10.14.2009

a trip to griffith observatory

Ashley and I have made a new resolve to do more "LA things." You know, just in case we find ourselves having to leave for one reason or another - we don't want to have any regrets about missing opportunities.

One classic, "must see" is Griffith Observatory (GO). What struck me about GO is that it wasn't like other "must see" places... in that once you go there, you are immediately smacked in the face of "oh brother I really wanna get out of here" or "I never want to come back" like - oh - say this place for instance.

Things that are great about GO:
  1. It's Free
  2. The Vistas
  3. Fresh Air
  4. Educational
  5. Interesting
  6. Interactive
  7. Fun For all Ages
And so and and so forth...

Ok, before you think I'm involved in some sort of seedy-underground blog promotional deal - I'll make with the pictures. They tell the story better than I do:

It was bright so George borrowed my hat and kicked it Christian Bale Newsie style


Los Angeles - America's 2nd largest urban area in America


George got tired of Newsies, and wanted an "edgier" look ala Samuel Jackson


Ashley and George, and downtown in the back


They had all sorts of information about the planets in our Solar System, including scales that you could stand on that tell you how much you'd weigh on that planet. Really fun.


Did I mention that they had fun for the ENTIRE family...


One of the best classes I took during my undergrad was Astronomy, Stars and Galaxies. Naively, I thought it'd be memorizing the zodiac and other inane trivia, "where's the big dipper?" someone would say in anguish. David to the rescue, "Allow me..." Was I in for a huge shock when there was real calculus to do, and parsecs and speed of light equations. Zoiks.

I got an A of course

I should've made astronomy my minor. I really like that stuff. Thinking about the universe, a never ending amount of space - makes my imagination run wild. [Sidebar, Ashley and I have just started Battlestar Galactica and we are enjoying it].

In conclusion - We had a great time. We brought our own lunch (there is a cafe, which sells over-priced, pre-made sannies) to save money and didn't go in the gift shop (man I wanted that NASA t-shirt) because the desire to spend money on astronomy knick knacks would've been unbearable. I hope we can go again soon, preferably with some out of town guests who have a penchant for exploring the universe!

7 comments:

Unknown said...

I love astronomy! Great pics. And Ashley: did you buy that shirt at Target?? I may have an identical one...geez! ha, ha.

Blythe said...

Definitely approve of the BSG. Griffith looks fun, too.

Dawn D. Lion said...

That looks fun! Lets do that next time we visit.
We're on Season 2.5 of BSG. I don't like it as much as say The Wire or Lost, but its better than whatever reality show is on tv.

kimber said...

Nice face lift to the blog. BTW I've never seen George in overalls. I'd like to see him with one of the straps undone....ala NKOTB.

Sarah Heder said...

I love the pic at the top of your blog. Frame it and hang it up in your living room. It's beautiful!

Dan and I started watching Battlestar Galactica too. We just finished season 2. We're really loving it. Of course, I can't say anything else about it because I don't want to give anything away, but it's GOOD!!!

The Writer said...

I love your new picture on the blog! You guys are adorable...in a sort of jealous , envy sort of way..

Unknown said...

OH my gosh. I am so embarrassed. I just changed my blog background to your exact color. I didn't even realize. I thought yours was green!! What a copy cat!