Arts and Flowers for Kids this Summer

Los Angeles area museums and Botanical Gardens are great places to visit on hot summer days. Here are some of my favorite places to spend time with my boys and a few ideas for getting some time for yourself.  Links to summer activity schedules are provided. Enjoy!  

The Getty Center in Brentwood and The Getty Villa in Malibu offer a variety of talks, tours, activities and concerts for kids and families throughout the summer. This link will take you straight to the complete schedule.  Click here to see ways to prepare your kids for a Getty visit. This page also has a link to a museum-themed games page - not just good Getty prep but a fun and educational way for kids to spend some quiet time on the computer while you drink your coffee.

The Norton Simon Museum at 411 West Colorado Blvd in Pasadena is one of my favorite places in town. Click here for information on their Family & Children Programs. The lovely sculpture garden is a secret hideaway kind of place. Take a few moments for yourself there some warm afternoon after you have seen the Ellsworth Kelly lithographs inside (the exhibit runs through August 23rd.)  Finish your escape with a frozen yogurt treat from 21 Choices (just down the street at 85 West Colorado) before picking up your kids. 


Los Angeles County Museum of Art continues the Family Sundays Program in  June, July (except July 4th) and August from 12:30 - 3:30. For a full schedule click here LACMA

                  Urban Light by Chris Burden at LACMA


Descanso Gardens in La Canada Flintridge offers summer camps for children entering grades 2-6 and 1 hour long "Toddler Treks with Acorn Bear" on Fridays beginning June 18th.  Even if you don't do a special program, a hot day spent in this beautiful 150 acre space will keep everybody cool (er) and happy.  Descanso is open daily from 9-5. General admission is $8, students and seniors $6 and kids 5-12 are $3.  The Cafe is open daily from 9-4:30 for a cold drink. The Enchanted Railroad runs Saturdays and Sundays from 10-4 and costs $3 a passenger.

The Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino will give you and your kids with another welcome respite from the heat. The Huntington offers family centered programs and camps with availability as of this writing as well as unique, nature centered opportunities to earn Brownie and Girl-Scout badges.  Whether or not your kids participate in one of these programs, The Huntington, with its big trees, cool and lovely Japanese Garden and water filled Children's Garden is a great place on a hot day.  

This is how naive I am

Saturday night I went with some girlfriends to see Sex And The City 2.  Not as bad as I had heard. We had a good time. Afterward we went to Delphine in the W Hotel Hollywood.  It was fine except for the hideous lighting and the fact that the whole restaurant feels like a kind of hallway between the front door and the lobby of the hotel.  I had a nicely dressed field green salad and a good shrimp cocktail.  I also had an excellent champagne cocktail so if you go there and you like that kind of thing do try it.  I'm not going to do a full report because, for one thing, we didn't have enough to eat (3 women at 10:30 at night, what do you expect?) and also because it's not really my kind of place and I am afraid I might be snide.  Actually the whole "W" thing isn't really my scene so, after taking a look at the lobby bar and asking the guy at the rope (insert eye roll here) about going out on the patio, which wasn't crowded (but then, either was the lobby) and being told that it was only for reservations and hotel guests (another eye roll please), we did what I wanted to do anyway which was to run across busy Hollywood Blvd to the old school dive (I mean this in the very best sense) known as The Frolic Room.    Bottle of beer in hand and with a contented sigh I wished the drunk guy at the bar a Happy Birthday and dug through my purse for singles to feed to the jukebox.

Now, if you go to The Frolic Room, know that the place is tiny and pretty much jam-packed so you will be constantly jostled.  If this upsets you, don't go there. Seriously. I was wearing a short dress and my bare legs were continuously splashed by my friend's vodkas.  I didn't mind but if you think you will I'll say it again - don't go there.

Because it's so small and crowded you are pretty much right on top of other people so it's easy to fall  into a conversation.  I don't remember anybody's name but there was Birthday guy (Steve?) and his 2 friends, likely regulars.  Older, nice, no threat guys.  And there was a lovely young couple.  They were married and they told us how they met in pharmacy school. Pharmacy school! Cute, right? They were of Indian descent, from the UK, and had emigrated to the US just over a year ago. With their open-hearted, still new in town kind of energy I wasn't quite sure what they were doing in The Frolic Room but I thought maybe they were out for a "Hollywood" night.  Maybe they had tried the W and couldn't get past the poser, wanna-be rope.  Maybe they couldn't even get past the rope to the lobby.  Maybe they lived in Claremont or some place like that and this was a special trip into the big city for them. "To hell with this Hollywood bullshit!" I thought.  I decided to be extra friendly to these friendly, innocent, still new to the ways of Los Angeles immigrant pharmacists.

