Due to Peyton's rigorous therapy schedule (not to mention how terrible the traveling portion of our last two vacations went back in 2010), we have not taken any formal vacations with Peyton (and won't until he asks us to fly on a plane or ride on a train to somewhere far away).
But, he's great with day trips! And we're very lucky to live where we do and have so many options of places to visit!
We haven't been back to the California Academy of Sciences in a couple of months, so we decided that we could go there and take a ton of pictures for him to share at school!
As usual, Peyton goes nuts as soon as we walk in the door and immediately wants to jump onto James' shoulders to see the T-Rex (a replica) and try to reach its very sharp teeth!
Then, he always tries to reach its tail.
I love this picture! My two boys and their T-Rex. :-)
Next, we went over to the Philippine mangrove.
Peyton quickly pointed out Mr. Teacher Ray and Bruce the shark (he's big Nemo fan).
The Academy of Sciences recently opened a new Earthquake exhibit and is showcasing some baby ostriches too. Ostriches are living dinosaurs!
Aren't they so cute?!
Peyton is really fascinated with the planets and was happy to see a giant replica of Earth on display. He quickly pointed out America and Africa.
We noticed divers getting ready to feed the fish (the first floor of the academy includes the open tops to the giant tanks full of amazing fish in the Aquarium downstairs). He got to wave at one of the divers through the glass.
He loves the blue whale skeleton that hangs over the Earthquake exhibit, though Peyton calls it a white whale...
The Earthquake exhibit includes a presentation of the history of Earth and the plate system and then we move into the Shake House which is a beautifully decorated Victoria room, with gorgeous hardwood floors, china in the cabinets, paintings hung on the wall, books on the shelves and a bay window that has a video screen behind it. They then replicate the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, though it's different from what I remember it, and then give us a 30 second taste of the 1906 earthquake. Wow, that was a very strong quake and actually lasted 2 minutes!
Peyton wasn't too happy about going through the exhibit until the house started shaking. :-)
From the exhibit, we made our way back to see the white alligator in the swamp.
Peyton likes to climb up on the seahorse railing and look at it.
The closest we got to the Aquarium on this trip was to the entrance to the stairway above which "lives" a prehistoric shark jaw. We tried to get Peyton to show you how big it is.
There's a new exhibit of tortoises at the Academy. Peyton tried to climb this one, like he does to the stone ones at Happy Hollow, but we didn't let him.
Then, we went back through the Philippine mangrove, where Peyton spotted...
Dory and Marlin!
We made our way to the African Hall where Peyton enjoys looking at the animal replicas such as the lions:
And the cheetah:
It's fun to spot the Jaguar in the tree:
Zebras are beautiful:
And lots and lots of antelope!
At the end of the Hall, they have a live penguin exhibit.
Peyton loved watching them bathe and swim and dive through the visible tank.
Hi little penguin!
At the entrance to the Hall, you are greeted by a lovely gorilla.
Then it was back to the T-Rex for a few more pictures.
And then we went to the atrium to feed Peyton lunch. They have a water show every half hour which is set to music and is amazing to watch.
Peyton loves it!
Then, Peyton asked to head to the roof. The Academy has a living roof. That day, they were holding an information session and Peyton was excited to see her holding a picture of a hummingbird.
I love all the grass on the roof!
And finally, we headed outside where Peyton played with the seal statues.
But then, his true calling was revealed. Peyton took it upon himself to chase away all the birds from the eating area where they were scavenging for food. This can be done by chasing them away, but Peyton adds a high-pitched squeal (think a piglet on helium) to it which makes it hilarious.
I couldn't take a video, sorry, because I had to make sure he stayed out of trouble. Most of the restaurant patrons were amused by his actions, but there were a few who seemed to think that we should win the deadbeat parents' award for allowing our child to run like a maniac. Whatever, he had fun, and we did too!
We love the Academy and can't wait to go back again. We're members, so we can bring in two adults with us (children under 4 are free)...AHEM, just saying.... :-)
