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Space Shuttle Endeavour

The next stop on Eric’s family tour of Los Angeles was the California Science Center to visit the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

The Space Shuttle Endeavour completed its final mission in June of 2011, after delivering supplies to the International Space Station. A year later, it was transported to Los Angeles. I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the shuttle as it flew in to LAX on September 21, 2012 from a rooftop in Silver Lake (but haven’t got a single picture to prove it). It took three days to transport the shuttle from the airport to the science center, traveling a total of 12 miles.

Endeavour now resides in the Samuel Oschin Pavilion as it awaits construction of its permanent home, set to open in 2017.

Besides the main attraction, the Science Center has many more exhibits related to space travel.There’s a recreation of the Rocketdyne Operations Support Center (the control center which monitored every space shuttle launch). A space toilet, galley, and spaceship tires are also on display. You can even look at one of the shuttle’s engines up close.

Before you head home, don’t forget to stop by the Humans in Space exhibit. Here you can see some of the earliest spacecraft, including the Mercury-Redstone 2 (which sent the first primate into space, paving the way for human space travel) and the Gemini 11 Capsule (one of the earliest human-manned space flights). There’s also a display showcasing some of the early space suits.

The California Science Center is located in Exposition Park, at the corner of Figueroa Street and 39th Street. Admission to the center is free, though special timed reservations must be made to visit Endeavour. Reservations can be made online, via the phone, or at the box office, and are free but may incur a small service charge. Parking is $10. The Science Center is open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM.

PS: La Brea Tar Pits & The Griffith Observatory

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Erika

La Brea Tar Pits

Eric’s parents stopped by over the Christmas holidays for a short visit.They have visited us several times, but there are still tons of LA landmarks we haven’t shown them. With only five days scheduled for this trip, we had to work quickly to check several places off their list.

Our first stop? The La Brea Tar Pits.

I was utterly surprised when I first discovered the existence of an Ice Age fossil excavation site in the heart of Los Angeles — especially because I’d driven past it dozens of times before noticing it!

The tar pits are the result of asphalt mining in the late 1700s and early 1800s, when Los Angeles was first settled. The large asphalt deposit formed over tens of thousands of years as crude oil seeped from the earth. Occasionally, the asphalt would become thick enough to trap animals, fossilizing them.When early Los Angelenos began mining the deposits for asphalt, water combined with the asphalt in the mine to form the large lakes we can see in the park today. The other pits formed through excavation in the early 1900s — the first fossil was discovered at the site in 1875. By 1915, scientists had discovered over a million fossilized bones at the La Brea Tar Pits. And new discoveries are still happening as excavations continue into today.

There are a variety of activities available at the La Brea Tar Pits. The pits themselves can be viewed by walking along the paths through Hancock Park. The largest of the tar pits is the Lake Pit in the southeast corner of the park. Just north of the Lake Pit is the Page Museum, which houses a variety of Ice Age fossils that have been excavated from the site. On the far west end of the park, you can visit the Observation Pit, which allows you to get an up-close view of the tar pits and the fossils contained within. And just east of the Observation Pit is Project 23. Project 23 is a collection of deposits recovered during the construction of LACMA’s underground parking garage. Excavators work seven days per week at these deposits, discovering new fossils daily!

We had a lot of fun visiting the tar pits with Eric’s family. We didn’t stop by the museum on this particular visit, as we were short on time (we had a full schedule of landmarks to see!). Walking through the park was more than enough enjoyment for a few hours.

The Tar Pits are an excellent site to pair with a visit to LACMA (The Los Angeles County Museum of Art), located right next door. We stopped at the LACMA Cafe for a quick lunch before whisking off on our next adventure of the day.

The La Brea Tar Pits are located at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Curson Avenue in Los Angeles. Parking is accessible via Curson Avenue or through the LACMA parking lot on 6th Street. Admission to the Page Museum is $12 for adults, $9 for teenagers, seniors, and college students, $8 for children under 13, and free for children under 3. Admission to Hancock Park is free.

PS: The Griffith Observatory & Why I Don’t Hate LA

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Erika

The Griffith Observatory: Exploring a Los Angeles Landmark

The Griffith Observatory is an iconic Los Angeles landmark. Like the famous Hollywood Sign, the Griffith Observatory is visible throughout most of LA from its perch on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood.

Built in 1935, the observatory was one of the country’s first institutions dedicated to public science and housed the nation’s third planetarium. Admission to the public is, and always has been, free.

We arrived at the observatory by following Vermont Avenue through Griffith Park. You can also get there by taking Fern Dell Drive. Regardless of the route you choose, signs very clearly direct you towards the observatory. There is a small parking lot at the top of the drive, which fills quickly. Many visitors park on the street leading up to the observatory and walk the short distance uphill.

We were a little worried about parking on the street, as nearly all the parking signs are unreadable due to graffiti. I managed to piece them together to discover that parking is only disallowed during the late night and early morning. As long as the observatory is open, you should be fine to park alongside the street.

On weekends, the City of Los Angeles operates a shuttle to the Observatory.

Once we figured out where the entrance actually was, we perused the many exhibits inside.

Sadly, many of the exhibits were not functioning during our visit. I’m not sure if this is normal, but Eric did mention that the Tesla Coil hadn’t been working during any of his previous three visits to the observatory. Regardless, we made sure to deposit a donation that will hopefully help with the upkeep of some of these exhibits. Those that were functioning were quite fascinating!

Strangely, the donation containers were located on the lower level, rather than by the main entrances. Be sure to head down there if you want to leave a donation for this historic facility. While you’re there, explore the lower level exhibits, too. You can discover how much you weigh on each of the planets in our solar system! Pretty exciting.

PS: Experience History at the Abandoned Griffith Park Zoo and Hiking Mount Lee to the Hollywood Sign

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Erika

Outdoor Movie Night at Barnsdall Art Park

A few weeks ago, Eric and I visited Barnsdall Art Park for an outdoor screening of the 1976 classic horror film “Carrie.”

This was our first time attending an event at Barnsdall Art Park, and we enjoyed every minute. Located on top of a hill in southern Los Feliz, the park offers spectacular views of the city.

The Barnsdall Art Park Foundation holds events at the park throughout the year. I first heard about them from a coworker who raved about their Friday night summertime wine tastings. We missed the opportunity to attend one of those this year, but were just in time for the outdoor movie series!

Neither Eric nor I had seen “Carrie,” and since we were on a classic horror film kick this October, decided to buy tickets.

The cost of our tickets went to benefit the Barnsdall Art Park Foundation and the programs they put on. It also paid for a selection of wine and beer courtesy of Silverlake Wine. Score.

We arrived early, blanket in tow, and snagged a great seat towards the front. With our spot secure, we got started on our most important task of the evening:

Enjoying a variety of fine alcoholic beverages.

The Foundation was also kind enough to have some food trucks available, which offered a selection of yummy sandwiches. Picnic dinners were allowed, but with the promise of food trucks on the premises, Eric and I opted to try these instead. Maybe the wine played a part, but we were not disappointed.

The movie was enjoyable, and was a little different than I expected (in a good way).

Our screening of “Carrie” was the last in their series for this year, but I’m hoping they’ll do more of these in the future! I’ll definitely be going back. Maybe I’ll see you there?

You may also enjoy Los Angeles County’s Renaissance Pleasure Faire and Jeff Goldblum Jazz at the Rockwell

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Erika

Space Shuttle Endeavour

La Brea Tar Pits

Our first stop? The La Brea Tar Pits.

The Griffith Observatory: Exploring a Los Angeles Landmark

Outdoor Movie Night at Barnsdall Art Park

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