Griffith Observatory [2014]

Wrapping up my vacation/food tour series, I finally boldly went back where everyone in LA has gone before — Griffith Observatory! I hadn’t been there since before they closed to renovate/expand back in 2002, so I was looking forward to checking it out!

Like the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the Griffith Observatory is a great place to visit if you’re an astronomy nut (like me)! It opened in 1935 and is located on Mount Hollywood in Los Angeles’ Griffith Park (I’ve actually never checked out the rest of the park ^^; ). They bring telescopes out to the lawn in the evening, but we didn’t stay long enough to take part.

I missed the legend that details what the symbols signify; they seem to be of various scientific disciplines.

Once you go through the doors, you’re in the W.M. Keck Foundation Central Rotunda, and when you look up, you’ll see these huge balling murals! Seriously, they’re the Hugo Ballin Murals, painted in 1934.

You can get some nice views of downtown from up here! I’ve never hiked up to the Hollywood sign; have you?

The Gottlieb Transit Corridor allows you to track the passage of time and the cycle of the seasons, though I’m not really sure how to read it. ^^;

Here’s a lovely panoramic view of downtown (click it to enlarge).

Even though it’s behind glass here, you apparently can look through the 12-inch Zeiss refracting telescope (and the 9-1/2-inch refracting telescope atop it) on every clear night that the Observatory is open.

The Cosmic Connection, which is on the new lower level and leads to the Edge of Space exhibits, is a history of the universe.

These large scale-sized planets (notice Pluto is still among them) are in the Richard and Lois Gunther Depths of Space exhibit area.

There’s a 1/1 scale statue of one of my heroes, Albert Einstein, sitting in the Gunther Depths of Space just outside the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon theater!

Back upstairs in the Wilder Hall of the Eye, they hold a Tesla Coil demonstration several times a day.

Since we were nearby, we made a stop at Pink’s for some Mulholland Drive dogs (and an Orange Crush)! :9

There’s so much to see and do at Griffith Observatory, and admission and parking (if you can find it) is free! Definitely worth the trip if you’re in the area, and I hope to visit again soon!

See the full album on my Fan Page on Facebook and check out The Vault on Facebook, where I’m finally caught up through 2010! 😀

2014 09 19 Fri: Griffith Observatory

Full Coverage of Vacation/Food Tour 2014:

Food Tour! [2014]
626 Night Market, Day 3.3 [2014]
Solvang: Danish Capital of America [2014]
Griffith Observatory [2014]

Solvang: Danish Capital of America [2014]

Continuing my vacation/food tour, my family and I took a trip mid-week up to Solvang, the Danish Capital of America!

About two-and-a-half hours from Los Angeles, Solvang was founded by Danish immigrants in 1911. Many of the buildings feature Danish-inspired architecture, and the city (not a district like Little Tokyo or Chinatown) is home to four windmills, three museums, and tons of bakeries! 😀

While we didn’t spend a whole lot of time there, it was very pedestrian-friendly and quite amenable to tourists.

The Danish Mill Bakery was very, very cool! I love getting tins of Danish butter cookies at Christmas, and this just might be the closest I’ll ever get to fresh and authentic!

Next, we headed over to Ingeborg’s for some chocolates, including chocolate-covered marshmallows (flødeboll)! They were all very good, but I think my favorite was the orange creme. I’d wanted to try their hot chocolate as well, but I was extremely disappointed to learn that it wasn’t made with Danish chocolate and so had to pass. :p

Here is Solvang’s Main Street, Alisal Road. We only got to see two of the four windmills.

We didn’t eat at the Restaurant Bit O’Denmark, but it was a nice-looking building!

Many of the buildings had these words about and images of the Danish monarchy on them. Some were more current than others; this one has the current monarch, Margrethe II, listed.

This tower is a 1/3 scale replica of Rundetaarn (Round Tower) in Copenhagen. According to the placard, the rebus on the facade can be read: “Lead, God, the right teaching and justice into the heart of the crowned King Christian IV, 1642”. The original tower was completed in 1642 and is the oldest functioning observatory in Europe. This replica tower was completed in 1991 and is a pizza restaurant. 😀

This is Frederik’s Court, a shopping area.

I love Disney‘s version of The Little Mermaid, so people naturally assume I love all mermaids for some reason, lol. I actually don’t, and I’m not really a fan of the original version of the story, but I respect Ariel’s roots. ;D

Even Subway looks great in Solvang!

