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King Tut returns to the Los Angeles County
Museum of Art
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Saber-toothed tigers on guard at the Page
Museum in Los Angeles
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Last week a friend and I ventured into downtown
Los Angeles to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
to see the traveling King Tut exhibit, Tutankhamun and the
Golden Age of Pharaohs. Gilded statuettes, exquisite jewelry,
and a dagger hidden in his mummy wrappings are among the more
than 130 treasurers on display. Later they will move to Ft.
Lauderdale, Chicago, and then Philadelphia.
Many RVers shudder at the thought of driving
in downtown Los Angeles or other large cities, and with
good reason. Traffic can be horrendous and parking an RV a
nightmare. Yet cities like L.A. have cultural attractions
that smaller towns don't have. Treasures from King Tut's tomb
were last displayed in the U.S. in 1979. Who knows when these
or comparable treasures will be made available here again?
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A
DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW FROM AN URBAN ADVENTURER...
Don't
forget that big cities can accommodate large
vehicles! While you can usually avoid driving
an RV into an urban area, don't be afraid to
if you must or want to. Think about it. Buses
and trucks routinely drive in Manhattan, and
RVs can, too. Yes, it takes a little thought,
and it's quite different from rural cruising,
but if you like the excitement and energy only
big cities can offer, you may be pleased to
find that there are RV parks in downtown San
Francisco, St. Louis, Phoenix, Houston, Las
Vegas, and plenty of other cities around the
U.S. and Canada. There's an RV
park at a marina at the end of the Holland
Tunnel in New Jersey that has a spectacular
view of Manhattan and a good, inexpensive seafood
restaurant. Urban? You bet, and it's one of
our favorite RV parks in the whole country!
Even
if you just want a drive-by look, you can drive
through Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and
just about every other big American or Canadian
city with no more effort than you can in a car.
With planning, you can find decent, inexpensive,
and even free places to park. I'm not making
this up—I've parked a 34-foot Class A motorhome
on Times Square, in downtown Chicago, Dallas,
L.A., and Detroit, just to name a few.
Some
of our most memorable RV experiences have been
in big cities, so if the thought appeals to
you, put in the extra effort, and enjoy the
unusual and exhilarating pleasures of urban
RVing!
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At the King Tut exhibition we heard people
exclaiming over another traveling exhibit-Body Worlds. Exhibits
are currently in Chicago and Cleveland and will move to Philadelphia
and Toronto. Using "plastination," a new way of
preserving actual bodies, the exhibits contain authentic specimens
of human anatomy- individual organs, transparent vertical
and horizontal slices of the body, and 25 whole-body plastinates.
You get a 3-D perspective of human bodies like no other.
Many metropolitan areas have excellent museums
and art galleries with outstanding permanent exhibitions.
Next door to LACMA are the La Brea Tar Pits and the Page Museum,
with fossilized remains of animals trapped in the asphaltic
pits from 40,000 to 10,000 years ago.
PLANNING YOUR VISIT
How can RVers take advantage of these cultural
offerings without taking your large RV downtown? Before
going, develop a plan.
Base of operations: Find an RV park or
large parking lot in a less congested area. A friend or relative
may offer parking. I parked my camper at my sister's house
near Pasadena. If a subway or trolley line goes near the attraction,
locate an RV park further out on the line. For example, in
San Diego, the trolley line extends to nearby towns like Chula
Vista and La Mesa where RV parks are a short drive from the
line. When we wanted to see New Orleans for the day, Bill
and I parked our motorhome at a Wal-Mart off I-10 and drove
our Jeep into town.
Transportation: Take your tow or towed
vehicle instead of your RV. Check into mass transit. A bus,
trolley or subway line may go near the facility. My sister
loaned me her car so I wouldn't have to take the camper. In
San Diego we've used the trolley.
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 San
Diego's trolley system: convenient
and inexpensive
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Downtown parking: Check the facility's
Web site or give them a call. If you are driving a large vehicle,
parking garages might not work. LACMA had outside parking
for $5 at the museum.
Timing: Time your visit to miss rush hour
traffic. Since our tickets were for 2 p.m. we had dinner afterwards,
not leaving until 7:30 p.m. to avoid heavy traffic.
Route: Use a mapping
program to help plan your route. Check your proposed route
with a local. My sister said our route went through city streets;
staying on freeways would be longer but less of a hassle.
Don't miss exciting cultural
offerings because you are traveling in an RV. A little
planning can make your day a fun adventure, taking advantage
of the good things a city has to offer while avoiding the
bad.
Jaimie
Hall
9/11/05
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