Sunday, July 5, 2015

6/30/15 Saying Goodbye to SF

Here is a view of our street.  The Market where we shopped is at the corner and the apartment building is yellow with green trim in the background (almost out of view).

Off to the airport.
Can you see why I took this parting shot?  Another reason California is unique!


6/29/15 California Academy of Sciences & Japanese Tea Room

Our final day in San Francisco!

We spent most of the day in the California Academy of Sciences.  We had a behind the scenes tour which felt extra special because we were the only ones on the tour! What make the CAS really special is that it is a working Laboratory filled with scientists doing research in all areas of science.  Our behind the scenes tour allowed us to meet several of them.  Bummer video wasn't allowed on the tour - they had super interesting stories about their lives and the research they were doing.

Our Tour Guide.

Living Roof.

The roof ecosystem is the largest collection of native wildflowers in San Francisco. For more information on the roof, click this link.

Whale jaw bones curing outside on the roof.  

Whale baleen drying in the sun. 

In the ichthyology room.

Great White shark jaws on the left and a vertebrae in the front. 

Anthropology room with perfect replicas of early Hominid skulls

Replica of Lucy!

Lucy selfie.

Anthropologist from Ethiopia.

Resident Anthropologist.

Mineralogy Room

Perfect cubic cleavage on Pyrite specimen.

Graduate students doing research.

This student was doing research on sea slug reproductive organs.  The organs were dissected out of preserved specimens and photographed with cutting edge 3D cameras for study.  This student is a evolutionary biologist who will be heading for University of Hawaii for a PhD in the Fall. 


This student was using micro-MRIs to study the ear canal of fossilized clawed frogs.  This information will be used to better understand evolutionary relationships between species of frogs and accurately place this specimen on the "tree of life", WOW!

Then we enjoyed the rest of the exhibits on our own.
Earthquake exhibit


Stinky flowers and giant birds.


Rainforest Critters.

Macaw selfie - OK not a selfie exactly...

View of the outside of the Rainforest enclosure. Coral reef to the left.

Wonderful diversity on the reef

Sting ray.

Very active Diamondback Rattle snake.

Black Widow Spider.

Giant pendulum that moves based on the earth's rotation.

Penguin talk.

Anthropology exhibit.

Afternoon at the Japanese Tea Room and Gardens.  Very relaxing.












6/27/15 1905 Earthquake tour & Bridge to Bridge tour

We started the day meeting a small group of people for a City Guides 1906 Earthquake Tour.  This is one of the many free tours sponsored by the city if San Francisco (of course donations are gladly accepted)   There are over 40 different tours offered each season; for more information see this link.

Building with attractive seismic supports.

Our tour guide.

Lotta's Fountain, erected in 1875 stood erect after the 1906 earthquake although most buildings in this square were destroyed.  It became a beacon of hope and a gathering place for San Franciscans. In 1910 on Christmas Eve, Louisa Tettrazzini a premier opera singer, gave a free concert here to celebrate San Francisco's return.


Original fire hydrant with a horse hitch on the top for the horse drawn fire engines.  

Later we took a boat tour from Fisherman's Wharf, under the GoldenGate Bridge, under the Bay Bridge and back again.  
Our tour boat.

Golden Gate Bridge.

Boat selfie.

We got pretty close to Alcatraz.



Sign still posted on Alcatraz Island

New section of the Bay Bridge.  This part has cutting edge seismic safety features we saw in the prototype at Autodesk. 

Older section of the Bay Bridge that was not damaged in the Loma Prieta 1986 earthquake.


Back towards the City.

Arriving at Fisherman's Wharf.