Places to See: The Huntington

Last Saturday, both Fable and Archer spent the day at friends' houses, leaving Hal and me alone with the twins for the first time... ever? I mean, maybe it's happened before but I am scratching my head trying to remember the when and the where. SO! We decided to do an outing that the big kids would likely roll their eyes at because DO WE REALLY HAVE TO WALK ALL THAT WAY A MILLION MILES OF WALKING ARE YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW? WALKING WITH OUR LEGS!? Bo and Revi, meanwhile, kick and scream the moment I put them into a stroller these days because DO WE REALLY HAVE TO SIT IN A STROLLER A MILLION MILES OF STROLLING DON'T YOU SEE WE WANT TO WALK WITH THE LEGS WE JUST RECENTLY LEARNED HOW TO UTILIZE!?

(I made the mistake of taking the babes out of their stroller the first week of school, because they were writhing and begging for freedom, at which point Bo went running through the halls looking for a new family to adopt and go home with. And then I had to send a search party of parents up the stairs while Revi screamed because THE CROWD AHHHH! PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT ME NOOOO! and Fable pressed her face against the TK window, like, "Mommmmmm! I'M WAITING FOR YOU WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE" and Archer was, like, "Hey mom! Let me tell you about how much homework I have right this very second...." and then it was over and everyone was fine and accounted for and my bangs were stuck to my forehead with sweat as the six of us (carpool) emerged from the school with everyone yelling at each other and a poopy diaper happening with someone and somebody left something back in class so "we have to turn around!" Except.  We were already almost at the car which was parked four blocks away at the bottom of a very steep hill and it was 100 degrees out and Fable was going to die, she said, because her skin was BURNING off of her body and everyone needed water at the same time but all of the water bottles were empty except for one sippy cup that Revi wouldn't let go of.)

Anyway. Every other day that's basically what goes down.

Meanwhile, this is a post about The Huntington so now I will focus.

I knew The Huntington Library & Gardens (with emphasis on the gardens part) was a place for walking and running down hills and not hearing children complain about walking and hills, which is why it seemed like the perfect outing for our Saturday as a foursome. And it was. It was magical.

The Huntington Library and Gardens is essentially a museum and library surrounded by paradise. Truly. (You can read more about it here and here.)

The estate boasts a children's garden as well, which is where we were en route to when Bo and Revi decided they wanted to climb inside a golf cart and pretend to be security guards. Which Hal and I forbade and then it was like, OH NO YOU DIDN'T, MELTDOWN COMMENCE!

Hell hath no fury like a tandem tantrum in the middle of a rose garden while people with parasols are trying to meditate.

Oh, hi. Sorry about the -- yeah, we were just going...

So we left.

The girls fell asleep in the car within three seconds and we decided that we'd take the entire cast and crew next time -- get there SUPER early and hit up the children's garden first. (With several changes of clothes.)

One of the perks in becoming a member, (which is really the only way to do anything as a family of six since family memberships are usually the same price as a single trip for everyone) is that the gardens will let you in early, before the crowd arrives. Ideal for families with small children who still nap. And have meltdowns in rose gardens in front of people who did not sign up for meltdowns in rose gardens.

One of these days I'm going to put together a new GGC list of must-sees for LA families. (This list is from 2006 and things have... uh... changed.) In the meantime, I would like to add The Huntington to the list. It's kind of a haul from our neck of the woods but 1000% worth it.

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GGC