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[patrickm]

Julia and I head to California next Tuesday. LA til Sat then a drive up HWY 1 with a stop over in Big Sur. Then SF for four days and up to redwoods in Pt. Reyes Nat'l Monument for 2.

Contemplating my 4.5", but will likely be without scope. Any astronomy tips, sites, observatories, people or groups I should know?

Also, anybody got an in at The Magic Castle?!

Thanks,
p

[dapple]

Definitely drop a line to TAC: observers.org
Also, for star parties: sjaa.org. Every first and third quarter on Friday nights.

You can find a list of dark sites here: observers.org/sites/

If you want to play tourist, you may want to check out Lick Observatory, east of San Jose: www.ucolick.org/
or the California Academy of Sciences in San Fran itself.

Have fun!

[dapple]

Oh, I should add: The Chabot Space Center has many open observing nights: www.chabotspace.org/observatories.htm

It's a bit more of a drive, but the Santa Cruz Astronomy club hosts regular star parties at what I understand to be a really nice site, and are welcoming to non member experienced observers: astronomy.santa-cruz.ca.us/

[patrickm]

Awesome! I'll start doing some digging! I am a tourist, so method acting not necessary. Thanks for the tips!

[RobbW]

Pt. Reyes should provide some nice dark skies, if my memory serves me right. I haven't been there at night, but my wife and I drove out there during the day to tour the lighthouse. It is a nice, long drive through sparse farmland and tiny little hamlet-like communities. Although, you'll probably get a dome to the southeast from SF proper, but other than that you're on a peninsula that juts pretty far out into the Pacific (or so it seems). I'd love to take a scope out there, but it does get pretty darn windy the closer you get to the lighthouse.

I gotta ask, Patrick, WTF do you do that you get to travel so much? I am extremely jealous! I love to travel and I would be ecstatic if I could take only half as many trips as you seem to take!!!

[dapple]

The only problem with Pt. Reyes is the fog, especially overnight. The day may be beautifully clear all along SF Bay, but that marine layer can really put a damper on everything.

[Paulie pchris00]

I couldn't see my self going to L.A. for ANY reason, but if I was out there Mt. Wilson would be a top priority to visit.

[RobbW]

Aug 15, 2011 13:37:51 GMT -6 dapple said:

The only problem with Pt. Reyes is the fog, especially overnight. The day may be beautifully clear all along SF Bay, but that marine layer can really put a damper on everything.

Ah, very good point there. I forgot about the fog. S'pose you'd have to scale the lighthouse itself to get your scope up above it. Good luck with that!

[patrickm]

Hey guys. Thanks for all the suggestions.

I am tinkering with the idea of taking my 4.5" which lives in a photo backpack. We might be able to finagle backpack and tripod as carry on between the two of us and just have a backpack. Will have to measure. If not, it's gonna be binos I reckon.

Robb-
International Man of Mystery?!?
I own my own businesses, as does Julia, and we are DINKs. One of the few upsides to being gone so much taking care of my mom was that the employees all figured out how to work without me, which is both cool and pretty depressing.

Luckily, we have friends who have places to stay (like Michigan and Harbor Island), so we take advantage of those, too. Sorry if it bums you out. I certainly don't mean it that way!!! But could see how it could be annoying.

Paulie, haven't been to LA in about 18 yrs, but they do have a few things going on. To drive up HWY 1, you kinda gotta start there. Plus Getty Museum, Dodgers, music, art, and we have really good friends there who've been doing all the traveling to meet us, so time to pay them back. Your recommendation NOTED!

The whole trip was planned around seeing the Cubs v. Giants and them expanded into this thing. We see baseball Monday and Wed in SF while Cubs are there.

[Paulie pchris00]

Aug 15, 2011 18:18:41 GMT -6 patrickm said:

The whole trip was planned around seeing the Cubs v. Giants and them expanded into this thing. We see baseball Monday and Wed in SF while Cubs are there.

Sorry, I can't resist.

If planning a trip around the cubbies (and I'm assuming you hope to see them win), wouldn't Houston be the logical destination?!? ;D

[patrickm]

If I only cared about watching a team win, then I'd be a Sox fan and only go in September/October when they're in first place.

[Paulie pchris00]

Aug 15, 2011 22:10:58 GMT -6 patrickm said:

If I only cared about watching a team win, then I'd be a Sox fan and only go in September/October when they're in first place.

I apologize. I forgot being a cubbie fan was all about the "Wrigley experience." Who cares if the baseball is terrible?

The attached picture applies to what I've done to this thread, and both Chicago baseball teams this summer.

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[Paulie pchris00]

Back to the original topic, the Griffith Observatory in L.A. looks pretty cool.

[RobbW]

Aug 15, 2011 18:18:41 GMT -6 patrickm said:

Robb-
International Man of Mystery?!?
I own my own businesses, as does Julia, and we are DINKs. One of the few upsides to being gone so much taking care of my mom was that the employees all figured out how to work without me, which is both cool and pretty depressing.

