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Exploring Los Angeles: Griffith Observatory

Griffith Observatory view

We love exploring on Saturday mornings! With the traffic being so bad in Los Angeles, we've learned to take advantage of weekend mornings while the roads are relatively quiet and easy to navigate. Depending on the destination, we like to start with either a leisurely brunch or if it's a longer road trip, we grab coffee and pastries to-go. Traffic can be avoided if you plan your day right, so we make a point of getting an early start to make the most of our day. We can normally grab breakfast, explore and be back home before the traffic hits it's peak. 

This week it was brunch at one of our favorite spots, Ostrich Farm in Echo Park and then exploring at Griffith Observatory. We've wanted to visit ever since seeing "Rebel Without a Cause" many years ago and have attempted numerous times to visit since moving to Los Angeles, but it was always super busy up there and the parking lot is really small and ALWAYS full! We left disappointed at least four times until this past weekend, when we finally made it! We decided to take a Lyft, and it worked out quite well, except we didn't realize that the cell reception is really poor up there. We got up there easily, but connecting with a Lyft to come back down took at least a half hour because our cell signal dropped every time we connected with a ride. It was pretty annoying. The best piece of advice we can give is to go to their website where they will tell you how to use the park and ride. You can leave your car in a nearby parking lot or Uber to the bus stop and then ride up for a small fare. We saw so many people leaving on those buses while we waited for our Lyft driver. Never again! The bus is really the best way to go, unless you are feeling ambitious and decide you want to hike all the way up!

Aside from the logistical aspect, we really loved our time up there. It was a hazy, overcast day, but the views were still breathtaking and you can roam the grounds and see the exhibits inside for free. They also have movies running for a modest admission fee where the seats lay back and you can gaze up at the film and feel like you are floating space. It's pretty cool. There are quite a few hiking trails around the area and a great view of the Hollywood Sign. We explored the grounds and exhibits, took in the views, watched the short film "Centered in the Universe", got lost in the stars, gained a new perspective about our place in the universe and FINALLY checked this destination off our to-do list! 


 Griffith Observatory

 

Griffith Observatory

 Griffith Observatory

 

Griffith Observatory 

 

 

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