Grandma's Last Weekend: Observatory and Beach

We are busy making sure that Grandma's visit to Los Angeles ends with a bang, so we started off the day with Griffith Observatory. I know that the parking lot is small, but several spots were available when we arrived (10am) and when we left (around noon). We were excited to see the planetarium show, and kids under 5 are only allowed into the first show (10:45 today), which was about searching for water in our solar system. I would recommend the show, and I found out that this show is not generally crowded on weekends. I was looking forward to checking out the recently renovated museum--it was closed for renovations when we were here 5 years ago. Much of the astronomy exhibits upstairs was similar to what I remember from when I was here for graduate school, but the new exhibit downstairs, Depths of Space was spectacular. The kids loved seeing the models of the planets, looking through telescopes at a representative "night sky", and touching space rocks that fell to earth as meteors. Before leaving Griffith Park, we thought that it would be nice to have a picnic lunch, but it ended abruptly because the bees were just as hungry as we were.

Our next stop was the LA Fire Department Museum in Hollywood. It houses lots of old fire equipment on the bottom floor and a play area for kids on the top floor. The exhibits were really interesting, and the kids loved playing with the fire engines and fire station on the second floor (though the room contained fewer toys now than it did 5 years ago). However, Smokey the Bear was still there! In the afternoon, Dave and Grandma took the kids to La Pintoresca Park to play in the water.

(Dave here) - I have to comment on Joshua's 'victory' at Skip-Bo yesterday. Evidently he pulled the wool over Grandma's eyes successfully, because he only 'won' by cleverly selecting the three cards that he needed from the draw pile, which I saw but no one else noticed. I have mixed feelings about it, but it was funny.

On Sunday Dave decided that he wanted a family hike and a beach outing. We started off with a hike in Griffith Park in the park. We parked in the upper merry-go-round parking lot and picked a nice wide trail uphill trail. We went far enough to get a nice view of Los Angeles, but when the trail started to slope downhill, we decided that the kids had probably gone far enough. The Shane's Inspiration playground is closest to the lower merry-go-round parking lot, and it didn't seem horribly crowded when we drove by.

In the afternoon we went to Santa Monica to experience the beach. We parked in Santa Monica Place (an indoor shopping mall with free parking for 3 hours during the day) and walked to the beach (the pier parking was full, so I am glad that we didn't even try it). I insisted that we check out the Santa Monica Pier aquarium. It was very small, but the kids enjoyed the shark tank, the touch tank and the shark puppet craft. Then we headed out to the beach where the kids enjoyed swimming in the water for a while and playing in the sand. Joshua was disappointed that we didn't find another sand crab. Santa Monica doesn't have nearly as many shells as the Boca Chica beach, but Benjamin still managed to collect some. We enjoyed the cool ocean breeze for a while, but then left when the kids got too cold. On the way home, Grandma treated the kids to chocolate dipped ice cream cones at McDonalds. That evening, we said tearful goodbyes to Grandma, and Dave took her to the airport. In spite of tragedy of Grandma's departure, Laura was excited about starting camp on Monday!

1st Visit to the Natural History Museum

Since I have two kids that are really gung-ho about bugs, frogs, snakes and lizards, we couldn't miss Reptile and Amphibian Appreciation Day at the Natural History Museum. After 5 years I was looking forward to trekking back to Exposition Park and USC's neighborhood. On our way, we bought a bike for Laura that was advertised on craigslist, and Dave picked up the board game Life at a garage sale (I just hope we can minimize the extra stuff we collect and want to bring home!).

When we got in the museum, first we reserved a spot in the critter club program, which is for ages 3-5 so Benjamin can still participate. Next was the butterfly pavillion which my kids were eager to see. They missed going to see the Butterfly Show at Krohn in Cincinnati the past couple of years. After the butterflies, we went back inside and ended up in the Hall of Gems for a bit, partly because it is near the bathrooms. Laura found a computer with a touch screen that she could scream at when it didn't do what she wanted. We made a point of seeing the famous red diamond, but just seeing the magnitude of the gem collection was awe-inspiring.

Then we headed to the Discovery Center--the hands-on area for kids because Joshua had so much fun playing in it 5 years ago and because the insect zoo sounded pretty exciting. In honor of Reptile and Amphibian Appreciation Day, lots of live animals--lizards, snakes, frogs, toads, and turtles--were on display in the hallways leading to the Discovery Center. Eventually we found the insect zoo--I think the kids liked the giant millipede, but Laura was disappointed that we couldn't find any ladybugs. The Discovery Center also had a dinosaur dig and an actual dinosaur skeleton that wasn't quite complete--until Joshua came along to help.

