I took my 6-year-old to Los Angeles. I was surprised by how kid-friendly the city is.

We explored the pits, which blew my adult mind, and then the museum, which included skeletons and fossils found there. My son loves archeology, so this was a great kick-off to the trip.

We then headed to Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum, which is kind of a tourist trap, but I remember loving it as a kid. His mind was once again blown when he stood next to the tallest man ever; I loved seeing Marilyn Monroe’s dress that Kim Kardashian wore in real life.

We then walked the Hollywood Boulevard looking for celebrity stars until we reached a thrift store. We went shopping, and the cashier decided to give us 25% off because she thought my son was funny. A similar thing happened when we bought T-shirts at Amoeba Music.

To close out our trip and continue the Lego theme, we drove to Legoland in San Diego. He was walking all over the park screaming, “This is the best place eveeeeeer,” which was pretty adorable to see.

We did more in a week than we do in a month at home

If it sounds like we did a lot of things, that’s because we did. And while he tends to be a homebody at home, being in a new city had him excited for whatever was coming next.

When we are in Maine, all our activities revolve around where we eat and whether we have a party to attend. There’s not much culture and diversity for kids, and we tend to have to drive to New Hampshire or Boston for more kid-friendly activities.

Even at restaurants here, it’s often hard to find kid activity books or crayons, which I know is not the responsibility of the owner but rather the parents. Still, having a sticker book handed out with burgers made dinner so much easier.

At the end of our trip, I asked him what his favorite thing had been. He said, “Everything,” and even when I tried to press for one top activity, he came back with the same answer.

As for me, I’m already thinking about when we can return to Los Angeles, because now that I know it’s this kid-friendly, I have so many more things I want to do.