit on a ticketed tour. It features 250 iconic and rare cars from around the world. Including head-of-state cars, award-winning hot rods and Hollywood legends. It’s the largest guided automotive tour in the US, covering over 120 years of automotive history. There is a 75 Minute Introductory Tour and a 120 Minute World Tour. We opted for the World Tour so that we could see everything, and it was awesome. Our tour guide was pretty awesome as well. She definitely knew her stuff. I wish I could share pics with you guys. But photography isn’t allowed in The Vault. You’ll have to visit for yourself!
After the tour we went to explore the rest of the museum and saw lots of other iconic cars including Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars…
The DeLorean from Back To The Future…
And the Winged Warrior Bat Mobile seen in Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). The Petersen was our favorite part of the day. We had so much fun!
After leaving LA Museum Row, we took a 15 minute walk over to the LA Original Farmers Market to have dinner.
SIMILAR BLOUSE
I decided on Red Snapper Tacos from Loteria Grill…
While Esean had a Cheese Steak from Papa Jake’s. Deelish once again.
After dinner we ventured next door to browse through The Grove outdoor mall, and find dessert.
We ended up choosing to have dessert at the famous Domique Ansel Bakery.
There were lots of goodies to choose from…
But in the end we chose ice cream sandwiches. I had the Sea Salt White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies and Salted Caramel Ice Cream. While Esean opted for the Chocolate Chip Cookies and Salted Caramel Ice Cream. Words can’t describe how good they were. And HUGE. We had to take some of the cookie back to the hotel with us to finish later.
After dessert we headed back to the hotel to chill for about a half hour. Then headed down the block to The Hollywood Guinness World Records Museum. I know you guys are probably thinking “isn’t it late?!” Yes, it was. 11:30 pm late. But the museum closed at 1 am. And it was the last day that we could use our complimentary tickets. So we went for it and it ended up being so much fun. Although the museum is a bit outdated, it was cool seeing some visualizations of some Guinness Records. Like this Sumo Wrestler.
And an entire room dedicated to Michael Jackson…
And sports. Where it was great to see a lot of record holders that look like us. And not for doing silly shit. Sorry, but who decides that they want to stick swords down their throat. What if it didn’t work out? Shrugs shoulders lol
I think this was our busiest day during our LA Trip. But as you can see we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Stay tuned to see what we did on Day 3 (after sleeping late of course), and make sure you check out Day 1 for more ideas on things to do when visiting LA.
