Tuesday 5 August 2014

USA Day 9. Griffith Observatory

We took it a bit easier today as I had some feet that were feeling rather sorry for themselves! We didn't waste the day though as once the midday sun had pasted and it wasn't quite so scorching we set out on a little walk up to Griffith Park. We did look into catching a bus or a metro but they just didn't really go up that way. As it was it was a really nice walk!
We looked into (for quite a while) alternatives for doing the hour long walk, but the metro doesn't go up that way and the only time a bus ever runs to the Park is on the weekends. As it was, it was a really nice walk that had a couple of lovely views along the way up 
I definitely didn't force Damien to let me take this pic :D
The view on the way up out over LA
And when we finally reached the top and saw the domes of the Observatory up close
We had a walk around the base, taking in the views (and the art deco architecture) in daylight before the sunset where the landscape would completely change 

I really loved the view from the Observatory - you can really get a bit of an idea of how sprawling Los Angeles actually is, it seems to just carry on endlessly on the flat plane
I also might have got a bit giddy about getting to see the hollywood sign!
Our Subway picnic :p 
I really loved the picnic spot out over the lawns and Hollywood hills - the timing was also perfect so that it wasn't too hot to enjoy sitting outside but it wasn't cold either!
Afterwards we decided to head inside the Observatory itself since Damien wanted to see a view bits inside, and a couple of the exhibits were actually quite interesting 
Out of all the different scientifically interesting sections they had, the one that got me excited was this little screen. It's a heat sensor/detector thingy that shows the temperature of whatever is in front of the camera! I was just fascinated by it and Damien might have had to drag me away so the children behind me could have a go… This pic is of Damien's sunburn that's gone past red all the way to white!
And to show the difference in temperature between my hands and Damiens, mine is the yellow one and Damien's is red! What was really cool was once he let go of my hand the screen showed red impressions on my skin where his hands had warmed mine up!
There was also this coil thing, that I really should find the name of that was used or sending electricity wirelessly, and looked pretty cool when it was turned on!
 The downstairs space exhibits were really interesting and I'll probably include more photos later.
The  interactive section where you could find out your weight on the various planets, so how the gravity varies from planet to planet was pretty cool too. 
But as soon as I noticed the sunset I dragged Damien outside to watch the sunset over the hills! There's just something about sunsets that I absolutely love and the one over LA has got to be one of my favourites, it was all red with touches of orange
Once the sun was down the view over LA really became amazing! I completely adore this photo and it captures the moment perfectly!
And to finish off, a little picture of me, looking slightly scary because of the flash! 

Today was really lovely, I can only hope tomorrow is just as good!!

No comments:

Post a Comment