Location: Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, CA

This morning we had breakfast at a café in San Francisco. I had Swedish pancakes and sausage, which was awesome. We then met up with some cousins at Golden Gate Park. My uncle convinced us to ride the carousel, which was very entertaining--it had a variety of animals such as dragons, chickens, and ostriches. Afterward, we walked through a tunnel to find ourselves by Haight Street, the epicenter of 1960s counterculture. We spent an hour or so exploring the consignment shops and Tibetan boutiques, which unfortunately was not enough time to get the real Haight-Ashbury experience. However, it was fun while it lasted, and awesome to see our San Francisco cousins!

(Pictured from left: a mural on Haight St.; a real 1940s exorcism kit from a shop called Loved to Death; a band playing on a door stoop; an offensive horoscope birthday card; Amoeba Records.)

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beach bum.

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Location: La Selva

Just tequila and the beach.

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Location: Stanford University

Last night our cousin Daniel took us to check out Stanford, where he's an undergrad. We got to explore the lab where he interns for NASA, which was pretty intense. Then we walked past the Hewlett, Packard, and Gates buildings, eventually reaching the art building, with its extensive collection of Rodin sculptures. The first picture is of The Gates of Hell, featuring The Thinker at the top. We then drove down Stanford's Greek row, which was lined with frat house mansions. Since we don't have a Greek row at UNLV, I was properly impressed (and a little jealous). We ended up partying at a co-op that was officially titled 'The Enchanted Broccoli Forest,' which had a live band playing. I had an awesome time and would love to visit Stanford again soon!

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miscellaneous tech

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In the hands of science.

One exhibit featured bronze models of the hands of famous scientists and sci-fi figures. The first picture shows me figuratively holding hands with Buzz Aldrin, and in the second with Jean-Luc Picard. The third is my sister Angela and the guy who discovered the remains of the Titanic.

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The Tech: Genetics

The first picture is of a double-helix made of books, which is so ridiculously wonderful. The second was an interactive thing asking you to question your moral stance on pig donors being used for human heart transplants.

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Location: The Tech, San Jose, California

We decided to go on an impromptu trip to San Jose to visit The Tech, a museum. Silicon Valley is of course the perfect place to learn about technology, and the kid-oriented activities and interactions are great no matter what age you are, as long as you don't have any hangups about maturity.

We got to go into The Tech's amazing Imax dome theater and watch a documentary called Into the Arctic. It was wonderful, and the dome-shaped screen had the effect of making one feel like they were about to drop of into infinity.

I'll be making separate posts on the different exhibits, so be sure to check them out!

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Great White Sharks

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a leading institute in great white research. Occasionally they will keep babies in captivity, but they did not currently have any. Great whites are at risk for being overhunted, and studying them can provide the knowledge to prevent groups from accidentally killing them while fishing other animals. The mural I'm standing in front of in the picture is actually comprised of tiny images of shark teeth. Each of the thousands of teeth represent sharks killed each day. The preservation of sharks has always meant a lot to me. There are many reasons why sharks are awesome and ferocious and whatnot, but I see them as pretty vulnerable when compared to humans. Thank you MB Aquarium for looking out!

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In the above picture of the bay itself, three harbor seals were resting on the rock to the right. Unfortunately, the camera on my phone couldn't capture them, but we got to see them through a telescope!

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Sea Turtle

The last picture is of a young sea turtle in its own tank.

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Dolphinfish, shark, tuna and ray

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Hammer Time

In the last picture, the densely-packed school of anchovies makes way for the hammerhead sweeping the tank's floor.

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Jellyfish

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Location: Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, CA

I had the most amazing time at the aquarium at Monterey Bay. I hadn't been there since I was around eight years old, and the first thing that struck me was how much I remembered, from the orca skeleton suspended from the ceiling to the gigantic tank containing a kelp reef. The also still had the "Open Sea" tank, featuring giant sunfish, schools of tuna, sea turtles, dolphinfish, and my personal favorite--sharks! There were also a few new exhibits--one on seahorses, one on jellyfish, and one on protecting endangered ocean animals. The best thing about going to an aquarium is the newfound appreciation you gain for the animals. We tend to think of seahorses and jellyfish as their cute, anthropomorphic dopplegangers found in movies like Finding Nemo. So it's very eye-opening to be able  to see these real, biologically interesting creatures up close and discover what they really are. I've been to many aquariums in my life, but Monterey holds a special place in my heart as the aquarium that really helped me explore my interest in all things related to the ocean and marine biology at a very young age. Returning as an adult is no less enchanting; it's an amazing place I'd recommend to anyone who loves learning new things about the world around them.

