Vacation Series: California Academy of Sciences

California Academy of Sciences was another awesome place my brother took me to see in San Francisco. When you walk into the museum you see this huge Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton, which reminded me of the movie, “Night at the Museum.”

My favorite thing at the California Academy of Sciences was the man made replica of a rain forest, created inside a 4-story glass dome. It was humid inside but absolutely beautiful! On one floor there was tropical birds and butterflies freely flying around. When leaving that floor level you had to check yourself in front of a mirror to make sure you didn’t take any butterflies with you before ascending to another level. In the dome we also saw fishes, frogs, plants, lizards, and snakes.

A popular sight to see at the museum is there albino alligator named Claude. The California Academy of Sciences building’s rooftop is like no other. It has a garden rooftop. We also saw “The Summer of Slither” a snake and lizard exhibition, which was the reason my brother wanted to take me to the California Academy of Sciences. One of my nicknames is Lizard. So, when my brother Chuy asked if I wanted to go to the California Academy of Sciences to see the snake and lizard exhibition I said, “Yes! I would love to see more of my people (lizards)!”

If you plan on visiting San Francisco, I highly recommend the California Academy of Sciences.

Vacation Series: Japanese Tea Garden

The first place my brother took me in San Francisco to see was the Japanese Tea Garden. You would never think such beauty was hidden in such a busy city. Admission was only $7.00, a cheap admission price for a quiet, relaxing, and peaceful experience. I enjoyed every second in the Japanese Tea Garden. The landscape, architecture, Buddha statue, and the arched bridge all breath taking. My favorite part was the $3.00 Japanese tea with free fills! One of many great experiences I got to share with my brother. Thanks Chuy!

Vacation Series: Souvenirs

Shot glasses, magnets, key chains, postcards, pins are some of many souvenirs people get as a small token to remember their trip. My favorite souvenirs to collect are pins with the sharp little point behind it. I use to collect shot glasses but had no place to display them. I decided to collect pins of my trips instead, which was better since I’m not a big drinker. Not only are pins small but also very inexpensive, usually under $10.

I have collected pins from my museum trips (Getty and The Museum of Tolerance), from cities I have visited (San Diego and San Francisco), from plays I have gone to see (Mary Poppins and Wicked), and others have sentimental attachments (Navy pins for my siblings). Some pins are also from trips family and friends have taken and they were nice to help add to my collection.

The best part of collecting pin as souvenirs is that I can display them in a shadow box. I love using shadow boxes because they have many functions. I like how nice and organized they look behind the glass of the shadow box. They’re almost like badges of honor from my trips.

What types of souvenirs do you collect from your trips?

Vacation Series: Downtown Brentwood and Me

The day after my arrival to San Francisco my friend dropped me off at Downtown Brentwood as she headed to work. I really enjoyed this time with myself, 8 hours, as I had no obligations to rush home like I usually do when shopping and to worry about not having enough time to do what I wanted.

My first stop was Savers thrift store, which was the only place opened at 8 in the morning other than the coffee shops. I’ve never enjoyed thrift store shopping like I did that day. I was in there for at least 4 hours, trying on vintage clothing, looking at shoes, fabric, everything! I was in thrift store heaven! I sent a good $60 and probably would have send more if I weren’t thinking about how it was all going to fit in my luggage. I felt kind of guilt spending that much but soon realized that the heck with it, it’s my vacation and I deserve to enjoy myself.

For breakfast/lunch since I didn’t have breakfast I had pupusas at Amelia’s Mexican Restaurant, which my friend recommended for having good pupusas. Other than pig skin tostadas (tostadas de cueritos in Spanish) pupusas are my second favorite Mexican food dish. The beans and rice weren’t great but the pupusas were!

With a content belly, I got a pedicure and manicure at Donna’s Salon. I hadn’t had a pedicure in over a year and never had a manicure. That was another nice, relaxing and enjoyable experience.

I also went to Century Theater, a sister theater of the one at home, and watched a “Captain America” for free! I ended up watching 3 movies on my vacation, which is more than I watch at home and I work at a movie theater.