In which Jeff tries to shove me in a tar pit, and I probably deserved it

There has been knitting. And spinning. And baking.  And sewing.  It’s all wonderful, and I’ve even been taking pictures of it (!!). But if I don’t start addressing this backlog of LA Adventure posts, then I’m gonna scream.  So hold on tight, ’cause it’s about to get all tourist-y up in here.

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Jeff and I have decided that, as often as we can, each week we’ll do one adventure-y thing here in the Los Angeles area.  Last time, I posted about going to the Santa Monica pier.  Here’s our next adventure.

The weekend after the Santa Monica Pier adventure, we decided to check out the La Brea tar pits.

I was RIDICULOUSLY excited for this one.  When I was a wee one, you see, (maybe 5 or 6?), we went on a vacation to the ash falls in Nebraska.  20 years later, that remains one of my most favorite activities ever. I just couldn’t get over how cool it was.  So if ash is awesome, tar is terrific!*

I should also add that this maybe isn’t the funniest post ever, because I just thought the whole thing was too damn cool to mock.  I seriously love this stuff.

I adore this picture, because I got to bust out my Irma impression and holler at Harold  Jeff “Go stand near tha erl hole, honey! I’m gonna make your pitcher!”

So there’s Jeff, standing next to a tar pit (or, “erl hole”, if you’d rather).

Hey! Know what else? I don’t know why this surprised me, but these tar pits actually…smelled tar-y.  I KNOW!!!  The whole park stank like hot asphalt: took me right back to Worlds of Fun on a hot August afternoon.

The other cool thing was that excavation is still ongoing:

Nothing was happening that Saturday morning, but it was cool feeling like we were so close to the actual work – not just seeing what had already been done.

Jeff is making good on our “I carried the baby for the first 9 months (err… 7 1/2). You can carry him for the next two years” vow.

Here’s the actual museum, built into the (manmade?) hillside:

The whole top of the building – which is actually a garden-y thing – was carved with a relief sculpture showing the prehistoric animals:

Isn’t that the neatest thing ever? (Yes, yes it is)

Look! Proof that I was there too!

The museum itself was awesome: just the right size, a lab with viewing area so you could see the techs and volunteers at work, a little garden-y thing in the middle, lots of cool exhibits (including a bunch of hands-on stuff).  It was really super awesome.

They had several of these signs around – by the active excavation areas, at the ticket counter, scattered throughout the exhibits.  Ya think the whole “no dinosaurs” thing is much of a sore spot for them? ;-P

So of course I wanted to go up to someone and be all “So, where are the dinosaurs?”.  But since I can’t wink**, I think that would’ve actually worked at cross-purposes to my ‘hey mr. archaeologist man. I getcha.’ goal.

It really is a shame, since the tar pits folks seem like good people.  I mean look! A pun! In an actual exhibit!

WIN.

I wanted to bring home one of this big guy’s thigh bones for Roxie to gnaw on, but Jeff wouldn’t let me:

That would’ve kept her entertained for 3 or 4 hours, at least!

Jeff and I both loved how they displayed all the dire wolf skulls:

This also apparently has some sort of Game of Thrones relevance to him, but when he started to explain I wandered off to try and nurse a giant sloth or something.

So then Jeff set me aright and I nursed the proper thing, instead:

(I love nursing in public. It’s my new favorite.  BEIN’ A MAMMAL, YO.)

We rounded out the trip with an out-of-focus picture of a squished penny.  You know, like I do:

SQUISHED PENNY!!!

And that was it.  I’d rate this adventure a solid 9.5 out of 10.  They lose half a point because Jeff wouldn’t let me buy Simon a stuffed mammoth in the gift shop.

So in summary: the La Brea tar pits are awesome, and you should definitely visit.  Definitely.

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*Forgive me. I don’t get out much.

**No, really. I can’t.  Physically incapable of it. Remind me to show you sometime.