Free Youth LACMA Membership

Mulholland Drive: The Road to the Studio David Hockney 1980, LACMA collection

While we are on the subject of museum membership benefits, the Los Angeles County Museum of Contemporary Art offers a fantastic free membership to youth 17 and under. I am a big fan of early exposure to art and nature to children. Start now in hopes that a life time of curiosity and respect ensues.

NexGen LACMA is the nation's only free youth membership program. If you are a parent with a child under 17, join. If you know someone under 17, sign them up. Youth membership includes admission for one adult.

Natural History Museum Members' Loan Service

One of the greatest benefits of membership to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is the Members' Loan Service. Downstairs across from the Discovery Center, the museum offers a lending library from their collection, ranging from plexiglas encased stuffed bobcats to a canine tooth of a saber-toothed cat.


If I had run across the Black-throated Mango hummingbird at the museum, I might have walked right past in my haste to see the giant T-Rex skeleton. But at home, on my bookshelf, the exhibit receives the attention and respect it deserves.

The loan period is two weeks and costs $5 for up to three exhibits. Memberships to the museum start at $60. Learn more about the Members' Loan Service and lending hours.

The Simple Pleasures of a Long Weekend

Exploring new trails of familiar hikes in the Arroyo Seco.


Hiding and seeking on the trail.


A spectacular dinner at Elf on Sunset.

Restaurant Supply in Los Angeles - Surfas

Surfas in Culver City is a great afternoon destination. The restaurant supply store has been owned and operated by the same family since 1937. I learned about it through a member of the Los Angeles Mycological Society, and God knows they know how to party.


I took the boys for a day trip to pick up a cutting board and candles. But with Surfas, the journey is the destination. We stopped in at Cafe Surfas for eats. I asked for a high chair and the kind woman behind the counter went into the supply store and pulled one off the shelf for our use. Sure, it was shorter than the cafe table, but the youngest was satisfied.