adventures in art

i took Cruz to the Getty Center yesterday as part of a Stroller Strides playgroup. i had concerns all week if Cruz would even enjoy a museum outing, or if he would be bored stuck in a stroller. after learning about the gardens and water fountains there, i decided at the last minute to go.

the Stroller Strides evite said to be there at 11am. i mapped out our bus route to the Getty so we would arrive a quarter till, giving us a little extra time incase a bus was late. having to take the bus there was also a concern i had. usually, Cruz and i just run short errands around our neighborhood, but going to the Getty would take 3 buses and 1 hour to get there. plus, we had to take a metro rapid bus which i had never done before. this was definitely an adventure!

all the buses were on time. we got on the big red metro rapid which was pretty cool. it was one of those buses that is two bus lengths long, and it had tv very similar to what's televised on an airplane. it had a little map that showed where you were and then showed little video clips. all my concerns about taking a long bus trip disappeared because Cruz loves tv.

we get dropped off at the Getty bus stop ahead of schedule, around 10:35am which is good because i've never been there before and wasn't sure where to go. i discover you have to take a tram up the mountain side to the museum entrance. i borrowed one of the Getty courtesy strollers and Cruz and i entered the tram. the view was beautiful on the way to the top. i also got a glimpse at the lovely traffic backed up on the 405 which always reminds me why i like riding the bus.

by the time we reached the museum entrance, it was a quarter till. i grabbed a banana and a bottled water from the outside cafe and looked around for other Stroller Striders. i saw none. i thought maybe they're inside, so we took a look. i saw no one there either. i thought maybe they were waiting by where the tram let people off, so we took a look, but still no. a little after 11am, i took Cruz to the court yard just past the museum entrance to look at the water fountains, and also to wait for someone else in our group to show up. at 11:30am i finally gave up waiting because i knew Cruz wasn't going to last much longer strapped in a stroller. i took a look at the museum map and found a garden that looked like a nice place to let Cruz run around and we headed that way. as soon as we walked outside, a woman pushing a stroller came up to me and asked if i was with Stroller Strides. she had been waiting too and hadn't seen anyone else she knew. i put our garden stroll on hold for the moment and waited with the other mom.

after a few more minutes of waiting some other Stroller Striders showed up, but still no sign of the coordinator. Cruz was getting antsy so i took him out of the stroller to let him run around the entrance hall. we played a game of little circle, big circle with the floor tile design to pass the time. i think it was a quarter till noon when the event coordinator finally arrived. she explained the evite said they would be coming after that morning's Stroller Strides class and that's why she was late.

i'm sorry but if you put together a playgroup and say to meet at 11am, then be there at 11am.. especially if you're the coordinator!

i noticed most the moms who were part of our group had babies that were not walking while i had a toddler that was very mobile and eager to get going. a couple other moms and i decided to take a stroll through the garden while the rest waited for any other straggling moms. finally, we were back on track. before venturing down the garden path, i let Cruz out so he could walk the path beside me. this got me separated from the other moms because they were pushing their babies in the stroller. Cruz and i were only half down the path when the other moms were on their way back up. they said they were going up to the Garden Cafe to meet up with the rest of the group for lunch. i told them we would meet them there once we finished walking the path.

Cruz enjoyed all the flowers and waterfalls on our garden walk. around 12:30pm Cruz and i made our way to the cafe, but i didn't see my group. not wanting to let this get me down, i decided to stop looking for them and just do things on our own. although, i was a little miffed because i had to wait for them to show up and they couldn't wait for me for lunch. i bought some food and we sat down to eat with a wonderful garden view.

after lunch, we headed over to the family room that had art kids could interact with. Cruz got to run around and write on the walls and have fun with the art pieces there. a few minutes went by and coincidentally we ran into the other members of our group. i thought how cool, we caught back up with everyone. we played in the family room a bit longer. then Cruz ran by the door and i saw the other moms outside looking at the map to go somewhere else, and no one had told us they were moving on. how rude!!!

by the time Cruz was ready to go, there was no sign of the other Stroller Striders so again, we were on our own. i wasn't going to let their rudeness stop us from having fun. next, i took Cruz to see some of the art pieces in the exhibit halls. then, he ran around outside, falling once and getting a boo-boo on his chin. after a quick cry and a kiss from mom to fix the boo-boo, we took in the view from the mountain top before i decided it was getting late and we should head home before traffic got thick.

on the bus ride home, Cruz fell asleep from his long day and adventures in art. we had a lot of fun even though we never stayed with our group. i only wished we wouldn't have waisted an hour just waiting around and done our own thing at the museum earlier. regardless, we made the best of it and had a successful and fun day at the Getty. i think i will definitely be taking Cruz out there again soon but not as part of another Stroller Strides playgroup.