Finally it was our turn to participate in the Critter Club. Benjamin and Laura enjoyed the story, the discussion of tadpoles turning into frogs and the live animal presentations, which even included a baby alligator! Joshua occupied himself with a selection of turtle and spider puppets. Then they each decorated a burrow for the animals to live. Then we decided that we had had enough of the museum (we will have to come back to see the dinosaur puppet show!) for the day. Though we had fun, I was disppointed that all the toys, games, and puzzles that the Discovery Center had 5 years ago were gone.

After a short rest at home, we rushed to the Glendale Library to catch some of the Annie Banannie's Balloon Storytelling Show. The kids enjoyed it, and Joshua even got to be a hero, with some kind of balloon weapon that saved the world from the evil jellybean monster (or something like that). During most of the show, Laura was yelling loudly "I want a kitty-cat", since Annie was making amazing balloon props for the stories she was telling. Laura was eager to run up on stage to get a balloon animal of her own, until Dave took her into the children's section.

When we got home, Benjamin and Laura were eager to try out their new bikes--we found a back street with minimal traffic where they could ride. We even got Joshua to join us. I just need to get at least one more helmet. For dinner, I persuaded Dave to try Sizzler Steak House which I remember going to fairly often as a kid. The dinner was somewhat enjoyable--Benjamin loved the dino-shaped chicken nuggets and Joshua ate the pizza. Laura wanted a sample of everything in front of her, and didn't want to sit in the high chair anymore. Of course her voice has only two volume levels: very loud (for her first request) and extra, extra loud (for when we didn't do exactly what her highness wanted). Ice cream was included, so the dinner was worthwhile from the kids' point of view.

Last Two Days of Tar Pits for Mommy and Laura

Yesterday, we said good-bye to Grandpa and then headed off to camp. Laura and I went to the Hollywood Bowl to try to buy tickets for Summersounds next week, but they were sold out for the days and times that we want. Then we went to the Farmer's Market and saw part of a performance of Twinkle Time (see http://www.twinkleandfriends.com/). I was glad that we found something for Laura to enjoy while the other two were at camp. After camp pick up, we went to a Pasadena Branch Library to see the very animated storyteller Jim Cogan. The kids got to participate in the story by following his motions and sound effects, though Benjamin and Laura got impatient towards the end.

Both Benjamin and Joshua seemed to learn something from their camps. Joshua learned a bit about the culture of people living during the ice age as well as the animals. The last day they saw the excavations at Pit 91 and Project 23 and showed me some homemade "tar". Benjamin did a museum scavenger hunt the last day, but on Thursday brought home a hidden picture worksheet that not only seemed easy for 1st-2nd graders, but also had nothing to do with the camp topic. He also said that they watched Tom and Jerry cartoons everyday (I didn't send him to camp to watch TV--they do plenty of that at home!).

Friday, while Joshua and Benjamin were at camp, I took Laura to the Zimmer Children's Museum (see photo) which was nearby. At camp pickup, Joshua had a bead necklace and a clay pot (learning about ice age people) as well as the homemade tar. After lunch, we went to the Glendale Library to play with their wooden trains and get the summer reading club prizes, which were a tatto, pencil and book. Joshua and Benjamin both chose a Pokemon handbook that they hadn't read yet (the same handbook). Laura picked out Diego and the Blue Morpho Butterfly.

Grandpa and the Fossils

Today I managed to drag Grandpa to see the La Brea tar pits and museum because I thought that he would really enjoy it. After we dropped the kids we wandered around Hancock park looking at the tar deposits and the pit 91 excavation (which fortunately was being checked on by some museum employees, so we were able to go in and see it). Then we went into the museum. We were impressed by the variety of fossils and animals discovered. By midmorning the museum was getting very crowded, probably because it was "Free Tuesday", which I didn't realize in advance. In spite of the crowds (getting there early was a good idea!), we leisurely explored the museum and then hung around Hancock Park until the boys were done with camp. That morning Laura was again unhappy about not being able to go to camp. After she woke up, she said several times to me, "I am as big as Joshua and Benjamin", followed by, "Can I go to camp today?".

