La Brea actually means "tar" in Spanish. So not exactly sure why they named it this way since the boys kept repeating themselves! Anyhow, what a fascinating place! Who knew that there were fossils of woolly mammoths and saber tooth tigers and other animals buried in tar in the middle of the city of Los Angeles!!!
I know I am using a lot of exclamation marks here, but it is rather exciting! Long ago, when men were digging for oil back in 1915, they discovered all these bones. And obviously the city has grown around these still existing tar pits and the museum are still currently cleaning and trying to dig up these fossils. This pit below is a man-made one but phew, the smell of tar is definitely authentic!
There is an event called Summer Nights in the Garden that is hosted by the museum every other Friday in the summer. Well, actually I found out a couple of days later that this event is actually at the Natural History Museum, not the Tar Pit - which makes this story even better. You are probably wondering what... but just keep reading :-)
So anyway, our friends from school suggested we meet them at the museum at 5pm for the Summer Nights event. I decided that since we are going into the city, to actually visit the museum as we have never been there before. We parked along the street because the road where the parking lots is located was blocked off. We paid our meter which ended at 4pm and I sort of just assumed it was free after that. So off we went!
Pretty neat stuff in the museum! This exhibit actually said "Please Touch!":
As usual, Graham gravitates towards any sort of machinery:
We watched a 3D show and then also visited what they call the "fish bowl" where employees and/or volunteers sift through the dirt to find fossils or plants. Seems so painstaking!
One of the ladies that worked in there was nice enough to communicate with us through the glass - telling us what she was sifting through. She was so sweet!
We-fie with the woolly mammoth!!! Crazy to think these used to roam the Earth!
And here is the Saber-tooth tiger. Just look at those fangs!!!
This was really cool where the kids get to feel exactly what it's like to be stuck in tar. It was definitely pretty sticky and took quite a bit of effort!
Outside on the grounds of the museum, there are different sections. This one houses all the crates containing blocks of tar/fossil:
There were multiple sections fenced off that contain actual and natural tar pits:
You can still see the gas bubbles forming and popping out of the tar!
And then, there was this... which may just look like a clump of dirt and tar:
But in reality, there are 7 animals all buried together in the tar! From camel to wolf, to mammoth, saber-tooth tiger, lizard, bison, and also a horse. Crazy stuff!
Basically, one animal was trying to drink water but then got stuck in the tar and died. And then a predator (smelling the dead animal) tried to eat the dead animal but it got stuck in the tar. And then, another animal came along... you get the picture!
Well, after all that, it's time for an early dinner! We are actually right next to the Los Angeles Museum of Arts. There was a food truck and a band was also setting up on a stage. In the meantime, we are just sitting in the grass waiting for our food to be ready:
Is this considered art then??? It says "Like Man, I'm Tired of Waiting." Art is such a strange thing:
Got our food! Happy Charlie with a french fry:
During all this time, unbeknownst to us - our car was being towed!!! So remember I mentioned earlier that I though the meter was free after 4pm? Well, I was completely WRONG! The boys and I were pretty sure on the location where we parked our car, so when it went missing and there were no other cars along the street, I was pretty sure it had been towed away. Thankfully (if there is such a thing in this situation), I saw a tow truck that already had 2 cars in its tow. He gave me a card and told me to call the number on it. After grabbing a Lyft to the location 2.5 miles away, we were finally able to get our car back. But not after paying a hefty fee:
Gosh, we need to get into the towing business!!! $133 per hour - are you kidding me??! And oh, when we walked to the car, there was a parking ticket on the windshield. The days just keeps getting better. NOT!
So, needless to say, it was a SUPER expensive day at the museum! And it was even the wrong museum to begin with. The Summer Nights at the Garden was at the Natural History Museum. Ha!
Total tally for the day:
Natural History/Tar Pit museum membership: $119
Lunch: $20
Lyft ride: $14.50
Impound fee: $294
Parking ticket: $163
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TOTAL: $612.50 !!!! for only 2 hours at the museum!!!
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It's crazy to think when you try and save so much on DIY projects and then, BOOM! $471.50 bucks (minus membership and lunch) just went poof into thin air. Whhaaaaaa...!!!
Oh well, it is what it is. I told Bobby at the end of the day that 1) At least no one was injured and 2) The car still works with no additional damage to it! YAY Mommy!!! At least I got that going for me... for now. I am so glad both Graham and Charlie were not emotionally distressed with losing the car. I think they were just more sad about not being able to play with their friends that night.
More family adventures in LA to come! And fingers crossed, hopefully less expensive ones. Ps, Graham and Charlie really enjoyed the Tar Pits museum that they said it was worth getting the car towed. LOL!!!
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