I haven’t posted in a while, but I’ve been having a lot of fun these past couple of weeks, ticking off a number of (mostly) Eastside spots from my to-do list, so I thought I’d share where I’ve been.

It all started with a visit to the Endeavor Shuttle. I’ve been wanting to check out the space shuttle ever since I watched it hitch a ride over Los Angeles on the back of a 747.

And carrying with the space theme, I had a chance to take a tour at Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The sheer magnitude of what we were able to see here was pretty amazing. As someone who didn’t necessarily grow up dreaming of space, I now certainly understand how others did. Thank you Heidi, Mike and Chris for making this one happen!

Believe it or not, out of sheer geographic laziness I had never hiked Griffith Park until now. Luckily my brother is on a big hiking kick right now, so he was the reason I made it over there for a great nearly 2-hour hike. We first headed up to The Observatory (a place that I haven’t been to since I was a little kid) and then pushed on to the top for some awesome views.

 

 

  

My friend Lindsay was in town for a night, which gave me a perfect excuse for another visit to the Grand Central Market, but this time for delicious breakfast sandwiches at Eggslut. We got there before the line started to wrap around the entire stall, and ordered 2 different sandwiches to split. As we sat at the counter, waiting for our food and overhearing the orders of all of those before us get called out, we realized that adding avocado was a possibility that we hadn’t known about. Immediately I called the expediter over and asked to make that addition to our sandwiches – we got to them in time to make the change…and at no additional charge! It’s off menu, so remember that when you go…

  

I feel like I’ve been going Downtown multiple times a week while I’ve had this time off. While dinners downtown were not a rarity before, I’m now finding all sorts of other places and activities that I’m interested in during the day. My friend Alaina took me down to the LA Flower Market for a tutorial in how to conquer this place. As soon as you walk into the building that amazing floral smell consumes you – someone needs to bottle it!! I loved seeing the different colors and flower varieties from vendor to vendor.We both bought different beautifully colored Anemones among others.

There was one activity I enjoyed that was actually right in my neighborhood. Taschen, the great coffee-table book company, opened a gallery on the corner of Beverly and Crescent Heights. I must’ve passed it at least twice a day for weeks before taking the time to go in. This space will hang different shows over the next 18 months, starting with The Rolling Stones In Photographs exhibit that will be up until February 15th. It’s a cool space that has been executed well, and they even offered me a beer when I walked in! There are couches and other seating areas – seems like they want to turn this into a cool community hangout.

And for the last big outing, a visit to the outermost edge of Los Angeles. As a native Angeleno it’s almost a little embarrassing to admit that not only had I never been to Watts, but I didn’t even really have an understanding for where it was within the city. My brother suggested we visit the Watts Towers, and I have to say while I knew they existed I didn’t REALLY know what they were exactly. These towers were built and decorated by hand, by just one man, Simon Rodia, in his backyard, a project which spanned 3 decades. All of the decorative elements were found objects in the area. Truly the most under appreciated public art around – take an afternoon and go check it out if you get a chance…plus, it’s a great excuse to stop off for some delicious Bludso’s BBQ at their original location in Compton :).

I love all of the discoveries I’ve been making in my hometown…but I’m ready to start discovering another town. Heading to Buenos Aires on Monday, so I will be posting more frequently again!