Day 13 - Paramount Studios, the Griffin Observatory and Santa Monica Pier

We are still in LA and spent the day being tourists. We started out with a tour of Paramount Studios in the morning. It was pricey, but interesting,  and Shane and I got to hold a real Academy Award. It was the Oscar for Best Music, Original Score, and it was won by Francis Lai for the film Love Story.

     

Shane (r) on the Paramount New York City lot with Jack, our tour guide.

Under a Transformer.

On a Star Trek transporter... Now you see me...

Now you don't.

Zachary Quinto's Spock costume from a Star Trek movie.

A model of Brad Pitt's head used for Benjamin Button. 

 We also got to visit some sets, of which we were not allowed to take photos. We went to the sets of The Dr, Phil Show, The Doctors, and the Netflix series Grace and Frankie. It was a Sunday morning, so there weren't any celebrities around. We also saw locations were they film things for the TV show This is Us, and the outside of buildings where such classic films as Rear Window and The Godfather were shot.

After the studio tour, we drove over to the Griffin Observatory. It seemed to be quite a popular attraction as it seemed most of the population of LA was there. It was crowded. The main parking lot was full, so we ended up parking in a field about a mile below the observatory and walking up hill to it on a narrow sidewalk full of people going up and back. Unfortunately, the view was obscured by the haze around the city. The weatherman said it would clear out by Tuesday, which didn't help us much. At least is was a beautiful day. We can't complain about the weather. The temperature was in the low 70s. Below are some photos from the place that was also the site of many classic films, such as Rebel Without a Cause and La La Land.

The iconic Hollywood sign is behind us. A better view is below.

Hazy LA is in the distance.

After the Griffin Observatory, we head west to go as far west as we will go on this trip... to the Pacific Ocean at the Santa Monica Pier. We went down to the beach and actually touched the water of the Pacific. We hadn't eaten anything since our complimentary breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express (they don't pay me to say that) so we went to a restaurant on the pier and had a late lunch. I had the fish tacos and Shane had a pepperoni pizza. My tacos were delicious, but small, so I had a  couple pieces of Shane's pizza also. 

After Santa Monica, we came back to the hotel for a bit and then went out to bar for a light bite in the evening. I had deviled eggs and a tiny burger... Shane had some wings. Tomorrow, we head a bit further East to Palm Springs for four nights. It's the relaxing portion of the trip.