I've always wanted to head up to Lick Observatory on top of Mt. Hamilton, so when I got an email from the RPI alumni group about a private tour, I signed Charlotte, Monica, and I up right away. It's an incredibly long and windy road to the summit at 4,209 feet. I've always wanted to ride my bike to the top, but now I'm not so sure.

Thank you James Lick for a great legacy.

My girls are so cute!

Now that's a sweet telescope. And 3 meters ain't shabby. They've got a pretty awesome adaptive optics setup as well.

Soak up that science girls, there will be a quiz from astronomy crazy dad afterwards.

Then we move down into the observing area below to talk with a few astronomers about the latest work on planet finding.

The sun is going down, so soon it'll be observing time.

Then it's over to the 36 inch refractor in the main building.

Now this is one impressive instrument. I love the way the floor is raised and lowered for observing ease. We enjoy some nice images of Saturn, before dashing off down the mountain back to Santa Cruz after a long night.

Thanks again to the man buried at the base of the telescope. Kinda creepy.