Just last week a good friend of mine from India told me the story of how she met her husband and how her entire family had gone along to the first meeting. So  I asked this young couple about how they met, if their parents had carried traditional Indian customs along with them to England, if their families had vetted each of them before they began to date. And we talked about London where they were from and where I lived for a year as a student.  When I told them in what year I lived there the guy exclaimed that it was impossible because I didn't look at all old enough.  He made a really big deal about how young I looked and he did this while standing right next to his wife so obviously he wasn't flirting with me.  I mean, his cute little pharmacist wife was standing right there smiling a great big smile and kind of nodding her head.  I figured they were so sweetly happy together that he could say things like that with tremendous enthusiasm and his wife knew she had nothing to be threatened about. Plus they were foreign so I decided they were just nicer. 

It didn't feel then like it feels as I write it now. Because, you see,  I am like this.  I say nice things.  One day I realized how short life is and how a lot of people are walking around a little bit sad or anxious or angry or scared. And I noticed how people don't always take the time to say the nice or loving things they feel so I decided that I was going to do it.  I was going to be the person who says the nice thing. Sometimes I freak people out a little bit but I don't care.  I say to myself - "they just need some practice receiving."  My conscious is clean because I only say true things, otherwise it'd be yucky but because I am usually truthful and direct - sparing feelings being the exception - I don't get suspicious when people say nice things to me.  I think "Aww, people are so nice," and my faith is restored in the world. And, what? Are you not going to believe it if someone insists that you look years younger than you are? Are you going to deny it?  Suspect that they are up to something? I don't think so. You, like me, are going to lap it up.

So my girlfriend and I talked to this sweet, friendly couple for a bit and after a little while the guy said "Do you have a card?"  I didn't.  We talked a little bit more, everything was very friendly and he said, "Too bad you don't have a card or something. It would be nice to get together again."  I didn't have any intention of getting together again - they were nice to talk to in a bar but that was good enough for me.  Just as we were leaving he said one last time, "You don't have any paper or anything, so we can get your phone number? Something so we could get together? We'd love to see you again sometime."  'Well," I said breezily to him and his smiling wife, "maybe we will run into each other again one day. It was so nice to meet you. Take care."  And my friend and I left.  Our third friend had seen someone she knew so she stayed at The Frolic Room a little while longer. "What a nice night," I thought. "Such nice people everywhere." 

The next day I talked with the friend who had stayed behind.  "Did you meet that pharmacist couple?"  she asked.  "Yes" I said "Weren't they cute? They were so friendly. I hope they had a good time."  "Well, I don't know.  I'm not sure if they got what they wanted 'cause we left!" "What do you mean?" I asked.  "You know they were looking for a group sex thing? A threesome or a whatever. That's what they were doing there. They were all over us to do it right before closing and they kept asking us for a card so they could get some later. We ran out!"  She laughed.  I didn't know what to say. But I do now. This is Los Angeles, baby.  And this, my dear readers, is how naive I am.

The Frolic Room
6245 Hollywood Blvd.

Rankin Ranch

Deep the Tehachapi Mountains of Kern County, California, just a 2 1/2 - 3 hour drive from Los Angeles lies a city slicker's dream of a western cattle ranch.  Rankin Ranch has been owned and operated by the Rankin family since 1863. 

The ranch encompasses 31,000 acres of mountains and grassland in the valley known as Walker Basin.  And a gorgeous place it is -

The first thing you need to know is that Rankin Ranch operates on what they call the American Plan.  That is, it's all inclusive.  Beds, 3 meals a day, and all activities, including horse back riding and the supervised children's program are all included in the price of your stay. Nothing is extra - not even any pesky "resort fees."  For summer 2010 - June 4th through September 6th - prices per day are as follows:

2 adults/ 1 room    EACH person -                    $205
Single adult                                                        $215
3rd and 4th adult in Room  EACH                    $180
Children 6-11 in room with adult EACH          $155
Children 4 and 5 in room with adult EACH      $130
2 or more Children under 12 in separate room from parents $180
Child single occupancy EACH                         $215
kids under 4 in room with adults                       no charge

Check the website for off season prices from September 6th - October 3rd 2010

Rankin Ranch has a total of 7 duplex cabins  (14 separate rooms) which can accommodate 30 - 50 people.

