Teacher Travels: San Francisco Academy of Sciences

Summer of Intentionality is really starting to kick into high gear has seriously taken on new meaning since we found out we’ll be traveling abroad in six WEEKS. Local travel and visiting museums sans baby is one of my top priorities this summer and the first really hot day in Sacramento made for an excellent escape to the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

Travel tips from Sacramento to the Academy of Sciences (many thanks to Leili for her inspiration and itinerary}:

1. Get to BART after 10am in order to park in the lot. Spots open up at 10 – don’t forget your parking spot number – and to pay $1.00 for your space after you enter the station {you can take it off your BART card if you have enough money on the card}. There is a machine before you get to the platform inside the station.

2. Get off BART at any of the downtown SF stations and take Muni -the N- Judah ($4.00 round trip) and get off at 9th Avenue and follow the signs to Golden Gate Park. It takes about 20 minutes to stroll over.

{Or stay on the train and go visit Ocean Beach. Who knew? Oh San Francisco, I love you even more than I did before.}

3. Bring your Muni card to the ticket counter for a $3.00 discount on your admission fee. {every little bit helps or it almost pays for itself}.

4. We brought a lunch and picnicked in the grove in front of the museum where my sweetheart tried to scare me with tales of The Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

5. Bring a jacket.

And a scarf.

And a hat.

Did I mention we were escaping the heat? 40 degrees “cooler” in SF. Otherwise known as cold.

Or awesome.

Whatevs.

6. Not a museum tip, a post tip: These photos are all straight from my camera since I have not yet mastered the art of photo editing {and I may never}. That being said, please leave really nice comments about their professional quality and the witty captions you can only see if you roll your cursor over the photo.

7. Roll you cursor over the photos and laugh. A lot. At the awesomeness.

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First stop:

Rain forests of the Americas

While I took that photo above, this was happening right behind me. {It’s because he’s so sweet}.

How cool would it be if we all had backsides like this guy?

No, not that guy.

The butterfly!

Next up:

Down to the aquarium.

Did I ever tell you about the dream I had about walking through the Shark Experience tube-thingy where it broke and suddenly I was swimming with sharks? I didn’t? Dude, it was scary.

Guess who took 10,721 pictures of the jelly fish? I shall only share one. You’re welcome.

Not only do I want a pet jelly fish so I can take its picture, I’d really like this guy.

Well, not this guy, but one of his living friends.

Birds of Prey? Yes, please!

Ever since I started teaching third grade and studying city wildlife, I’ve been noticing and appreciating birds and their adaptations.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love third grade science?

It’s true.

What about you? Do you love science? Third grade or otherwise?

Saturday Senses

A way to capture the spirit of each week…

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tasting :: pork banh mi sandwiches and thai iced tea

hearing ::  the squeal of bart tracks under the bay. can’t they get a little wd-40 action going on in there?

smelling :: fog!

seeing :: dinosaur fossils, penguins, stars and rain forest plants

feeling ::  connected. i’ve been seeing friends in sacramento and the bay area almost daily. yay team!

wishing/hoping ::  summer of intentionality knitting lessons start next week {with miz mercer} and i’m hoping i can keep my light/playful exploring attitude about it. learning new stuff can sometimes be a challenge for my goal driven brain.

What about you?

What are your senses this Saturday?

Looking back, how was your week?

Leave a comment and tell me all about it. I’d seriously love to hear about your week. Now’s not the time to be shy.

This weekly tradition inspired by Pink of Perfection’s Five Sense Friday.

Don’t forget to click the links!

In Case You Missed It Edition, Volume 17

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Each week I’ll give you links to posts that made me laugh, cry, think or at least raise an eyebrow. Please click the links and check out the posts. You may find something that rocks your world too.

Leave me some feedback in the form of comments below on what you liked, what you hated and what you’d like to see more of. I’m here to help you find the best of what is online.

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My Best Of…

Hollee over at The New Perfect talks about how she hates blogging because she feels every post must be perfect (holla). She also admits she may have a tiny author crush on our favorite TED talk (researcher) storyteller,  Brene Brown who wrote a new book called  The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are.

I’d love to start a book club with this book. Are you interested?

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Monday marks the 100th day of school for me which means 80 more until summer break! J and I are already talking about taking a trip this summer to….. wait for it…… San Francisco!

We grew up across the Bay from the City and now even though we live within 2 hours, we’ve never spent a proper holiday there. When we travel to SF, we do our thing and return either to the East Bay for a slumber party with friends or overnight with his mom or drive all the way back to Sacramento to sleep in our own bed.

Not this time! We’ve decided it is time to take the plunge and stay a few days in The City and play tourist.

Please leave a comment about your favorite thing to do, place to stay, and food not to miss in San Francisco.

The Simple Dollar also serves up 10 Things To Look For When Planning a Summer Vacation if you are also looking for inexpensive ways to fund your summer vacation.

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Curvy Girls Unite!

I love, love, love Frocks and Frou Frou and this post Breaking the Rules knocks it out of the park. Lilly, the model and author behind this inspiring fashion blog, takes on the fashion do’s and don’ts.

Yoga Journal is holding a cover model talent search. Anna, the brilliant mind behind Curvy Yoga, is advocating that all the curvy yoga peeps submit their pictures for consideration. She’s taking it a step further and is asking for photos for an upcoming post featuring all the curvy folks in their favorite poses.

Wouldn’t you love to see more realistic body shapes on the cover of Yoga Journal?

I am totally in.

We’re thinking about setting up a little photo shoot – want to join in the fun?

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Wolves – I laughed until I cried. It’s wrong, but it’s funny.

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Cleanse update:  It’s OVER!

Please don’t think I am going to return to my earlier ways. At least not all of them – I feel too good to go back now. I learned a lot this month:

I am, indeed, gluten intolerant.  Rice substitutes are quite delicious and fairly easily available so I’ll keep those.

Dairy has been on my mind for a month and I am hoping to have a smooth reintroduction. Visions of gulping a gallon of milk while holding a fist full of cheese have been dancing around in my head for a while, but I think I’ll take it slow. I would hate to over do it.

Cleanse-worthy dishes are quite delicious. All it takes it some planning, shopping, chopping and applying heat before you eat. Keeping in mind this is an act of self-care/love will help keep that in perspective.

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That is the In Case You Missed It Edition for this week, folks.

Remember to click the links and leave some comments. This is a conversation, you know.

In Case You Missed Edition Archives -click it to see them all.