The LA Local Arrangements Committee (David Raichlen, Stephanie Meredith, and Kristi Lewton) is excited to welcome you to sunny Los Angeles! We have organized two tours for AABA attendees (registration is limited!) and collated some of our favorite activities and places to eat.

AABA Organized Tours

You can sign up for these at the time of meeting registration. Note that there is no onsite registration for the tours.

• Tour of Bone Clones Facility (Wednesday, March 20, 2024, bus leaves at 12:00 PM and returns ~4 PM, Preregistration $35, limited to 30 people)

Bone Clones, Inc. is the premier osteological replication company specializing in precise casts of modern human skeletons, fossil hominid skeletons, modern animal skeletons and fossil animal skeletons. For over 25 years, Bone Clones® have been the leading osteological reproductions used in museums, universities, medical schools and other educational institutions.

In our continued effort to provide the academic and scientific community with the finest in osteological replicas, we are proud to participate in local events in schools, universities and museums in Southern California as part of community outreach. This year we have the pleasure of hosting a AABA group tour—we hope to see you here!

• Tour of the La Brea Tar Pits (Wednesday, March 20, 2024, bus leaves at 12:30 PM and returns at 5:30 PM, Preregistration $45, limited to 40 people, includes general admission) - THIS TOUR IS FULL

Experience L.A.'s iconic La Brea Tar pits! This behind the scenes tour will showcase La Brea's ice age fossil collections (giant sloths, direwolves, and saber tooth cats, oh my!), the fossil lab, and the excavation pits. After the 1.5-hour tour, explore the museum, wander the beautiful museum grounds in search of new tar seeps, or stroll the grounds of the L.A. County Museum of Art next door. Preregistration includes transportation and museum general admission.

Getting to JW Marriott at LA Live

JW Marriott at LA Live: 900 West Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA, 90015

Hotel parking:

• The hotel only offers valet parking, fee: $55 daily + tax, Hourly parking $15 + tax first 2 hours then $15 per half hour with $55 + tax daily maximum

Other parking options:

• LA Live offers the West Parking garage adjacent to the hotel; rates depend on local events, but range from $10-$35
• There is a parking lot on the corner of Olympic Blvd and Georgia St that charges $10/day and can be paid via the ParkUp app

Air Travel

There are two airports approximately equidistant from LA Live: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and the smaller Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR). We suggest checking flights into both. Traffic from Burbank to Downtown LA is usually better than from LAX to Downtown, but the flights into Burbank tend to be more expensive.

Train Travel

AMTRAK provides service to Union Station in Downtown LA.

Once at Union Station, take the Metro A line (Blue) to the Pico stop (fare ~$1.75).

From Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)

JW Marriott at LA LIVE does not have an airport shuttle service, but there are multiple ways to arrive via LAX airport.

• Rideshare: The easiest way to get around in LA is via rideshare (Uber/Lyft). An Uber from LAX to JW Marriott at LA Live will be ~$40-50.
• Public transportation: Public transportation from LAX to LA Live requires a bus ride and a train ride. First, take the FlyAway bus from LAX to Union Station (one-way fare $9.75, no reservation required, debit/credit card or mobile ticket only). The FlyAway bus departs approximately every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Passengers leaving LAX may board buses on the Lower/Arrivals Level in front of each terminal under the blue "FlyAway" sign. Each bus is marked with its service location. Then, at Union Station, take the Metro Train A line (Blue) to Pico Station (fare ~$1.75). It's an ~8 minute walk from Pico Station. See here for more information on Metro Trip Planning.
• Self-driving from LAX: Take the 105 East to the 110 North. Exit at Pico and proceed to Olympic Boulevard and turn right. The hotel will be on the right.

City Maps

• Los Angeles Tourism map
• LA Live

Things to do (other than the conference):

There’s something for everyone in LA!

Downtown-ish:

• The Broad Museum (free, reserve advance tickets) - Metro stop: Civic Center/Grand Park (Metro red/purple lines):
• The Last Bookstore - Metro stop: Pershing Square (Metro red/purple lines)

Nearby:

• Griffith Park: go for a hike and/or visit the Griffith Observatory
• La Brea Tar Pits
• LA County Museum of Contemporary Art
• Santa Monica Beach - metro stop: Santa Monica (Metro Expo line).
• The Huntington Library and Gardens (reservations required Fri-Sun, recommended otherwise).
• The Getty Museum (free, reserve advance tickets)
• The Getty Villa Museum (free, reserve advance tickets)

From Expo line Expo Park/USC stop:

• California African American Museum
• Natural History Museum of LA County
• California Science Center (free admission)
• Exposition Park Rose Garden
• Fischer Museum of Art

Places to eat

Los Angeles is a foodie city!

The LA Times 101 best restaurants list is behind a paywall, but you can still peruse their featured restaurants for free!

LA Live conference venue:

• There are lots of restaurants at the LA Live conference venue.

Nearby:

• Grand Central Market - Metro stop: Pershing Square (red/purple lines)
• Oaxacan food - some near Wilshire/Vermont (red/purple lines)
• Little Tokyo has great sushi - Metro stop: Little Tokyo/Arts District (gold line)
• Koreatown for Korean BBQ - Metro stops: Wilshire/Western, Wilshire/Normandie (purple line)
• Little Ethiopia
• Chinatown - Metro stop: Chinatown (blue line)
• Arts District (Bavel, Pizzeria Bianco, many other great spots)

A little further:

• Chengdu Taste - worth the Lyft if you want good Sichuan.

Local arrangements personal favorites:

• Sushi Enya
• Wanderlust Creamery
• Father’s Office
• Howlin’ Rays Hot Chicken
• Badmaash
• Philippe The Original
• Otium

Live music

• LA Weekly Music Calendar