Academy of Sciences & Japanese Tea Gardens

We've been wanting to head to San Francisco to see the newly renovated California Academy of Sciences.  For one reason or another, we just couldn't make it happen.  We found ourselves with a fully vacant day and a yearning to explore so we headed north to check it out! 

I went there once with Damien in college.  I am petrified of snakes.  Fact.  Damien took me there and didn't tell me he wanted to show me the only two headed snake in the world.  Fact.  Too bad it died by the time we got there.  Relief!  This was really my first time exploring the academy and it was really cool!

By the time we arrived, all of the kids were so excited to see everything this museum had to offer!  Damien was thrilled to walk in and see the first exhibit featured was the 40 foot robotic snake from the movie Anaconda.  Wonderful.  I put on a brave face and pretended this wasn't the snake the tormented me for an entire hour and a half movie years prior!  The kids loved it but the little two were a bit scared because it was so realistic!

We loved the aquarium portion of the academy, loved the rain forest area where butterflies abound, the kids LOVED seeing real life crocodiles (even an albino one), they loved the Foucault Pendulum and were stoked to have been able to see it knock over one of it's pegs, we got to walk over a see-through floor with giant sting rays swimming beneath us, the little kids loved the Young Children's play area, Damien and the boys were so impressed with the planetarium, and the yummy food from the cafeteria was just what we needed to give us a boost!

Overall, we loved it.  It has a little of everything and really helped the kids expand their knowledge of so many different things! 

Afterwards, we walked across the way to the Japanese Tea Gardens.  We have been there a few times in the past but we were just too close to it not to go again!

We ran and ran around and around the different little scenic areas.  The kids loved climbing on this giant rainbow bridge.  They must have climbed it a handful of times! 

We were able to sit down and have tea in the outside restaurant and I prayed that my overly tired two year old's lack of nap time didn't ruin our experience.  Turns out, she did great.  She is crazy little girl but uber-adaptable. 

We all had hot tea (which was great for the overcast SF day), almond cookies, fortune cookies, and the Japanese candies Hi-Chew.  It as absolutely perfect.  As I looked around the table and saw my kids so content and appreciative of our efforts to show them some new things, I thought to myself that I am truly so, so blessed. 

Here's to more summer outings and making time for these amazing experiences.