Luckily, we have friends who have places to stay (like Michigan and Harbor Island), so we take advantage of those, too. Sorry if it bums you out. I certainly don't mean it that way!!! But could see how it could be annoying.

Don't worry, Patrick. You're not bumming me out or depressing me. Actually, you're more of an inspiration than anything. I love to travel, and I wish I could travel as much as you and your wife. Last year, my wife left her firm downtown to start her own company. Since then, it has been a tough time living on less than half our prior income, but we knew it was going to be tough. We're just biding our time waiting for her company to finally take off. Recently, we have seen some encouraging signs that things may be turning around for us. We were fully expecting that it may take 2+ years before we start seeing any profits. We got a couple small nibbles earlier this year. Recently, we finally reeled in a fish, albeit a small fish, but a keeper nonetheless. And the sonar is showing a few large ones lurking in the depths. So, hopefully, one of these days we'll be on our way to successful business ownership like you and your wife.

Of course, we won't be DINKs since we have our daughter. We'll be Double Income Single Child (DISCs) or maybe if we're lucky and our daughter does well at one of those Disney show auditions, we could be Double Income with a Celebrity Kid (DIC...... um, nevermind!).

In any event, it pleases me to see others have succeeded with their small business endeavors. I hope that we can someday emulate your success and start increasing our travel plans!

[-=CROMAN=-]

DINK? Awesome.. never heard of it

I'm a SIDDWOC

Single Income Divorced Dad Without Cash

[patrickm]

Robb: We know the feeling. Believe me! We still have many ups and downs. Hell, it's the music business!

Croman: Presumably, the kid more than compensates, or else I reckon people wouldn't have 'em. Correct?
:-)

[Paulie pchris00]

Aug 16, 2011 9:08:43 GMT -6 patrickm said:

Croman: Presumably, the kid more than compensates, or else I reckon people wouldn't have 'em. Correct?
:-)

I thought kids were the by-product of a really good time gone awry?

[-=CROMAN=-]

Yeah... the kids more than compensate. Now I just have to get them into college, make them neurosurgeons and have them take care of me!

[patrickm]

My extraordinarily painful back problem curtailed our CA trip to only week 2. No LA. Thanks to help from a crafty neurologist and off-label modern pharma, we were able to get to SF on Sunday. Research shows that neither SFAS nor SFSA have public events while here. Regardless, it's August and than foggy and cloudy 90% of the time. We are staying across the GG Bridge and our view back to the city is spectacular. After watching the Cubs smoke the World Champion Giants on Monday night, a clear sky awaited our return to the hotel. I was exhausted, but wanted to report that Andromeda was easily visible with the naked eye outside of our hotel room. In 8x binos, it was HUGE.

That was cool to see. Then we slept.

View from our balcony this morning.

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[RobbW]

Patrick, you have absolutely NO idea the amount of seething jealousy I feel towards you right now!!! I love San Francisco and the northern wine country. I would move out there at the drop of a dime... thaat is if I actually had the dime to drop on property out there. Woo wee, it is expensive to live there. No wonder most everyone rents! But it is so beautiful out there, especially on the north side of the bridge, that I probably wouldn't mind going bankrupt to live there! The last time I was out there, we spent a week up in Windsor during this exact week back in 2009. Unfortunately, they were experiencing record-setting heat at the time. So, everything was kind of dried out and withered. When we arrived at SFO airport and got in our rental car, the temp gauge said it was 68 degrees. We started our long drive north to wine country, and halfway there, I looked at the temp gauge again and it said 103!! I told my wife there was no F'ing way it was 103. She proceeded to roll down the window, stick out her hand, and exclaim that it was indeed THAT F'ing hot! I hope the weather is cooperating better for you on your trip. One of the coolest sights I saw while out there was watching the fog roll in off the ocean and over the hills at sunset. It looked like a big ol' blanket being pulled over the countryside!

BTW, WTF did you do to your back???

[Paulie pchris00]

I hear they need somebody to paint that bridge. I bet it pays rather well, but I don't do well with heights.

[patrickm]

Paulie saith:

Aug 31, 2011 11:36:15 GMT -6 Paulie pchris00 said:

I hear they need somebody to paint that bridge. I bet it pays rather well, but I don't do well with heights.

It is being painted year round. Also, did you know that it is its own shade of orange?

Really cool Golden Gate Bridge FAQ:
www.goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php]http://www.goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php

I hear you get used to the heights thing. An acquired taste...sorta like beer.

[patrickm]

It is standing on Bay Turtles.

[RobbW]

Aug 31, 2011 11:45:42 GMT -6 patrickm said:

It is standing on Bay Turtles.

Huh?! Are those the pharma meds talkin'?

[Paulie pchris00]

The cables are being painted for the first time in 75 years.

sacramento.cbslocal.com/2011/08/25/golden-gate-bridge-cables-get-1st-paint-coat-in-nearly-75-years/