Petersen car museum in Los Angeles Review!

 

The Petersen car museum in Los Angeles, California is a fantastic stop for anyone who is a big fan of movie cars or older cars in general. We stopped by while we were in Los Angeles & we had a fantastic time viewing all of the cars they have on display. The museum is three stories tall, and they have an underground vault with even more cars. The vault cost extra & isn't something we did on this trip so I will just be sharing cars from the main three floors.  Tickets are $21 per adult, $13 for youth ages 12-17 and $11 for children ages 4-11. They are located a short walk from the La Brea Tar Pits so if you plan on visiting both locations I recommend paying to park at La Brea then walking over to the car museum like we did. Along the walk we also found a neat art exhibit that we took some photos in. 

Something to know a head of time, they do not allow purses or backpacks into the museum. You will need to stop by the security office & leave your bags there while you explore. Thankfully there was no one in line for checking bags so it only took us a few minutes to do. They recommend you start on the third floor & work your way down, and the way they have everything set up it makes it very convenient doing it that way.  

They had some pretty great set ups along the way for a number of the cars, some of the cars had the movie or show scenes playing in the background that they were featured in. Others has photos of the cast in front of the cars such as the Mystery Machine. Along with cars they also had a number of motorcycles on display. I didn't see my personal favorite TV show car, but who knows, it could have been in the vault. 

On the second floor there was an interactive play area for small kids, which is perfect for parents & it will help keep the kids happier during their visit. The entire museum was well lit & we enjoyed how much information and videos they had playing through out that show cased some of the cars and the history behind them as well. Not only did we see a lot of fun movie cars, but there were a lot of really funky car designs I had never seen before so they were awesome to see and know existed. One of the funky cars we spotted is the green car shown below.

For all of you who love Teslas, they have a whole Tesla exhibit on display including one of the new Tesla cyber trucks. They have a large gift shop that has everything from magnets to toys and car brand merchandise like Porsche shirts. If you get hungry, they have a restaurant on site, it smelled pretty good but there was a wait to get in & there was another spot we wanted to visit for lunch, so we didn't try it out.

If you are planning a trip to southern California & are looking for other activities to do feel free to type in "Things to do in California" in the search bar of my blog so you can find some other great activities in California. This was not a sponsored review, we paid to get into the museum ourselves. I enjoy being able to share spots like this with my readers who may not be able to visit in person but are still interested in learning more about these spots, or for anyone planning vacations in the area. 

🌵 Also If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" (Click or locate it on the right-hand side of my page) section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more. 

Los Angeles Zoo Trip!

 

I've always loved animals since I was small, so it is always exciting getting the chance to visit a new zoo, farm or animal sanctuary & it is something my family loves doing as well. We recently went on vacation to California to visit Universal and on the way back home we decided to stop & check out the Los Angeles Zoo before leaving Los Angeles. When we first arrived, there was a small market popping up in the parking lot of the zoo, there were vendors selling food along with some things like stuffed animals and hats. It was neat to see as our zoos do not do that, it is also a good way to get some of the tourists to stop and buy things.

We arrived just before they opened & it was crazy to see just how many people were already in line to get into the zoo. Thankfully it didn't take long to purchase tickets & get into the gates, once you are in the actual zoo there is plenty of space, so it doesn't feel overly crowded. The only spot that was slightly backed up with traffic was the reptile house just because it is indoors & there is only so much space. I feel like the current layout of the zoo had a lot of back tracking to get around from one section to another plus there was a bit of construction going on that added to it, so be prepared for a lot of walking when you visit. If you want a cheap souvenir that is also functional, I highly suggest stopping by one of their concessions stands & buying a refillable souvenir cup. We paid $8.99 for a cup that came with cheap refills, if I remember correctly the refills were a dollar or two and the cup itself is a nice thick plastic that comes with a lid and reusable straw. 

The animal enclosures themselves we enjoyed viewing, some of the enclosures were massive such as the gorilla area which had four different areas to view the gorillas from. They had a few animals on display that we do not have at our local zoo, so that was exciting. I have never seen an echidna so close before, it was adorable watching their little waddling bodies moving around the enclosure alongside some adorable wallabies. I love their small bird aviary, the waterfall they built in it was lovely to watch and hear. 

I think they did a fantastic job at constructing the enclosures to where the animals have plenty of shelter & areas, they can feel more secluded while still remaining visible to the public. I especially liked how they did the gorilla & chimpanzee enclosures. The L.A Zoo isn't nearly as big as the public zoo we have here, but it was still nice to visit with my family. If you are in the area, it makes a great short stop if you are looking for extra activities to do. We visited the day after Thanksgiving, so we were able to see some of the cool animal sculptures they had up for their nighttime zoolights.

Want a freebie for yourself or your kids? On your way into the zoo look for a small stand that has small blue booklets. After grabbing one you will look for several stands throughout the park that have clues of which circles to scratch off in the booklet you picked up. Once the book is finished & you are ready to leave stop by one either the blue umbrella next to customer service or the giftshop on the left-hand side (as you are looking at the zoo entrance). An employee will verify that your booklet is complete & give you a freebie, we received a cute pair of mini binoculars & yes, they actually work. This is a great way to keep small kids entertained & engaged while exploring the zoo.

If you are planning a trip to southern California & are looking for other activities to do feel free to type in "Things to do in California" in the search bar of my blog so you can find some other great activities in California. This was not a sponsored review, we paid to get into the zoo ourselves. I enjoy being able to share spots like this with my readers who may not be able to visit in person but are still interested in learning more about these spots, or for anyone planning vacations in the area. 

🌵 If you live in Arizona check out the "Things to do in Arizona" (Click or locate it on the right-hand side of my page) section of my blog to find entertainment, restaurants, vacation spots & more.