One of my favorite places in the world is right here in my backyard, so whenever I have visitors, we always head to Griffith Park to check out the hiking trails and Observatory.

On this sunny day back in early December of 2010, there were tons of kids at the Observatory on a field trip…

including this one (!)…

and we all got to enjoy the tremendous grounds just below the Hollywood sign:

Even though I didn’t get to tinker around with the telescopes,

I did manage to learn a few things about the stars and planets around us–including the fact that I’m actually not an Aries anymore…

Once we filled up on food for the brain, we headed outside to work up an appetite for tonight’s big dinner. Up here on these many trails, it is easy to see why we put up with mudslides, earthquakes, and traffic jams in exchange for this perfect LA Day at Griffith Park…

We hiked for over an hour, but there was not enough time to make it to the Hollywood sign. Yet the uphill climb…

was enough to clear our conscience for this night’s buffet at the Staples Center during the NBA game between the Spurs and the Clippers:

My Spurs were humiliated that night after only bringing their C game to LA. I might have to burn this shirt :D!