At Home in LA

I spent a few hours on Friday watching the space shuttle Endeavour fly from her final stop at Edwards Air Force Base in California up to Sacramento, San Francisco, and finally to Los Angeles. If I had any way to do it, I would have gone out to LA to watch her final landing. I was in Florida for her final launch last year, and it would have been a fitting way to celebrate her final flight.

But, I couldn’t get out there, so I did the next best thing: I watched on the Web. NASA TV wasn’t carrying all of the flight, so I tuned into local TV stations online and observed folks observing the shuttle as she swooped her way around the LA basin. It was a beautiful sight.

I’m one of those people who loves to watch planes land. There’s just something majestic about a huge airliner float to the ground and gently touch down. And, when you count the fact that NASA’s Astro 95 was carrying a shuttle on her back, and was being accompanied by two chase jets… well, it’s irresistable to watch!

The folks at Griffith Observatory had a huge crowd of people watching from their perch on the Hollywood Hills. I have a special affinity for Griffith (I wrote their exhibits), and it’s just one of my favorite places in LA.  So, when their Deputy Director wrote me today and mentioned that they had some great video of the flyovers online, I indulged in a few pass-throughs of the show.  It’s the ultimate air show folks. Never coming this way again.

So, here it is. Enjoy!