A Day With King Tut

Today we drove up to L.A. to see the "Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs," at the L.A. County Museum of Art. Held at LACMA West, in what used to be the historic May Company building, the exhibit featured more than 50 major artifacts excavated from King Tut's tomb in 1922, along with 70+ additional artifacts from the 18th Dynasty (1555 B.C. to 1305 B.C.).


People line up to enter to see the more than 130 artifacts from the 27-month tour of the U.S. (07/23/05)

Among the highlights of the exhibit were King Tut's royal diadem — the gold crown discovered encircling the head of the king's mummified body that he likely wore while living — and one of the gold and inlaid canopic coffinettes that contained his mummified internal organs.

Considering that the last time the artifacts King Tut's toured the U.S. was more than 25 years ago, we thought we should see it while we had a chance. Joining us with Jon and Amy, Everett and Joe, who were able to take advantage of discounted tickets since Tim and I are members of the museum.


Tim, Jon, Amy, Everett and Joe eagerly await our turn to enter the Tutankhamun exhibit. (07/23/05)

I really enjoyed the exhibit, although I might have enjoyed it more on a day when it wasn't so crowded. It really made it hard to maneuver in there. I wasn't able to take any pictures inside the exhibit due to the fact that they practically strip search you before you enter.

Many of the items were incredible. I was truly amazed at the variety of materials and the level of skills the ancient Egyptians had considering the quality of tools that were available at the time. Some of the items were truly fascinating. If you want to see the exhibit, you better plan on going to L.A., Ft. Lauderdale, Chicago or Philadelphia, because those are the only stops on the 27-month tour.


As you would expect, I couldn't take pictures inside, but they can't stop me from taking pictures of some of the souvenirs I bought. (07/23/05)

Afterward, we drove by my old apartment building, located a couple of blocks from LACMA and the La Brea Tar Pits. It was purely a nostalgia visit for me (I lived there from 1994 until 1999). I love that building. I had many good times there.


Afterward, we drove a few blocks to my old pad at the Cornell Apartments on Cochran and 6th, where I lived from 1994 until 1999. (07/23/05)

Afterward we went to dinner at my favorite Mexican restaurant in LA: El Conquistador on Sunset and Edgecliff. Although the food is really good, it's the Margaritas that are their real claim to fame. In fact Amy wasn't even half-way through with one before she got totally lit!


Smiling with Joe and Everett at my favorite Mexican restaurant in LA: El Conquistador — known for its killer margaritas. (07/23/05)