“You are a Goddess living in the City of Angels.” We’ve been to Los Angeles, California several times, so our objective was to visit places new to us. We chose to see the Griffith Observatory and play tennis at one of the Los Angeles Parks tennis facilities.
Griffith Observatory – Los Angeles, California – tennistravelsite.com
Flying to Los Angeles from Newark Airport was easy on United, on one of their P.S. flights (Preferred Service). The comfort of the flight made it easy to be refreshed upon arrival in Los Angeles. We rented a car from Hertz (travel tip: Presidential or Gold status will ensure your car is ready for you upon arrival), which was offsite from the airport. (travel tip: When travelling to and from Los Angeles Airport, LAX, always account for additional travel time). Burbank airport, Ontario airport and Long Beach are all worth looking into as alternates, however since we are coming from the East coast, the only non-stops go to LAX.
We stayed at the Sheraton Grand Hotel (now a Marriott Bonvoy property) in downtown Los Angeles. This was a great hotel to stay at because it was next to a shopping center, the Bloc. With Marriott Bonvoy status, we had access to their concierge lounge, which was located on the top floor, with a panoramic view of the city. We loved the Sheraton Grand Hotel’s smart elevator, which made riding the hotel elevators efficient. We ventured to their restaurant, “District”, for a late lunch, since we had a little time before my hair appointment. District, which was located in the courtyard of the Bloc shopping, mall, had an early happy hour, which fit perfectly with for our needs. We loved the truffle fries! We then walked the two blocks to the small hair salon for my appointment. I was able to secure an appointment prior to our visit, which worked out perfectly. We were very excited about our next adventure, a trip to the Griffith Observatory.
On a previous trip to Los Angeles, we had walked the Hollywood sign hike. Once on top of the hill, we could see just a bit of the Griffith Observatory. So this trip we decided to visit the Griffith Observatory, which is located north of downtown L.A., just east of the Hollywood sign. We had plenty of time in the day so we chose a path to see some sites of L.A. along the way. Our drive to Griffith Observatory threaded us through Santa Monica, Beverly Hills California and Hollywood. It gave us the opportunity to see and enjoy iconic landmarks such as the Beverly Hills Hilton. L.A. is busy everywhere and there was much to see in every eclectic community along our way. There were a few options to visit the Griffith Observatory (free entrance into the Observatory) to choose from when planning the trip. One way, was through a rideshare (Uber), another through a tour guide (no worries about parking), others chose to park at the bottom of the hill to hike up one of the many trails to the Observatory, and lastly drive up to the paid parking. Although the Observatory was free, the parking was not ($8.00/hour). We were told that the Griffith Observatory was very busy, every day! We elected for the paid parking as I am recovering from ankle surgery (it was important to park as close as we could). In addition to viewing The Observatory displays, there was an option to see a show (reserved in advance for a fee). We walked outside, around the perimeter of the Griffith Observatory, to view the vast city of Los Angeles, beneath us. In the future, a hike up to the Observatory might make our plans! It took approximately 45 minutes to walk around the Observatory and mill around inside looking at everything. You can spend a lot more time than that, however for us it was actually raining while we were there! We were told by our Hotel concierge that evenings are supposed to be spectacular. We had spotted a tennis facility in the park during our research. When done with our visit at the Observatory, we drove down the hills to check out the conveniently located tennis facility!
When looking for tennis in Los Angeles, California we found that LA has a network of public tennis facilities, which can be accessed through LAparks.org. We realized that below the Griffith Observatory, there was a very nice tennis facility, Vermont Canyon Tennis, which was part of the LA Parks system. Not only could you reserve online, but you could call and reserve a court. Court time was $8.00/hour. The courts were nestled in the hills amidst the trees. The courts were in great condition. We were told that if we wanted to book a tennis lesson, we could call one of their three tennis Professionals on staff. Tennis players can combine a visit to the Griffith Observatory with a game of tennis closeby!
There are so many different things to do in Los Angeles. So, spread your wings, and visit one of the remarkable sights in the Los Angeles area, and bring your tennis racquet to play at one of the LAParks.org many tennis courts.
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