First stop was the Drum Barracks Museum, however we had just missed the start of the last tour of the day. Not being discouraged, we decided we would just have to make a point of seeing it later in ARP's trip.
To make sure we got in on the next museum's tour, we headed straight over to the Banning Museum. The Banning is a house built in 1864 by Phineas Banning. Mr. Banning was quite influential in the LA area having been a driving force behind bringing the railroad out here; growing the Port of LA through creation of the breakwater, digging out the port area, among other accomplishments; as well as providing the land free to the Army for training (and instant security for all Mr. Banning's investments) which became known as the Drum Barracks. The tour of this home is excellent and the home is beautiful (photos not allowed inside). There is a lot of work happening on the grounds as they prepare to open a new exhibit in the basement (previously the ballroom) however the house itself is well furnished with several pieces of the Banning's original furniture and was quite the sight to behold. Below I have included pictures of the grounds including the beautiful garden which was quite relaxing and fragrant.
After this wonderful tour and our heads filled with 19th Century life in the West, we were feeling a bit peckish and so we headed to the local In-n-Out for quality fast food. This place has the simplest menu you will ever see. All they serve is burgers and fries (chips for my Brittish Friends). You may wonder how they survive but I can guarantee you this food is wonderful. The fries are made from fresh potatoes on site and the hamburger arrives fresh and is NEVER frozen. All food is made fresh from fresh ingredients here and nothing is EVER frozen (except for the milkshakes - which are wonderful as well).
Next stop - Los Angeles Maritime Museum. There were several things of interest in this museum. There were model ships of every kind and variation and they were all wonderfully done. There was a display on the Port of LA in Politics which showed the different American Presidents and other dignitaries that visited the area. ARP enjoyed watching the Port Authority's Tug Boats manoeuvre a large shipping barge into port so that it could be off-loaded and then re-loaded. I enjoyed learning how the Port of LA used to be the largest cannery in the West being home to both Chicken of the Sea as well as Starkist (both have since moved to areas where labor could be obtained for less money). Fishing was a big business out here . . but has since died down unfortunately.
Unfortunately the gift shop closed earlier than the museum and so we didn't get a chance to do the shopping - bummer!
We headed back home and enjoyed some down-time and time to take pictures off of cameras to be ready for the next day - The Getty!!!!
Having decided to scrap heading to Tattershall for class (we were both VERY sore and tired) we opted to head to Marie Callender's for some good food and great pie.
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