Hi everyone! I am back again for the second to last post about my time in Los Angeles! This time I am going to talk about Griffith Park and the Observatory along with one of my favorite places to drive: Mulholland Drive. A huge highlight is that this week you don’t have to hear me complain about how horrible parking is, as the parking near the Greek Theatre is absolutely free! And it is usually pretty easy to find a spot here, unless of course there is a show at the Greek or there is some sort of special event happening at the Observatory. But honestly other than that, I would say that Griffith Park has the best free parking in all of Los Angeles! Another great thing about Griffith Park is the amazing views you get from walking around the top of the mountain. There is even a great spot to get a few pictures of the Hollywood Sign if that’s something you are interested in. This is the best place to get a pic of the sign if you don’t want to make the 2 mile hike to get right up behind the sign. But if you are interested in hikes, there are lots of good trails that start from Griffith Park and go out into the canyon, so you have lots of options if you are interested.
My phone quality is not the best, but here is the view from Griffith Park at night!
Another great thing about Griffith Park is the Observatory, which is also free! A lot of the Observatory is focused on the Moon, with small exhibits that teach about its orbit and its influence on the tides. It is kind of a mix between an observatory and a museum, with lots of different exhibits inside with the telescopes that you would normally expect. While these exhibits may technically be geared towards younger kids, they are fun to play around with. An especially interesting exhibit is the one about the seasons, where you can watch the screen move an animated Earth through the seasons and you can see how both the Earth and the Moon interact. Another great part of the Observatory is the pendulum they have that keeps the time, meaning it knocks over a block every hour on the hour. I used to love standing there and watching it swing back and forth when I was younger! The Observatory also has a few different telescopes out that you can use to see the Moon if it’s a clear day. I highly recommend taking the time to go up to Griffith Park and visit the Observatory.
This is the outside of the Observatory!
An exhibit on gas giants and stars!
Yes they have a wall of the elements!! (not all of them because some are highly volatile but still its cool to see that chart that was always in my Chemistry books in real life!)
One of the telescopes they have that shows the light spectrum!
A lot of people don’t like driving, especially in Los Angeles, but I happen to love it! (even though there tends to be a lot of traffic) One of my favorite roads to drive is Mulholland Drive, yes the famous one and the namesake of a 2001 movie that was a bit forgettable. Mulholland Drive connects the 101 to the 405 through the canyons of Los Angeles. This means that the road is very very windy, which makes it that much more fun to drive. Also there are many lookout spots on Mulholland Drive where you can get a great view of the valley down below! In addition there is also a small park right off of Mulholland Drive called Lake Hollywood Park and it is a nice place to picnic or relax. Also it is correctly named for its position as another great place to get a view of the Hollywood Sign! There are usually less tourists in this park, as it is less well known as Griffith as a place to get a picture with the sign, but that does make it maybe an ever better spot because it is much less crowded. But the real reason I love Mulholland Drive is because it is a lot of fun to drive on. There are so many curves and turns you have to put a lot of focus into driving and staying on the right side of the road. But it is totally worth it for the views that you can get! So if you find yourself in Los Angeles, I say you need to drive it once, just to say that you have! Ok that is all for this week, hope you enjoyed and will leave a comment or a like!
The view off of one of the view points on Mulholland Drive!
The view of the sign from Lake Hollywood Park, it’s not bad at all!!!
Megan On Co-op 