don't jump into the sprinkles pool

you know how much of a sucker i am for a novelty, right?  and so when i saw notices for the pop-up museum of ice cream coming to l.a. after a successful run in new york, i immediately signed up for email updates.  and when the day came for tickets to go on sale, i was right on top of things and got my hands on the day and time i wanted to go.  yay!

when the day finally came, it brought a weird mix of sunshine, clouds and sporadic rain along with it.  but nothing could dampen our spirits, and we dropped off the car with the valet and headed up towards the happy pink building all ready to see what there was to see.

it wasn't hard to figure out which way we needed to go, with these painted all along the sidewalk.

although the tickets were all timed, we found quite a line of folks waiting to get in.

we killed time taking pictures against the bright pink backdrop and checking out the art on the opposite wall.

as we moved up in line, we spied a play area where folks were hanging out to either wait their turn to go inside or spend some time socializing after their walk through the museum.  there were hula hoops, cornhole sets, and giant jenga to keep everyone occupied.

we finally got to the pink rope, which meant that we were in the next group to go in.

as we entered the building, i had just enough time to look around and snap a few pictures.  they were really rushing us, which was super annoying.  the tickets weren't cheap and i was not going to be screwed out of time during our long-awaited visit.

our first treat was a piece of chocolate from the dove cart just inside the door.  we'd been told that we would get 6 total treats, with half of them being some sort of ice cream.

then we were ushered into the next room, where we were encouraged to pick up a phone to listen to a message - but "don't take too long, because the next group is coming and there's so much more stuff inside!"  i was irritated all over again, but whatever.

 from there, we moved into the "california" room.

this was where we got our first taste of ice cream - earl grey flavored, which tasted better than it sounds.

as soon as we'd shoveled that scoop of ice cream into our bellies, we made our way towards the banana room.

first, we waited in line to take turns on the swing.

and then we went to play with the pink and yellow bananas hanging from the ceiling in the next room.

we walked past this giant waffle cone wall and found ourselves in the mint chip room.

 here we were treated to mint chip mochi, which turned out to be our favorite treat of the day.

beware:

the next room was kind of a bummer, with a couple of sad little backdrops for photos and a claw machine that was broken.  looked like the prizes to be won consisted of phone cases.

 we walked through this hallway next, and checked out the spice girls-esque shoes in the display:

and just around the corner we found the popsicle room.  we were a little disappointed not to get actual popsicles here, but at least it was a fun photo op.

our next treat awaited us in the next room:

i was pretty amused to find later on as i scrolled through my camera roll that i'd been photobombed.

we were excited to find the next treat just around the corner, in this weird room:

...until we discovered that the little cones did not, in fact, contain ice cream.  no, instead this was edible cookie dough.  this is not my jam, but i tried it anyway.  at least the cone was tasty.

and the bean was delighted to hear that it had turned her tongue black.

the attraction that everyone wanted to see was up next:

they were allowing small groups to go in for about a minute at a time.  we were instructed to remove our shoes and stow them with purses or other items in a row of lockers along one wall and then gather at the stairs.

the sprinkles are fake, by the way - millions of little teeny-tiny colorful plastic pieces that were about 2 feet high inside the small pool area.

it was literally about 45 seconds of fun before we got kicked out so the next group could go in.

last room, last treat.

there was a fun ice cream sandwich-shaped swing that i wanted to sit on, but nobody wanted to do it with me and this was pretty much the only 1.5 seconds that it was unoccupied while we were there.

the kids had fun at the ping-pong table, though:

and we got one last photo op, too.

there was a list of all the local participating vendors:

and then we checked out the little gift shop.  because what's a visit to anywhere without some sort of souvenir?

yes, yes of course i got suckered into buying something.  the bean got these:

 and then we got outta there.

we found ourselves right across the street from the pizza place that the old lady wanted us to try, and so we crossed the street to get something savory for our bellies.  it was quite an ominous sight, with the dark clouds that were coming our way.

and i had to take this as we walked:

 pizza nista is pretty tiny, but we managed to find an empty booth.

these are their pizza flavors.  we opted for slices of "meat jesus" - pepperoni, sausage, and bacon and their sunday mac & cheese special.

as we enjoyed our pizza, we turned around and realized that the skies had opened up and it was pouring.  because we were parked across the street and around the corner, we ate very, very slowly.  but then we realized that everyone else coming out of the museum was heading in to eat too, and so we cleaned up and got outta there so someone else could sit at the table.

oh, and i actually had another souvenir that i'd inadvertently brought home...i had a pocket full of these:

um, and actually, when i went for a potty break, i found, um, even more.  when i got up and turned around, the toilet was full of sprinkles and i thought i was going to pee myself again as i laughed and laughed and laughed at the sight.

so, a word to the wise.  if you happen to get to the museum of ice cream before it closes (because due to popular demand, they've extended their stay through august), don't wear low-ish rise jeans.  or if you do, don't dig your bum into the sprinkle pool so you can lay down in them.  and if you do that, just be prepared to find sprinkles...everywhere.  for days.  in places you never realized sprinkles would go.

you're welcome.