Where else can you see a planetarium show on the creation of the universe, a four-story self-contained biodome (with an airlock to make sure you don’t have any hitch-hiking free roaming butterflies on you as you leave!) a full aquarium, and a natural history museum- and all under one environmentally sustainable living green roof? Yeah, it was awesome.

Back when I was a kid, Steinhart Aquarium was where we went for our Family Outings, but a few years ago, they redid the whole shebang, and boy howdy, they did it up right. The entire complex is now sustainably built, and they even harvest their own rainwater from a living roof (you’re welcome to traipse around up there, but the idea of willingly taking Bean on a roof with me being the only adult was a tad too much for my stomach). The enormous tanks are fed directly from the Pacific ocean, and all the habitats are natural and sustaining- and absolutely incredible.

My kids are celebrating that the Megalodon jaws over the Aquarium entrance are fossilized- or maybe that’s just me. Have I told you how I feel about sharks? So anyway, only small sharks, thank you very much. Did you know Great White’s give live birth? Me neither.

We spent all day there, and never even got to the display on Extreme Mammals. I know! Then we headed up across the Golden Gate, because it’s just necessary. After the baker yesterday in the City, it was joyous to have the cool, awesome, wonderful (did I mention I hate heat?) blessed fog rolling through the gates…

(Anyone else noticing a theme?) And then, in the five minutes it took to get from the Point back on Hwy 1 South, the fog was pea soup. I love love love San Francisco. Or Fran Sanfisco as Abby says.