We also went to Pea Soup Andersen’s, a popular stop for many folks who travel between LA and San Francisco, for dinner in nearby Buellton. There was a Danish feel to the restaurant also (one of the founders was Danish), but I think we should’ve just stuck to the bakeries, since none of us were very impressed.

One day I’ll have to go back and try out the many places for sweets and treats that we missed this time around!

See the full album on my Fan Page on Facebook and check out The Vault on Facebook, where I’m finally caught up through 2010! 😀

2014 09 17 Wed: Solvang: Danish Capital of America

Full Coverage of Vacation/Food Tour 2014:

Food Tour! [2014]
626 Night Market, Day 3.3 [2014]
Solvang: Danish Capital of America [2014]
Griffith Observatory [2014]

626 Night Market, Day 3.3 [2014]

Happy New Year! Hope you had a great Christmas and that 2015 brings you everything you strive for! 🙂

Resuming my posts, one of the stops I made with my family during my food tour in September was 626 Night Market!

This was not only the first time I’d ever been to 626 Night Market, but also the first time I’d ever been to Santa Anita Park, a thoroughbred (horse) racetrack in nearby Arcadia. For the past three years, 626 Night Market has been held there over multiple weekends during the summer (usually one weekend per month).

Made it just in time for the cosplay contest, which was already underway. The stage was pretty far away and it was pretty dark, so I wound up with a lot of shaky shots. ><

Didn’t stay around to find out who won or placed, but everyone looked really good!

After I got the cosplay contest out of the way, it was time to go exploring! There was a long wait for these little snacks at Waffle Land, but they tasted so good!

According to the official website, 626 Night Market is an Asian-themed event featuring over 200 “food, merchandise, crafts, arts, games, music, and entertainment attractions… to unite and empower the community by serving as a platform for showcasing local entrepreneurs, businesses, artists, and talent.” Of course, I think most people go for the food!

I’m not really into sushi, so even though I do enjoy a good hot dog, I didn’t try the Sushi Dog.

Had heard about the famous Ramen Burger by Keizo Shimamoto so had to give it a try! The line was ridiculously long… even longer than some of the In-N-Outs I’ve been to! :O

Sorry for the awkward shot; was holding it in one hand while snapping the photo in the other. We went and splurged on the cheese, lol. You can prolly tell it was kind of on the small side (almost as big as a McDonald’s hamburger… maybe). Was it worth it? Well, as with the Umami Burger, at least now I can say I’ve had one. ^^; But honestly, for $11 (plus tip) and the lengthy wait, I’d rather get a couple of Double-Doubles! :9

If you’re looking for a fun night of adventure, the 626 Night Market, with its plentiful free parking and low $3 entry fee, certainly fits the bill! Looking forward to checking it out again next summer!

See the full album on my Fan Page on Facebook and check out The Vault on Facebook, where I’m finally caught up through 2010! 😀

2014 09 14 Sun: 626 Night Market, Day 3.3

Full Coverage of Vacation/Food Tour 2014:

Food Tour! [2014]
626 Night Market, Day 3.3 [2014]
Solvang: Danish Capital of America [2014]
Griffith Observatory [2014]

Food Tour! [2014]

The holidays are all about food and family, so here is the final post of 2014 to whet your appetite! Mia famiglia came for a rare visit and I decided to take them on a bit of food tour; from snacks to meals, from Japanese to Italian, here are some of my favorite (and some of the new) places I like to stuff my face!

Conveniently located right near LAX, the first stop, of course, has to be In-N-Out! My personal go-to is an Animal-Style Double-Double with Fries Well Done. :9

My friends turned me on to this great dumpling place called J&J. Turns out they have some other yummy food as well!

My family always brings me Dunkin’ Donuts! ❤ Of course, I didn't realize at the time that Dunkin's was way ahead of schedule and had already opened their first California stores; no more waiting for my Munchkins!

Had always gone to Guppy House for just Brick Toast up to this point, so was interested in trying out their entrees.

Hadn’t been to Curry House in a while since I’m not actually into curry. Tonkatsu (pork cutlet) is usually my meal of choice!

Mixed things up a bit and had some Italian at The Old Spaghetti Factory. I love me some garlic cheese bread!

Finally made our way to Little Tokyo towards the end of the week! First stop there was Mikawaya, where we got some mochi ice cream! (Someone was nommy and started eating before I could take the picture, lol.)

