Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

What were you doing 14 years ago? I was busy dealing with the disappointing fact that the new and totally awesome car museum that had just opened up was all the way down in Los Angeles, California. Well, it may have taken over half my life to do it but today I finally fulfilled my dream of visiting the Petersen Automotive Museum.

The museum is located down on Wilshire Boulevard. Talk about amazing. Even if you aren't an automotive enthusiast it is still an intriguing look at our country's past.

There are all kinds of neat exhibits that are permanent as well as ones that change. They have a street scape that is modeled after an early 20th century town. You can walk past the shops, walk in between the cars parked out front, go past the service station, or stroll down the sidewalk in front of the Ford dealership and admire all the new models, even if they are only offered in black.





If those cars at the dealership aren't fast enough for you just head over to the speed shop:









Or if you just want to look good drop your car off at the body shop:



There is an open garage from the 1960's that has two cars and a scooter in it as well as all of the toys, sporting equipment, and junk that a household from that era might possess.





$1.2 million just doesn't buy what it used to:



They even had every kind of Hot Wheels car ever made:





In order to keep readership numbers up I'm going to stop with the nerd-dom now. But trust me, the Petersen Automotive Museum is a definite must-see place when in LA. I was there for over four hours (they made us leave at 6:00) but the casual observer could probably do the whole thing in 1-1.5 hours if they didn't feel the need to give every exhibit the appropriate examination.

So until next time, keep the shiny side up.