Cafe at the End of the Universe

I saw the sign and had to laugh! I immediately made the connection to Douglas Adams. And was a bit surprised to see that it was also a Wolfgang Puck facility!

Griffith Observatory

I arrived inside about 10:30 and made it just in time for "Water is Life" a half hour show in the Samuel Oschin Planetarium. The narrator was pretty impressive, smooth delivery the entire time without being able to see a script. I got a picture of the equipment prior to the show and a part of the sky at one point.

The camera obscura was projecting an amazingly clear picture despite the cloudy conditions. I also watched the demonstration of the Tesla Coil, a shocking experience! I got some video of that I hope to get up soon.



One part of the history was a long time line in million year increments of the Universe. It was marked by a long trail of all sorts of stars and moons. There were everything from small earrings to law enforcement badges marking the trail.



The long spiral ramp led to a room full of exhibits that explored everything from sub-atomic particles to the giant planets.



I was even able to get a bit of help understanding a part of the exhibits by a very intelligent gentleman who was firmly established on one of the benches.

Griffith Observatory - Exterior

Sunday morning was gray and rather dismal looking. I hoped on the 405 to the 5 and headed North. It was fairly straightforward getting to the observatory, but it was a climb with some really winding roads! The picture below is about half wat through the descent. Eventually I reached the top and the small parking lot there. The views are similar to those you get at the Getty, just from the other side!


Walking up from the parking area toward the building, I noticed a bust on a marble pillar and walked over to read the plaque. The image was clearly identifiable!



The obelisk in front pictures many key astronomers through the ages.




And I had to get myself with the Hollywood sign in the background! It was clear even though the sky was overcast and the tops of some of the higher hills were hidden. On a couple of occasions the Hollywood sign was hidden behind the clouds.

View From the Getty Center

The Getty Center sits on a tall hill just off the 405. The views from many windows and patios throughout the venue are magnificent! Just outside the gallery that houses some of the famous paintings is a wrap around patio that I took these pictures from. Top to Bottom these are left to right view of Los Angeles and the Pacific Ocean and the communities in between.

Lunch at the Getty

I had lunch at 'Restaurant at The Getty Center.' It can be quite a wait, so by all means make a reservation before arriving, or go there when you arrive and make your reservation for later. I started with a Panzanella Salad that included smoked mozzarella, garlic croutons, tomatoes, basi and a basalmic vinaigrette.



The ice tea was raspberry flavored and very nice. For my main course I had the Chicken Breast that was stuffed with goat cheese and apricots. Fingerling potatoes, globe carrots and broccoli with a rosemary honey mustard sauce over the whole thing.

Water at the Getty

Water plays a large part of the Getty experience. There are numerous water features, including some at the lower tram station. I have some video and will try to get it edited and shown here as well. One end of the main plaza has the fountain, the natural rock blended in with the cut stone of the plaza.



The feature below is like being inside a large clay jar. The water trickles over the edge in a pond above. Some of it falls down like rain, and some of it trickles down the sides of the edge, feeding a thick lush layer of moss.



A stream cascades down through the center of the garden, flowing through a variety of stone patterns and types of stone work, the most natural which is shown below.

The Museum has Art!

In addition to all of the other things, there is art there! All over the place! The statue to the right is in the main entrance hall. It has a couple of lecture halls, information booths, audio tour units and a nice view.




Yes, that is Van Gogh's Iris picture! The sculpture below is in the garden, near the Research Center where the Obsidian Mirror-Travels exhibit was.

The Getty Museum

I got up this morning and tried to figure out what to do today. Talked with Cathy on the phone and Skyped with Lindsay for a while. While it had been sunny when I woke up, clouds were rolling in, and the beach didn't look like a good option. I decided to check out the Getty Museum, as several people had suggested it. The AAA guidebook indicated that the cost was a whopping $15 for parking. The fact that it was located immediately off the 405 made it easy to get to, so off I went. I parked in the structure, and took a picture of the sign near my spot so I could find it again!

You can see the tram that shuttles visitors from the parking structure up the hill to the museum complex on the right. Once you get off, you are greeted by a variety of placards showing the various special exhibitions that are on display.


I visited all three of these exhibits. I really enjoyed the Asian photography exhibits, some of the photos displayed were well over 150 years old. The stairs that led up to the entry building were decorated by a sculpture and large urns of flowers. The honey aroma of the alyssum dominated the air.



Once inside the Welcome Center, you can opt to watch a short movie that provides an overview of the facility as well as pick up a map of the entire complex. In the language of your choice! I picked up a few of the foreign language version to share.

The Garden at the Getty Museum

The Flowers of the Getty

The Getty Gardens are pretty amazing! They were designed by an artist. The colors, particularly the wide variety of shades of green, make an enjoyable view. Not much to say about them, the pictures say it all!



There are a large variety of succulents in the flower beds, helping add to the many shades of green.

If you look carefully in the picture above, or click on it to bring up a larger verison, you'll see a hummingbird feeding at one of the flowers. It was there for a few seconds and I just had time to click the camera once!

Tremendous Trees

When you step into the entrance hall of the museum, volunteers hand you a slip of paper with the events of the day on them. I read through them and one caught my eye right off, Family Drawing Hour: Tremendous Trees. You signed up for a one-hour sketching class for age 7 and up. So I found the right location to sign up and put my name down. We met at the appointed location and everyone was handed their supplies, a cardboard backed pad of paper, a graphite pencil, a rubber and an eraser.

Audrey was the instructor, assisted by Kelly, who kept everyone supplied with sharp pencils. We were taken to one of the photo galleries that had a display of photographs of trees and plopped down on the floor. We did a warm up exercise where we drew and filled a sheet of paper with scribbles. The rubber was applied to blur and shade. Then we used the stretch eraser to remove and shade.

Then we were shown two ways of drawing trees, the line and the 'blob.' We each started two pictures based on a couple of pictures hanging on the wall. Both of them were pictures of trees in front of backdrops. After about 15 minutes we moved outside to the garden. We talked about using the different techniques and Audrey pointed to the various trees in the garden and we all were to pick a tree and try to draw it.

Audrey standing next to the tree I tried to draw. I need a lot more branches to make it look good. At the end of class she posed with me and one of my pictures. The painting of the bug in the back is pretty neat. You can see the insect pin that looks like it is holding the bug to the wall, it actually comes out of the wall.

Jake Shimabukuro

We were glad for a chance to stretch our legs and walk for a bit after the big meal. The area around the theaters was filled with buses, cars and crowds of people, but traffic of all types flowed smoothly.

The venue was huge! Once we found the door, we were directed to 'take the elevator all the way to the top.' We opted for the stairs, which was quite a long haul! We arrived at the top and looked over the railing at the people coming in below. A friendly usher, who was also a member of a local ukulele organization that had purchased a block of 150 tickets, told us we were in the right place. We also learned that the hall held just under 2000 seats and the show was sold out with a waiting list. The show was part of the Orange County Japanese celebration.

We chatted with a lot of people, many of whom had no idea who Jake was. A couple of them were kind enough to take a picture of Jesse and I. No photos or recording allowed during the concert and the ushers were pretty vigilant about it.

Yes, that little tiny stool down there was were Jake was. The size of the pipe organ on the back wall is pretty impressive! We were in the front row of the top balcony. There were a lot of rows behind us and they were steep! You can also see that there were people seated behind Jake.

Despite the long distance, the sound was wonderful! He did many tracks from his current album, Love, Peace and Ukulele. He did Crazy G for an encore and it was amazing!