San Diego Roadtrip - Day Three

Day Three – Larkspur to Monterey
Total Miles Driven: 129
Total Hours in Car: 3 hours 36 minutes
Total Time in Line for Rainforest Exhibit: 25 minutes
Total Time in Rainforest Exhibit: 2 hours

After devoting time to another dam problem on a conference call (just Travis, not the rest of us), we headed south to take in the California Academy of Sciences. To get there from the very nice hotel we stayed in (no comparison to the little room I’m sitting in right now – Travis’ feet, which are thankfully under covers, are literally hanging off the end of the bed ), we had to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. This is great since it’s on the list (Ben’s in particular). I asked Nuvi to take us the science center with a stop at the vista point. Nuvi did as instructed … and we crossed south, toward the science center. I thought she was taking me a vista on the north side so I did as instructed. But instead of getting out of the car, we went north again to the vista we'd just passed. Totally worth the stop, just not quite how I’d planned it. It costs $6 to go south across the bridge. It costs $12 to cross it twice.

After our little snafu, we headed back into the city and toward the science center. We found San Francisco rockstar parking - only a half mile from the center! - and enjoyed a stroll through Golden Gate Park. Saw this little guy hanging out:



We just walked right in with our prepaid tickets – ha! to all of those in line – and tried to figure out where to start. The map was not terribly helpful, and didn’t seem to fit with the scale of building. Not good for those of us who really like details. I survived tho, and we started in one corner so we could keep track of where we’d been and what we’d seen.

Our first stop was the Rainforest Exhibit. It's visually stunning, housed in a giant glass sphere. In addition to looking cool, I'm guessing this helps keep the displays at the sweaty temperatures they're accustomed to. The ramp thru the exhibit takes you in a spiral from bottom to top (and top to bottom if you go the other way) where you can view some of the creatures that inhabit these climates around the world. The boys really enjoyed this, although Ry seemed a little overwhelmed by the crowds. We got to see poison dart frogs, which was pretty cool, especially after reading the “Poison Dart Frog” book 83 times.







There were snakes, fish, frogs, toads, bugs, butterflies and gorgeous orchids. Most of the below were taken by Trav, who's also a little enamored with the new camera.











Also, the concrete was a really pretty color and it was finished with a nice Class A finish that Travis found especially appealing. This is also what happens when he has the camera.



From the rainforest, we ended up in the aquarium. After the humidity of the glass sphere under the sun, it was a welcome relief to be below ground, surrounded by tanks of exotic fish. Also, exotic snakes. Look away if you’re especially fond of guinea pigs. Seriously, you don’t want to see the picture below. When I was trying to take the picture of the Anaconda, I said “Exsqueeze me” and he misunderstood. Sorry Mr. Guinea Pig.



The museum also sports a living roof, helping to make it one of the greenest museums in the country. In keeping with this, it’s got those super high powered hand dryers that you stick your hands in. Ry is not the biggest fan of these blowers.



We finished our tour with a visit to the African exhibit. It was a little disturbing as almost every animal was stuffed. I suppose it was from the original early 1900 exhibit, but it was kind of creepy. The only living animal was this lizard who wanted desperately to come home with Ry.



We did check out some skulls showing the evolution of humans – and we found the missing link!



The boys enjoyed the rest of the exhibit, including Mr. T-Rex and Mr. Galapogas Tortoise. And, for Trav, I took a picture of the pretty cool structure.









After the trek back to the car, we zipped over to Magnolia Brewing for some good food and excellent beer. The kids were unphased by the Haight Ashbury experience – and surprisingly, the hills. Our parking spot was only slightly closer than the one for the science center. Ry, however, was powered by chorizo sausage, bacon, root beer, French fries and ketchup, so he had no trouble making it up the last hill. Ben also flew up the hills after a plate of duck wings.

From here, we continued south on Highway One. Bee-you-tea-ful. We stopped at Half Moon Bay Brewing Company for beer and ice cream. Most of the beers tasted the same, although Trav liked the IPA. Ben thought the ice cream was too creamy and too airy, in case you were considering a stop.



From here we made explored the Pelican Point Lighthouse (which is also a hostel). It’s structurally unsound, but don’t worry, there’s a fence around it in case any more of it falls apart. There’s also a cable keeping the top part together. Despite all of these issues, it’s still pretty and picturesque.





Both Ry (who’s photo taking technique leaves a little to be desired, unless you like pictures of his fingers) and Ben enjoyed taking pictures here.



Ben’s been taking a lot of pictures. I’m going to make him blog them on his own, but I’ve thrown in a few from Ry.











Just north of Santa Cruz, we spotted some kite surfers. The boys thought this looked like fun. I thought it looked mostly fun, a little crazy. Still, I got to play with mom's cool lens and the editing software a bit.





As the sun set, we made our way to Monterey, where we’ll tour the aquarium in the morning (ready for fish pictures?). Assuming our hotel is still standing.







Until tomorrow …