Then Grandpa treated us to lunch at the Olive Garden in Glendale. That was fun because the kids behaved and enjoyed the food. Then we had a short time between lunch and getting ready to go to the Free Family Night at the Kidspace Museum in Pasadena. The kids loved the museum, and even though it was crowded, the kids were still able to enjoy many of the exhibits. We started off playing in the creek area with the waterfall at one end. Joshua loved the waterfall, Benjamin loved splashing around in the water and Laura did a great job of getting herself dirty. Joshua also tried out the climbing wall and managed to ring the bell at the top. Then we went indoors to play on the climbing structures and check out the bugs and related bug activities. Creating their own bugs was almost as exciting as watching the live bugs (nothing beats seeing live bugs!). Finally, we waited on line outside to ride tricycles. Joshua and Laura decided to go on a double tricycle. The only problem was that only the front seat had pedals and both Laura and Joshua wanted to sit there. The tricycles were fairly big, so I had doubts about whether or not Laura could even ride them. She refused to try her own bike, instead insisting on driving Joshua around. Joshua was so amused that he didn't mind sitting in the back. Surprisingly, she was able to pedal and maneuver the double bike with Joshua on the back. She had problems with staying on the biking track, so she ended up taking turns with Joshua (but then she didn't want to leave the bikes when her time was up and we were ready to leave).

Day at the Zoo

Sunday, July 5 we only ventured as far as the Los Angeles Zoo in Griffith Park. I was hoping to see the bird show which can be really fun. We rushed there first thing in the morning (10am) to beat the crowds and the heat. We saw the aviary, the South American and the Asian exhibits, and the zoo play area. Benjamin was excited to see some primates, especially the gibbons. I was disappointed to discover that the 11:30am bird show was canceled. The zoo play area had a few animals to climb on, but was otherwise an ordinary playground (a nice playground, but I don't need to drag my kids around the zoo to hang out at a playground).

The rest of the day included shopping and relaxing around the house. (The "peoples' house" according to Laura, since it isn't our house, and she doesn't know the name of the person we are renting from.) The shopping expedition was Grandpa getting presents for the kids, which they found very exciting because they rarely get such a treat. Benjamin picked out a large ball and a larger size Bakugan toy which we had been promising to get him for his birthday. Joshua got a pokeball which contains a small plush pokemon and Laura got a piggybank.

July 4 at the Science Museum

I really want to return to the Audubon Center at Debs Park, and I think that Dave's father will enjoy going there with us. So this morning we set out to find it. Though we found Debs Park, we didn't find the Audubon Center (I had expected a helpful sign or two). The kids ended up playing for a few minutes in a small playground in Debs park off Via Marisol before we gave up and went home.

After lunch we drove down to Orange County to check out the Discovery Science Center in Santa Anna. Unlike the San Pedro outing, most of the exhibits in the museum had changed since we visited 5 years ago. Though we had lots of fun, the toddler area was not very good. The kids only seemed interested in playing in a submarine with a little slide, which was fine with me until some kids started stuffing large foam blocks and other items inside. At that point, it seemed dangerous and I took my kids out. On the ground floor, the special robotics exhibit excited the kids. They made their own robot, which the museum called a "jitterbug". All this simple robot does is vibrate! If I buy a simple motor, the kids can try making their own at home.

Outside is a dinosaur exhibit. Five years ago, a dinosaur exhibit was located in the same area, but it was closed at the time we were there. The kids enjoyed investigating the dinosaurs, but we didn't pay extra to go on the "quest", which involved an electronic wand that interacted with some of the exhibits. Upstairs is the science of hockey exhibit, which had some neat activities for the kids to try. Joshua and Benjamin especially enjoyed the virtual volleyball game. Laura enjoyed the outdoors-themed exhibits, especially the fishing boat. Though we had fun at this museum, it seems like the California Science Center is bigger, more convenient, and has free admission (though the Discovery Science Center accepted our local science museum membership through the ASTC reciprocal membership agreement).

Joshua here---

The jitterbug dohicky, you get to make your own robot. Mommy how come they didn't let us keep it? Then when they are done with one jitterbug, will they make new jitterbugs (Mommy says, "yes, when a jitterbug breaks, they will make a new one").

