It’s amazing how many inexpensive, fun, and educational points of interest there are in Los Angeles!
The economy has forced many to scale back on family vacations and outings. Fortunately for parents, kids don’t really notice when they’re not hitting the fancy spots. All children ever want from us is our time, anyway. What better way to spend that time than exploring what the city has to offer together?
For Little Boy’s birthday, we took him to Travel Town Museum located inside Los Angeles’ Griffith Park. He is currently obsessed with Thomas the Train so this was a perfect place to take him.
I wish I had the foresight to walk ahead and begin filming Little Boy’s face as he walked in and saw all the antique locomotives resting there. I know that he couldn’t believe his eyes though – he started doing his happy dance and exclaiming, “Choo-choo! Choo-choo? Choo-choo!”
Evidently, we picked the right place to take him. We explored the different locomotives from different time periods. We also explored a children’s area called “Holden’s Corner” which had antique autos, a small train, a Carnation delivery truck, and even a fire truck. I have to say, as much as this was for my son, I was pretty thrilled myself. This was neat stuff! – the antique locomotives are HUGE! The best part was taking a $2.00 train ride on the mini-locomotive around the grounds. There was an engineer and he blew the whistle before the train pulled out much to the delight of my children.
PROS: Travel Town runs on donations so my dad put in a good amount since we had 4 adults and 2 kids in our party. The ease of parking was great and it was pretty how the museum is nestled in Griffith Park. Keep in mind that this is a site for decommissioned engines. It’s not a fancy museum, but it is pleasant and outdoors.
CONS: The only con I found was that the gift store was very small. There was a good and varied selection of Thomas the Train toys so all the kids and parents were clamoring to buy. Usually, you have to from store to store to see what Thomas toys they offer.
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Price: No admission fee! Donations are welcomed!
Hours: Mon-Fri, 1000-400P; Sat-Sun, 1000-600P
Phone: 323-662-5874
Docent Tours: 323-668-0104, ext. 13