The cabins are generously sized, a perfect fit for our family of 4, though they can accommodate a few more.  Ours had 5 beds, one a trundle that tucked away.  We didn't need the extra mattress so we slid it through the short passageway to our friends on the other side of the cabin where their family of 7 had  a great time all bunked up together.  The cabins are clean, comfortable and can best be described as basic.  There are no TVs or phones  (no cell service, either)  and the bathrooms are a little on the small side.   But let's remember why we're not here.   We're not here to lie in super pouffy beds flipping through the channels on our flat screens while looking over the spa menu and thinking about reserving a massage for tomorrow.  Nope. Ranch at Rock Creek this ain't.  If you want more space or a few more amenities you can request the "Chimo" a "deluxe" cabin with a microwave oven, a refrigerator and a sitting area.  The Chimo carries an additional 15%charge.

  Rankin Ranch is an authentic, working cattle ranch and guests come for the joy and privilege of sharing the ranch lifestyle with the wonderful Rankin family.  You will have the pleasure of meeting most of them.  Bill and Glenda Rankin, the current owners, have 4 children who all came home after college to work on the ranch. Some of them have children of their own who made a nice addition to the kid's programs (more on that below. ) Cody Rankin was a hit with the older boys in our group and I appreciated how nicely he played with all the kids in the swimming pool.

           Activities include swimming in the lovely, tree shaded pool, hiking, tennis on the "country"  (read cracked but still usable) tennis court, board games and pool in the rec room, playing games on the big lawn where a volleyball net is set up

                                archery


and, of course, horseback riding

                               keep your horse in line

You can ride twice a day except for Sundays when there is a morning ride only.  Riding is available for guests 6 years and older. Kids under 12 may not ride on "adult" rides.

There were a few different rides for different skill levels available each day.  But no matter your skill level you are guaranteed a  truly beautiful ride.  I took 4 rides on 3 separate days and didn't repeat a trail even though I rode with my kids each time.  You won't gallop on the "kids" rides but they did have  their challenges; crossing streams, clambering over rocks,  going up and down hills and occasionally breaking into a trot.  All rides last a little over an hour.  The wranglers were outstanding, the horses well trained and well cared for.

I recommend bringing some snacks to the ranch.  There are a few things for sale in the gift shop - candy bars, granola bars - but there isn't really anything else available between meals.  All the riding and fresh air can make you hungry so if you're like me and you don't usually eat a Thanksgiving sized meal 3 times a day ( I, like the Rankin cattle, am a grazer) bring stuff with you.

Most meals are taken in the sweet dining room.

                              The dining room

  The meals, like the cabins above, can best be described as basic.  The food is good, there is plenty of it and it gets the job done.  The buffet is heavy on meat but you can make a special request for fish or even vegetarian and they will accommodate you.  Desserts were a highlight with wonderful lemon bars coming out after lunch on Saturday and perhaps the best brownies ever served at the Sunday bar-b-que.

                                 The hayride out to the bar-b-que

                                 flying kites

                              and playing horseshoes after those wonderful brownies

One of the best parts of our long weekend was the evening activities. A cocktail hour, known as the "patio party," (bring your own, there is no alcohol served) begins for adults at 5:30. Children are cared for by the staff, playing games or doing crafts until they join their parents for dinner at 6:30. Around 7:30 the staff comes to the dining room to collect the kids and take them to feed the baby animals.  At 8 everyone is welcomed to the large recreation room for an hour of family friendly activities.   One night we played Bingo, one night it was square dancing and one night it was kids horse races where the parents gambled on their jockeys as they moved the horses they had made earlier in the day to the rolls of the large foam dice.

  A supervised children's program is available for kids 4 and older from 9 am to 3:30 pm daily and then again at 5:30. It got kind of flexible around dinner time with some kids wanting to see the animals and some not and some just wanting to run around so I'm not exactly sure how late the supervision goes but let's call it until 8 when you regroup for family fun.  I loved the program because it is totally screen free - no movies or video games to all too easily fall back on.  The counselors were great and led the kids in all kinds of activities, games and crafts. They made boats to race in the stocked trout pond and  kites to fly at the bar-b-que.  There was a ranch-wide (well, okay not ranch-wide but still it was a good long walk) treasure hunt that ended in treats and pirate toys.

One of my favorite parts of being at Rankin Ranch were the quiet moments spent in the peaceful beauty of the basin

the mountains turn pink at sunset

one of several friendly dogs around the ranch

Something else I loved was how nice the other guests were.  This place seems to attract friendly people.  Almost everyone there was a repeat guest. One group of friends was there for the 10th time.  Between the beauty of the ranch, the friendly hospitality of the Rankin family and the healthy, old-fashioned fun to be had for people of all ages Rankin Ranch is a very special place.