The jitterbugs move. It had a small propeller. It also had two wires that connect the motor to the battery. We played fake volleyball, and I won everytime. It was on TV, but we actually hit the ball. The fake ball was on TV. We played in the dinosaur playground. We saw a fake brontosaurus. At the end of the brontosaurus' tail was a slide. The robot exhibit--I played a harp without string. I beat the robot making a tanagram puzzle.

There are lizards living in our backyard. I made a trap to catch one. I used water because lizards are cold blooded. Cold blooded animals use shade or water to cool down. I put my hat there to get shade. That reminds me, I should check on it.....

Deja View in San Pedro

The view at the Korean Friendship Bell in Angel's Gate Park was so awesome 5 years ago when we were here, that I was eager to show it to Dave this trip. During out first weekend, I dragged Dave down to San Pedro so we can enjoy the view and the beach and the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. I really liked this aquarium our last visit because it is so different from much more commercial aquariums, like the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific located in the next town. Besides being so much cheaper, it is less crowded, so it is more friendly to small children. Since Grandpa is visiting, Dave ran off to the car rental place to exchange his tiny commute-to-work rental car for a minivan that could fit all 6 of us.

We started out visit to San Pedro in Angel's Gate Park with the Marine Mammal Rescue Center. Though it is fairly small, the kids loved the close up view of the seals and elephant seals that were there today. Then we went to the Korean Friendship Bell (see photo) with a playground off to the side. Though the playground was small, the kids had fun for a bit. Suprisingly, both attractions, as well as the view, were exactly the same as I remembered them 5 years ago. Next time I will have to remember to bring a kite to fly in the park.

After Angels Gate Park, we drove to Cabrillo Beach and the Cabrillo Aquarium. Parking was fairly reasonable at $1/hr. First we had a picnic lunch. Then we went over to the aquarium. Though it isn't a fancy commercial aquarium, the price was right (free) and the exhibits looked well maintained. The kids loved looking through the microscopes and at tanks with jellyfish and huge sea stars, but some of the large fish tanks I remember from 5 years ago are gone. Finally we played on the beach for a while. Benjamin tried to build a sandcastle with a moat while Joshua was looking for treasures. He eventually found a piece of a crab claw and a piece of a bone which he believes is from a sea gull. Even though the water was cold and the air was chillier than in Eagle Rock, Laura managed to splash around in the water for a while.

First Children's Museum Visit

Today we started off by taking Benjamin to the dentist because he was complaining that his tooth hurt when he eats or drinks something cold. I was relieved to find out that it is just a permanent tooth coming in. After annoyed at waiting over an hour in the dentist's office we headed out to the Pasadena main library to get some Laurie Berkner CDs that I thought the kids would enjoy. Some of the songs were from Laura's music class (Bee Bop 'n Tots). Then we went to the westside for the first time this trip to play at the Zimmer Children's Museum in the Jewish Federation building. Though it has been 5 years since I have been to this museum, all the exhibits seemed very much the same.

-Joshua here- First we went to play a play at the theater. Then we went downstairs and found some other good stuff, like the building blocks. There was a water play table where I tried to make a complete path from one end to the other. There was a Woody that had 5 buttons: two black, two white and one was red. The two black controlled his arms, the white controlled his legs and the red made him jump. You can do two buttons at a time as long as one of the button is not red. Oh yeah I went in the ambulence and also the airplane (see photo). I see the page is getting full here.

Mommy is back. Laura loved the toddler soft play area even though she was too big, and of course she loved the cafe which had lots of matzoh on the menu. [Joshua: When can you get back to my game. Moooommmmy. (ha ha ha)] We couldn't get Benjamin out of the ambulance or airplane. The dress up area with stage was a hit with the boys and Laura took charge of the ticket booth.

When we got back, the kids were excited to see that Grandpa had arrived. (Joshua: Getting bored of this activity, "bbbbbbbb bbbbbbb bbbbbb") Fortunately, Grandpa was not too tired after his long drive to play a cutthroat game of chess with Benjamin.

Adjusting to Los Angeles

This blog is meant to be a journal of our summer (8 whole weeks) in Los Angeles (population 3.7 million). Actually Dave spends the weekdays working while I drag the kids all over the city to give them cultural experiences that they can't get elsewhere, especially in a place like Binghamton NY ( population 47,000). I will try to include some details about how worthwhile and/or fun our visits to various playgrounds and museums are. I also am trying to include some contributions from my kids' point of view, but that is much easier said than done.