Next stop was ‘Lette. All they sell are macarons!

Had been wanting to try Umami Burger since one of my aunts had mentioned it long ago and since it’s right down the street from Little Tokyo in the Arts District, we gave it a shot. I have to say, it was worth trying, but I wasn’t very wowed.

Treated my family to some slices from The Pie Hole, also in the Arts District! Luckily, we managed to get some pieces that weren’t drowning in salt, as had happened to me the last couple of times.

Always good to spend time with family and to enjoy good meals! More food (and other, natch) adventures after the break. A Very Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year to you all; see you in 2015!

See the full album on my Fan Page on Facebook and check out The Vault on Facebook, where I’m finally caught up through 2010! 😀

2014 09 13-09 20 Sat-Sat: Food Tour! Nom All the Noms!!

Full Coverage of Vacation/Food Tour 2014:

Food Tour! [2014]
626 Night Market, Day 3.3 [2014]
Solvang: Danish Capital of America [2014]
Griffith Observatory [2014]

74th Annual Nisei Week Japanese Festival, Days 2 and 8 + Sunday Sessions [2014]

Headed out to Little Tokyo for Nisei Week like I usually do to hang out with friends and watch the Grand Parade, but this time my friends had heard about a free event at Grand Park so we went to check it out. Well, they went to check it out, then when I finally got to Little Tokyo they took me over there, lol. ^^;

Headed over to Little Tokyo for the festival’s Grand Parade, which was already underway! Here is my friend, Risa, marching with her friends from Cherry-Jelly Productions!

My friend, 2011 Nisei Week Queen Erika Mariko Olsen (striped shirt), was one of the emcees/on-air personalities for the parade (though she doesn’t feature in the short montage on my YouTube Channel, unfortunately). I got this “great” shot of her with my friends Brinni and Tomoyo. OTL

Ran into my friend Kazumi, whom I hadn’t seen in ages! ❤

Grand Park is “the park for everyone”, and this multilingual sign embodies its slogan!

Lots of folks present for dancing, drinking, and just plain hanging out.

Grand Park is on the other side of City Hall from Little Tokyo.

On the way back, I saw this pole with all of Los Angeles’ Sister Cities listed on it.

Went back to Little Tokyo the following weekend to meet up with friends who’d gone to the Ramen Festival (they said it wasn’t worth it). While I was looking for them, I ran into my friends from Chocolate Covered Cosplay, Ashi-Chan and GNB Cosplay! Hadn’t seen them in forever, either! ❤

While the event at Grand Park wasn't really my thing, it was fun to hang out with folks I hadn't seen in a while and to check out the area since I'd never been there before. And, I still managed to catch a bit of the Grand Parade!

I'm back! ^_^ See the full album on my Fan Page on Facebook, check out the video on my YouTube Channel, and be sure to Like The Vault on Facebook, where I’m finally caught up through 2010! 😀

2014 08 10 Sun/08 16 Sat: 74th Annual Nisei Week+Sunday Sessions

Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple Obon Festival [2014]

I’m back with new content! Did you miss me? 😉

This was my first time checking out the twin Obon Festivals that Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple and Zenshuji Soto Mission put on. While the Mission’s festival is in its 56th year, I’m not sure how long the Temple has been running theirs.

You might not be able to make them out, but a couple of the lanterns say “1905-2005”.

There was a surprising amount of people in attendance, and lots of kids running around.

The temple was actually quite large inside. There were several rooms for meditation and there were some exhibits set up. We didn’t stay very long, though.

There was a little bit of a farmers’ market set up in the parking lot.

There were a bunch of food booths and further in was where they held the Bon Odori dancing.

Quite a few game stalls were set up as well.

Afterwards, we headed out and went to the Zenshuji Soto Mission Annual Obon Matsuri, but they were pretty much wrapping things up. Maybe next year!

Such a lovely view of downtown! The Temple and Mission are both on the outskirts of the Little Tokyo District in Los Angeles.

I’d never been up in this area previously, so it was fun to go exploring with my friends and to see cute little kids running around in their yukatas. We missed most of the Mission’s festival, but since we were already “in the area”, we got to cap off the day with some desserts from The Pie Hole. 🙂

I’m back! ^_^ See the full album on my Fan Page on Facebook and check out The Vault on Facebook, where I’m finally caught up through 2010! 😀

2014 07 13 Sun: Nishi Hongwanji Buddhist Temple Obon Festival