get out!

having grown up here, i think i tend to take for granted all the amazing activities southern california has to offer. in fact, it took a visit from a aussie friend last fall to finally get my butt to the getty. how long has that place been open now? too long to have not visited.

anyway, with dad's birthday and father's day popping up in june, it was a good excuse to get out and see some of the fun stuff we have around here.

did you know the griffith observatory has reopened? it was shut down in 2002 for renovation and repair and just opened back up this past november.

they added a huge expansion, revamped the planetarium show and added a bunch of new exhibits.

but, you know, the view alone is worth the effort to make shuttle reservations. (you can't just drive yourself up quite yet.)


it was a fun outing for the fam. (although we all forgot our cameras, so i had to rip these photos of their website. oops.) anyway, go check it out. you won't regret it.

another neat place to check out is the los angeles county arboretum...

we just wanted to go and wander around the gardens, but they have all kinds of classes and talks and whatnot available all the time, as well as fun on-going events. for example, every 3rd sunday of the month is family picnic day, and on saturday nights during the summer, they have california philharmonic concerts on the green.

there is a lot of hollywood history there, as well. i wish i had read up on that before i visited, so i knew what to look for. although, when i rounded the corner and saw the front of the building below, i quickly found myself pointing to the sky and saying, "thee plaaane, thee plaaane!"

(please tell me you people watched fantasy island.)

but the best part... the peacocks! they're everywhere, and really laid back around people.

anyway, just thought i'd share. we live in a pretty cool place, and it's nice to take some time every now and then to stop and smell the peacocks.. err, roses. so go... GET OUT!!!