The last day of school for the kids was June 23, and then we spent the rest of the week frantically cleaning and packing. The big question is, can we survive the summer on no more than 50 pounds of stuff in a big suitcase and 40 pounds in a smaller suitcase (including weight of suitcase) plus whatever else we put in a few smaller backpacks. The kids have already stuffed their most important treasures in Joshua's wheeled backpack (i.e. Bakugan toys, Joshua's Pokemon coins, as many Webkinz as they can fit, and Benjamin's garbage truck which won't end up coming because it is just too big). Benjamin is also trying to figure out how he can bring his bicycle.

All this harried preparation ended around 2pm on Friday June 26 when we locked up our house in Binghamton and left for NJ. We ate dinner at Dave's mother's house joined by my parents, Jodi, Sammy, Milo and Maddison. The kids loved playing together--Sammy especially enjoyed entertaining Laura. Saturday morning, we woke up, packed another 10 pounds of supplies (i.e. food) so that the kids will survive the plane trip and headed to the airport. Our plane flight was uneventful, but we had lots of opportunity to check out the airplane restrooms as Laura insisted she had to go every 10 minutes. Since we changed planes in Chicago, our first flight was relatively short, and Laura slept most of the second flight so Dave and I got a break from the aiplane bathrooms for a while. Joshua and Benjamin loved playing with the earphones on the second flight.

We arrived in LA, rented a car and headed to the house which we had rented sight unseen and in which we would live to the next 8 weeks whether we liked it or not. The house is a 3 bedroom ranch with a nice size backyard (especially for LA). I like the patio/courtyard area which has a decent amount of shade.

Sunday, we woke up, had breakfast and headed to the grocery store to stock up on food. Since we were still on east coast time, that gave us plenty of time to rest a bit before heading out to the LA Live Steamers train ride at 11am, which is the most awesome train ride I have ever seen. The kids loved the train ride. Then we headed back to the "people's house", as Laura calls it, for lunch. In the afternoon we found our way to the main Glendale Library to stock up on reading material for everyone and sign up for the summer reading club. In the library Laura loudly demanded "More Berenstein Bears books" and Benjamin found a cool dinosaur book he liked. On our way back to the house, we stopped at Ralphs for groceries we forgot this morning and the kids were thrilled to get helium balloons, lollipops and cookies.

Monday morning we had trouble getting out because Laura's balloon didn't stay up in the air anymore and then Benjamin popped it. After dropping Dave at the car rental place, we finally started serious sightseeing and Laura calmed down about the major balloon tragedy. Our first stop was at the Madrid Theater in Canoga Park to see a performance of the Rock Theater group. Laura tried to follow along with the dancing from her seat. Then she fell asleep in the car on the way back, so we went straight back to the house to give her a good nap. In the afternoon we checked out the Linda Vista branch library in the Pasadena system to see a performance titled "A Bee, A Bat and Boink"). The highlight for Joshua and Benjamin was getting to participate in the final skit (a version of the 3 Little Pigs--J&B built the straw house). Though the library was small, the neighborhood was beautiful and scenic.

Tuesday we spent the morning at the Los Angeles Zoo. Joshua complained he was bored, but the rest of us enjoyed petting the goats and seeing gorillas, desert animals (mostly reptiles), and some other assorted creatures.

Wednesday, our first stop was Travel Town. Joshua was bored again, though he pretended to enjoy the train ride and climbing on the engines for my benefit, I'm sure. Benjamin and Laura were thrilled by all the big engines and they spent some time playing on the tracks. Before leaving, we took a ride on the Travel Town train. The kids wanted a water play area, so we checked out Cerritos Park (see bottom photo) in Glendale. It is a very small park, but the kids enjoyed it anyway. The waterplay area has several spots with water spraying out of the ground and what the kids called a "water piano". This water piano had water spout on each of the keys, but it kept playing the same note over and over again, so I suspect it wasn't working correctly. The highlight of the water area, especially for Joshua, is a tower in the center with buckets that keep filling with water and then spill out "sploooshing" whoever is standing underneath. I liked this playground because it is compact--I can watch kids in the wet area and the regular playground at the same time.

In the evening we saw Aaron Nigel Smith and the FUNdamentals Band at the Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena, which is an outdoor amphitheater. The kids loved dancing and moving to the music which included everything from "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" to animal imitations. As we were leaving, we paused for a moment in the park's playground which includes a train themed play area.