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Golden Gate Bridge

San Francisco, CA

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Reunion

We went back to Petaluma last night. We knew our friends Dani and Aaron, who we hadn't seen in six years, were now living nearby. We also knew that Jennifer, who we hadn't seen in over a year, had just moved to Petaluma. Our parents are friends with Dani and Aaron's parents and Jennifer's parents, so we'be known them our entire lives. My sister and I met the three of them at Starbucks downtown and had a wonderful time catching up.

Angela, Jennifer and I later went to Buffalo Billiards and played a couple games. I did really well in the first game but lost to Jenn in the second round.

Hopefully we will get to see them all again before the trip is over!

Right now we are en route to Monterey. This morning has been filled with migrainey awfulness for me, but I'm hoping that once I get out of the car and breathe in that fresh bay air, I will feel a lot better.

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Fish washing station on the pier

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Richmond Bridge from the McNear pier!

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on the pier

(From left) Angela, Brian, me

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Location: McNear Beach, San Rafael, CA

We drove an hour and a half away to San Rafael for my cousin Michael's birthday party. I took his oldest daughter Alyssa, pictured with me above, swimming in the baby pool.

San Rafael is an extremely beautiful coastal town. As we careened past marinas and fishing shops, it occurred to me that I'd like to spend a lot more time here in the future. Most of my favorite places to visit are coastal, and this city makes me nostalgic for our once-annual trips to Malibu. There's even a pier here!

We were told to dress for cold weather, but it's definitely summer in San Rafael. I traded my flannel and jeans in for a bikini, and I'm soaking up the sun. Speaking of getting soaked, there was a pretty intense family waterballoon toss that took a natural progression into a full-on water war.

California, I retract my previous statements cursing you and your cold weather. You are a beautiful and perfect state, and I will miss you terribly when I return to the desert.

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Location: Petaluma, California

We spent the morning and part of the afternoon at our cousins' house in Cupertino, watching baseball and eating the rest of the party food. My leg pain had mostly gone away, but I'm not sure it was the alcohol's doing--I'll give the credit to my Aunt Julie and her calcium remedy.

One highlight of the morning was finding out that Tim Lincecum of the SF Giants just bought a house in Petaluma. Those of you skilled at reading comprehension may have noticed that Petaluma is my current location. It's also the town I grew up in, and visit whenever I get the chance. As a lifelong Giants supporter and, more recently, Tim Lincecum fangirl, I was rather excited by this news. The Giants are in Miami right now, but if on my next visit to Petaluma I happen to walk past his house three or thirty times, so be it.

We arrived in town this evening and were surprised with an amazing steak dinner cooked by my uncle. I've never been much of a carnivore, but even I thought it was delicious. We also had baked potatoes and red wine, and then watched Mad Men. It's been a nice, relaxing night, which I feel like we all really needed. I'm also having a great time being entertained by my very funny younger cousins.

I have to wake up early to head into the city tomorrow. Next destination: San Rafael! Goodnight everyone!

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Location: Muegge house graduation party

The cake has been served, the tacos have been made, and the sangria has been poured--and I'm laid up in bed with some weird nerve pain in my leg. Which apparently is party triggered by the cold? California, I curse thee.

However, before I became an invalid, I was having a wonderful time talking to my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and the other party-goers. My aunt made a shrine of pictures for Brian, providing many glimpses of that Shirley Temple hair.

Before the party started, we played a very entertaining game called Cards Against Humanity, which is basically a much more offensive version of Apples to Apples. I'm pretty sure each of us laughed until we cried, so I'd recommend it to anyone with a sense of humor.

My leg is still pretty sore, but I think I'm going to head back out to the party. Who knows? There may be some medical properties in sangria the likes of which bed rest cannot compare.

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Cousins

(From right) Daniel, Angela, Brian, me, David

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