griffith observatory

i decided we need to take better advantage of our local surroundings pre-move...you know, while things are five miles away, as opposed to when they'll be 10 miles away. :) first up on the list: the griffith observatory and the hollywood sign.



you may recognize this place from transformers because it's where optimus prime hangs out at the end. :) it is a really cool place that's been around since the 40s, up in the hills -- i've always wanted to go but oddly enough had never taken a trip.

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that's me with my work in the background :)

it was a beautiful so cal day (although it's supposed to rain tonight) and we got some awesome views. we learned all about phases of the moon, the solar system and seasons and got to watch a cool movie, projected right on the inner dome of the planetarium, about the history of astronomy.



i had read about a hike directly from the griff to the hollywood sign and was really excited to try it out, but it ended up being waaaaay longer than anticipated. we hiked up a few miles and got pretty close (naturally i stopped taking pictures by then and don't have anything good to show :( boo), but decided to forego the rest of the way because only people on horses took were going that far.




cloudy view from the top.

and that's all that's new at the wells household. except that we are so so excited to move! yesterday we picked up our keys and signed all the final paperwork...brandon has to take the GMAT next saturday, but then the week after that we'll be officially out of here. yay for pasadena, it's $3 movie theaters, pinkberry and close proximity to the paper source.