And then...I returned to LA for work, but not all work.
I successfully obtained observing time spread across November and into December. I got to observe for most of it, but I had to fly back in the middle for classes, which I didn't appreciate. Those extra flights did get me to an elite member on Delta. That might be useful.
Anyway, I spent a lot of time there, most of which involved bad weather and no observing. Here are some pretty pictures. I again went hiking in inappropriate shoes. I really need to get hiking shoes.

I discovered the Monastery, which Edwin Hubble had built for astronomers to be housed in. Hubble didn't want the wives of astronomers interrupting the work, so the wives couldn't stay on the mountain. The Monastery was a men's only residence. In fact, the cabin that I stayed in over the summer and for this trip was built because a famous astronomer (Kapteyn) would not come to Mount Wilson unless there was a place for his wife to stay. Anyway, the Monastery is a really old building that astronomers still stay in (Einstein also stayed there). I was going to spend a few nights in it, but it turns out Mount Wilson owns it and charges CHARA, so I stayed in the cabin, which I will never complain about.

At the very end of all of this time on the mountain, I continued my epic adventure of seeing Endeavour. The temporary exhibit of the space shuttle had been set up at the California Science Center, and I had a red-eye back to Michigan. I spent the afternoon around a ton of screaming children and a giant machine that went into space. The space restroom exhibit was particularly poignant.
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