Autry National Center of the American West

The Autrey National Center is located directly across the street from the Los Angeles Zoo. It's actually a very nice little center with the Museum of the American West, the Wells Fargo theater, museum gift shop and a cafe. It cost $9 for an adult with free parking.

On display at the museum is art, artifacts, old clothing, and lots of clothes, guns and other items used in famous television shows and movies. On display and not pictured here are the costumes from shows like Gunsmoke and The Lone Ranger, and ornate costumes of country western stars and singers.


On the weekend you can even experience panning for gold it the quaint little courtyard made to look like a small mining area complete with waterfall. If you're wondering what to do for the day and don't want to spend a huge chunk of money, this might definitely be worth a trip for you.

i. CUGINI's

I had a really nice birthday. I was taken to dinner on Friday and went to Benihana's. In case you don't know what or where Benihana's is, it's a Japanese chain of restaurants where they cook your meal in front of you. Wonderful food! If you've never been, you've got to go at least once for the experience. But this post is about i. Cugini's so I digress.

Image from www.rentacarinlosangeles.comToday I went to i. Cugini's. It's pronounced eee-koo-gee-nee. I learned about this place on our local jazz station 94.7 The Wave . The have a D.J. there on Sundays for their Sunday champagne brunch with a live jazz band. Man, the food is out of this world and they have a little bit of everything from cute little round waffles to octopus salad and everything in between!

Whether you sit inside where you might find the band just a little loud or whether you sit outside and enjoy the beautiful day and the view of the Santa Monica beach and the pier across the street, the food is marvelous. Even though my sister calls me a waste at a buffet because I fill up too quickly, I managed to sample everything I wanted to (and I did say sample) - waffles, egg potato suffle, onion and bell pepper with chicken sausage, garlic chicken, garlic potatoes, ham, salmon, chilled crab legs, bread. I personally wasn't interested in (even though you might me) the oysters, different pastas, omelette and other dishes they had that I can't even remember.

And yes, I had my fill of champagne, orange juice and coffee which was excellent as well. Should I mention the dessert bar? Yummmmm! Lots of chocolate!

And if you attend for a special event there is someone there to take a picture and place it a really nice paper frame it if you wish. I highly recommend taking a trip to i. Cugini's and expect to spend about $40.00 but I personally think it was well worth it!

And believe it or not, I didn't get any pictures. I was a little embarrassed and didn't want anyone to think I'd never been to a restaurant before. I think I should make a sign for myself that reads "Taking Pictures for My Blog". LOL!

SANTA MONIA PIER

The Santa Monica Pier is located where the 10 Freeway ends and Pacific Coast Highway begins. It's free but parking is currently 7:00. Actually, the pier isn't "all that" but it is still a nice place to go. There is a separate costs for entering Pacific Park which is located on the pier and includes rides. I didn't research whether there is an admission cost or you just purchase tickets for the rides but you can purchase them in advance online.

There are a few places to eat including Bubba Gump's at the beginning of the pier:

and Mariasol's at the end of the pier:

If you're looking for a place to go on a date, you'd like to throw a fishing line off the pier:

or you're someone who likes arcade games and a take in a few amusement park type rides, it's definitely worth taking a stroll on the pier.:

Another reason I recommed the pier is that who doesn't like the beach? If you don't like trekking across the sand your feet don't ever have to touch it. You can lean on the rail that lines the pier and still enjoy the breeze and the view:

watch the waves crashing and just enjoy a lovely day at the beach.