- I traveled from Maine to California with my 6-year-old son.
- I hadn't been in almost a decade and worried about what to do with him so he wouldn't get bored.
- I was surprised at how kid-friendly LA is, and now my son wants to go back again.
My family usually takes a big summer trip, but I tore my ACL earlier this year, so we decided to take it slow and allow my body to heal. That said, I also can't stay still, so I decided to plan a trip for my oldest kid and me to visit friends in Los Angeles.
At first, I was worried about taking a 6-year-old to such a massive city. We live in Portland, Maine, and it sometimes feels like there's not enough to do with the kids. Our activities are usually centered on food and birthday parties.
I asked on Threads for tips on what to do and quickly realized the options were endless. We did so much fun stuff, and now I know Los Angeles is truly a kid-friendly city.
He loved all of our adventures
Our flight out West was delayed, so when we finally arrived in LA, I threw our bags in the room, and we ran out to explore. Our first stop was the La Brea tar pits, which friends highly recommended. I purchased a GoCity pass, which allows you to visit several attractions without having to pay for a ticket, and the tar pits were included.
We explored the pits, which blew my adult mind, and then the museum, which included skeletons and fossils found there. My son loves archeology, so this was a great kick-off to the trip.
We then headed to Ripley's Believe It or Not museum, which is kind of a tourist trap, but I remember loving it as a kid. His mind was once again blown when he stood next to the tallest man ever; I loved seeing Marilyn Monroe's dress that Kim Kardashian wore in real life.
We then walked the Hollywood Boulevard looking for celebrity stars until we reached a thrift store. We went shopping, and the cashier decided to give us 25% off because she thought my son was funny. A similar thing happened when we bought T-shirts at Amoeba Music.
The next day, we headed to Universal Studios Hollywood so he could visit the Super Nintendo World. Since we had early entrance and walked into the park at 8 a.m. we only stayed half a day.
After that, we went to the Griffith Observatory, where we saw the Hollywood sign and all the planetarium exhibitions, and watched a movie about whether life exists on other planets. He had so many questions after that.
No trip to LA is complete without a stop at In-And-Out, where before I could even place my order, my son was gifted stickers and a chocolate shake.
The next day, I took him to Sidecar for donuts, and the employee decided to give him his doughnut for free. At this point, my son started to think that all kids get free things in LA. We then walked to buy shoes for me, and while I was looking for cool sneakers, the shop owner called my son over to shoot some basketballs in a hoop.
After buying shoes, we went to the LA Zoo, which several people had recommended. I'm not a fan of zoos, but when we walked in, we saw there was a Lego DREAMzzz activation where kids could help build a giant narwhal. Being a huge Lego bricks fan, my son was thrilled to participate and meet a true Lego master. He even got to leave with a goodie bag for participating.
To close out our trip and continue the Lego theme, we drove to Legoland in San Diego. He was walking all over the park screaming, "This is the best place eveeeeeer," which was pretty adorable to see.
We did more in a week than we do in a month at home
If it sounds like we did a lot of things, that's because we did. And while he tends to be a homebody at home, being in a new city had him excited for whatever was coming next.
When we are in Maine, all our activities revolve around where we eat and whether we have a party to attend. There's not much culture and diversity for kids, and we tend to have to drive to New Hampshire or Boston for more kid-friendly activities.
Even at restaurants here, it's often hard to find kid activity books or crayons, which I know is not the responsibility of the owner but rather the parents. Still, having a sticker book handed out with burgers made dinner so much easier.
At the end of our trip, I asked him what his favorite thing had been. He said, "Everything," and even when I tried to press for one top activity, he came back with the same answer.
As for me, I'm already thinking about when we can return to Los Angeles, because now that I know it's this kid-friendly, I have so many more things I want to do.