Posts Tagged With: California Academy of Sciences

San Francisco Botanical Garden

San Francisco, February 20

It was the best of days, it was the worst of days. Slight exaggeration but you get the idea. First stop of the day was great. The San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum. In prepping for this trip, I thought the Conservatory of Flowers would be a highlight and the Botanical Garden would be ho-hum. I was wrong. As you read before, the Conservatory was disappointing. The Botanical Garden, however, was a delight. Plants and trees bloom at varying times throughout the year but there were numerous varieties in bloom today. Some at peak, some before or past peak, but enough blooms to add plenty of color throughout the garden. Add to this the interesting shape and colors of the green vegetation and the two hours we spent walking around the botanical garden were pure enjoyment.

We arrived early and while there were plenty of people also enjoying the day, it did not feel crushed. The temperature started in the mid to high 50s on its way to the low 60s with plenty of sun. Benches are scattered profusely around the walkways so sitting and enjoying the view was easy and encouraged. Magnolias and camellias were the highlights, showing off large and colorful blooms. The Garden brings in plants from similar climates from around the world and the unusual was a normal occurrence here.

The Academy of Sciences was just a hop, skip and a jump away from the Botanical Garden but a world away in terms of the crowds. This place was the big disappointment. Forget that it was crowded and over run with kids, strollers, and parents. That would have detracted from our enjoyment if there had been a reason to enjoy the facility. First, it was overpriced. Somehow, my notes had indicated the cost to enter was $6. Wrong. For seniors, the cost was $43. Per person. But my research had indicated this place was a marvel. It sounded that way. It has a planetarium, an aquarium, and a natural history section in a building that was completely renovated in 2008. A place you must experience. Certainly it must be worth the money, here too there was a line to get in.

Well, the aquarium is small and modest. The exhibit areas are also small and uninteresting. The rainforest display is rated very highly but the line to get in was as long as a line at DisneyWorld. Walking around the exterior indicated it too was relatively small. Given the other exhibits, we could not see wasting our time in a very long line for the unlikely chance of seeing a marvelous exhibit.

I know I am being harsh but we have been to all sorts of museums around the U.S. We would not put this on anyone’s must see list unless this is likely to be the only museum of its type you are ever going to visit.

We came back and had an early dinner at the House of Nanking. This is a Chinese restaurant run by the same family since 1988. When we came back from Cafe Zoetrope and again from City Lights Bookstore, there was a line waiting outside to get in. This was in sharp contrast to most restaurants we passed which were lucky to have a few tables occupied. Luckily for an early dinner there was no wait. The food was good but not spectacular. Gee, I am sounding a bit negative today aren’t I? It is not that we did not enjoy the meal, just that it did not seem dramatically better to justify the long lines of the previous days.

Our streak of great weather will be coming to an end. Tomorrow the high will only be in the low to mid 50s with clouds and winds over 20 mph by mid day. Even cooler on Wednesday and rain by Thursday.

Ed and Chris, San Francisco February 20