Griffith Observatory / Hollywood

This is a continuation of the previous "Hollywood" post.  It's amazing how even with 24 hours in a day, I can't seem to keep up with my blog postings. :-P

There is a really cool sundial in the lawn of the observatory:

What time is it, you ask?  12:46pm!

There is also a scaled down version of how far apart the planets in the solar system would be.  Pretty cool!

There are 2 domes here at the observatory:

The first one that we see is the Zeiss telescope:

So cool!!!  You can actually come by after sunset to use this one.  Some day!  I mean, some night!

Here is a look at the lawn from the top of the observatory:

Here is the close-up of the white pillar at the very front - the Astronomers Monument, a large outdoor concrete sculpture that pays homage to the six of the greatest astronomers of all time:

 Moving on to the second dome, but first we need to look at...???

Okay, this second telescope is aimed at the sun!

That dome was actually closed, so we move downstairs.  By the way, did you know that entry into the observatory is free??!  Even better!

All the planets in the solar system are on display downstairs:

I find the list of meteor showers for 2018.  Will need to pay attention to this one so Graham and Charlie won't miss it!

Here is an interesting fact about cosmic rays.  Coincidentally I was just watching a documentary recently about how cosmic rays are being used to find undiscovered tombs in the Pyramids in Egypt. Fascinating!

It was difficult to take a photo of the spark of a cosmic ray, so here is a video the spark chamber and the boys ;-)

There is also "Public Star Parties" at the observatory.  Might be another thing to do as well on a non-school night!

Here is a better look of the planets from the bottom floor.  Each planet gets it's own information "booth" so to speak:

Graham and Charlie really enjoys anything you can touch and play with :-)

We head back upstairs for lunch and head back to the main floor.  Look at the ceiling!

There is actually a cable hanging from the middle of the ceiling, that you can almost see.  It is a cable for the gently swaying Foucault Pendulum - which demonstrates the Earth's rotation.  As the day passes, the pendulum knocks over these pegs in the pit which indicates the progress of rotation:

Interesting pattern on the front door:

We have been seeing a lot of Tesla lately.  Too bad the timing didn't work out for this demonstration:

There is still more to see:

We are actually viewing the sun here through a special filter.  The SUN!!!

And here is an actual live projection of the sun.  The boys probably didn't think to much of it but Bobby and I were totally impressed!

We are finally able to drag the boy out of the Observatory over 2 hours later.  One last look at the Hollywood sign before we go back to the car:

Interesting how these little baby pine needles were growing out from the trunk:

One more shortcut??? Did we not learn anything from a few hours ago when we were going UP a shortcut???!!

There was a tricky spot so we wait while Bobby gets down first, then Charlie, then Graham and finally Mommy.  Why is it that Mommy always goes last???

Phew!  We make it down with no drama this time.  A dad and daughter were making their way up by the time we got down. Somehow it doesn't look very steep in the photo.  Hmmm.... :-\

We drive along Hollywood Boulevard before heading home.  Looks like Aladdin is playing now at the Pantages Theatre:

Some really neat architecture on the buildings:

Look like this is as close I am going to get to the "Hollywood Stars"... for now!

More interesting carvings on the buildings:

Bobby is driving faster so I am just barely catching the Hard Rock Cafe.  I was never big into this restaurant but I know people that love to buy their souvenir shirts.

Chinese Theatre IMAX?  I am just finding out on the internet that the IMAX was added on in 2013.  The theatre is also now called the TCL Chinese Theatre after a Chinese electronic manufacturer TCL Corporation purchased the naming rights in January 2013.

It is so busy in this part of Hollywood.  There is even a limousine parked in front of the Theatre:

I can't imagine how many souvenirs one can get from the movie La La Land, where it actually requires a whole corner store???!

The tall palm trees are such an icon for LA although I just came across a news article dated Sept 2017 mentioning that the palm trees are being attacked by the S. American palm weevil (beetle) and a fungus called Fusarium.  Sadly these palms won't be replaced and on top of that, other palms are also drying. Oh no!

We make a turn and go along Sunset Boulevard and somehow this empty Morgan Camera Shop catches my eye. The store opened in 1938 but closed in the early 2000s.  What's strange is all the vintage camera stock is still sitting inside.  We will have to stop next time to take a peek inside! Supposedly this property is still owned by the Morgan family:

We finally make our way back on the freeway and what a shocking scene when I spot homeless shelters along the freeway.  Always puts things in perspective as to how lucky we have it:

Hmm... so maybe I shouldn't complain about traffic so much!