For once we didn’t have an early start and everyone slept in. I went to a local shop to get more milk for breakfast and even snuck in a gym session. Ben and I then had a cup of coffee at the hotel foyer while the rest of the family roused. It’s the first time this holiday that Emily and Thomas have had time to do their journal and they had a bit of catching up to do.

Based on recommendations from our tour guide a couple of days ago, we decided to head down to La Brea Tar Pits. The tar pits have existed for thousands of year and have acted as a trap and preservative for animals. Animals have been lured to the pits thinking its a water source and then have been trapped in it, unable to escape. The pit then swallowed them whole and over time the flesh and skin disintegrated – leaving perfect bones preserved in tar for centuries. Over the past 150 years the pits have been excavated and fossils and skeletons removed. They have found over 400 preserved heads of the Dire Wolf – that existed 80,000 years ago. There are also complete skeletons of Wooly Mammoths and Sabre Tooth Tigers. We spent most of the morning looking through the museum and then walking along the tar pits. The smell reminded me of freshly laid asphalt.

Ben has been hankering for Cali-Mex and we found a restaurant called “Pink Tacos” where we went for lunch. We got a combination of tacos to share – and they even had a pink taco shell for their speciality pork taco. The kids ordered kids burritos, but apparently they have a new chef who made them all adult size meals. The fact that they were able to get through even half the meal was testament to their commitment.

For dinner I had booked a Japanese restaurant called “Yamashiro” which is almost at the top of the Hollywood Hills. It has unparalleled views of the entire LA valley as well as the Hollywood sign. We got a few dishes to share and it was a very pleasant way to end our time at LA.