At the CA Academy of Sciences

Crazily enough, we decided to go to the CA Academy of Sciences. The craziness was on several levels: a) it was President's day, an assured crowd day (beyond the normal overcrowdedness of that museum); b) it would be just me, my mostly obedient 3.5-year old and my unreasonably adventurous 2-year-old (my husband had to work); c) I forgot I wanted to come a bit earlier, to make sure we didn't stand in a huge line; d) it was raining like crazy, and the umbrella doesn't really cover the little kids.

Nonetheless, it all worked out. The (membership) line was short and mostly under the roof. I took two harnesses with me (Target bear & monkey); yes, I got some evil eyes from some parents, but you know what, they were 2 adults per one child in the stroller, and I wasn't. I had my oldest choose the one he wanted (at some point, I'll have to figure out how to take turns choosing, when my youngest will get choosier), and they didn't mind it. We didn't make it (yet again) to the Planetarium, but we walked around the Aquarium, pointing out fish, their colors, the type, and so forth, and then off to Africa (which I must admit is a bit boring, it's all antelopes & gazelles, which to my youngest is pretty much all "deer"). The restaurant was unexpectedly fantastic, ravioli were amazing (although I wish I knew that they took reservations for lunch inside the museum). We sat outside a bit once the sun peeked out and read a book. At 1pm, it was time to drive home and take a nap.

The verdict: buy the membership and check out the restaurant.