We spent last night at the newly-renovated Griffith Observatory , named for the well-named Griffith J. Griffith. After four years of closure for renovation and expansion, the observatory re-opened on Friday, and was expected to attract crowds, so entrance has been limited to those who make timed reservations on shuttle buses for the first few months. After a quick meal at Baja Fresh (mmm! Looks just like the picture!), we headed to Hollywood and Highland to catch the shuttle. Hollywood and Highland is a big, vague area, so we ended up having to hustle to the bus, past Grauman?s Chinese ? excuse me Elvis, excuse me Charlie Chaplin, out of the way Klingon warrior ? and of course, the bus then left ten minutes late.
The introductory video on the bus was timed for non-rush hour traffic, I guess, because we were being told to gather our things and watch our step as the bus slogged over the 101 in stop and go traffic, still twenty minutes from our destination. Once we arrived, we enjoyed the glorious view of the LA skyline, the heavily modded Star Wars car, complete with R2-D2 in the back, in the parking lot, and the overheard enthusings of observatory staff instructing people to check out MD-582 through the telescope.
Having never been pre-renovation, and with my image of the place limited to the scenes from Rebel Without a Cause, I couldn?t comment on the improvements, but we were certainly impressed with the place. Not too big, not too small; not too technical, and not too dumbed-down. The exhibits were great, and we especially enjoyed the stunning planetarium show. The combination of the amazing star projector and the very well-done digitally projected show describing major events in the history of astronomy, plus the soothing tones of our actor/narrator, made the show a must-see. 
A few items were unfinished or incomplete, and more than one flat-screen display was missing text, or images, or both. The whole evening, though, especially the time spent relaxing in the special reclining planetarium seats, was a good way to get away from staying at home and watching election returns, though we should have had the idea a few years ago rather than last night. We didn?t make the cut-off for access to the roof, didn?t visit the James Dean bust, and somehow missed the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon, so we?ll be back before long.
