Daytripping LA: the good, the bad, the ugly

We woke up Saturday morning and Big Dude asks, “What would you like to do today?”  I had a mind full of nothingness and no answers.  Because, no coffee yet.  A couple hours and coffees later, I said, “Hey, how 'bout we go to the Tar Pits?”  So I got online to check hours and pricing, and lo! and behold!  It was free museum day!  And I was all, “Awesome!  We can go to both the Tar Pits and LACMA!”  And Big Dude was all, “You get what you pay for.”  (note to self: He’s usually right.)

Despite Big Dude's practically prophetic insight, we hopped in the car, fired up the GPS -which estimated we were 50 minutes away – and set out.  And then we sat on the freeway for way more than an hour.  And then we got off at the requisite exit and sat in more traffic.  And then we finally arrived at Museum Row and discovered bumper to bumper congestion.  And full parking lots.  And food trucks as far as the eye could see.  And scads of pedestrians. And we circled for what felt like FOREVER before finally making it thru the line to pay our $12 to park for “free” museum day.  All, in a mere 2.5 hours after pulling out of our driveway.  Reminding me yet again why we NEVER EVER go to LA (except for that exception we made when my in-laws were visiting).  (note to self:  LA = traffic, crowds, and crappy parking. ALWAYS)

Getting stuck in the "Tar Pits is a terrible way to die -- but a great way to preserve fossils ..."
Oh yeah – see that line of people on the other side of the oily pond?  That line was sooooooooo loooooong, we decided we didn’t really need to go in the actual Tar Pit (Page) Museum.  We instead walked thru the outdoor exhibits and meandored our way over to LACMA.


On our way to LACMA, we passed under one of the newest infamous exhibits … the big rock, officially titled “Levitated Mass”.  This lovely rock cost the museum $70,000 to buy and $10Million to transport and install – you can read the [ridiculous, yet fascinating] story here, if you like.  Anywhooo, the astonishingly expensive “Levitated Mass” is apparently considered “art”, begging the question (from Kellers, at least): what exactly *is* art?  And this was a question we asked more than once, inside the art museum.  And not in a good way. 


Our LACMA visit to follow …