Kelly's birthday this year would be that little bit different as we are on the other side of the world. Not anything glamourous but an event we couldn't go without celebrating. First things first breakfast in bed, orders taken I single-handedly set to work, commandeering half the hostel kitchen, 3 toasters (bagels, toast and fruit bread) a kettle for some tea, slipped a cold bottle of coke into my pockets (just because I liked the way it felt), added jam and marg and grabbed the orange juice and cream cheese. A breakfast fit for someone hungry on a birthday morning!! Following a bed crumbing exercise of toast and things in bed we were all set for the day. We had our ticket book in hand and decided today we'd take a bus. With directions from the hostel we headed out. Less than 10 minutes later we were on our way - a ride that would take us through Haight Ashbury, the birthplace of the hippy movement. It really didn't seem to look much to be honest, just a bunch of throwback shops and cafes in a fairly posh end of town (to sum it up, we think the hippy movement appeared to have been started by some rich kids that didn't want to work and wanted to wind up their parents, get a haircut you idle layabouts!!)
Just at the end of the road we neared our destination at the edge of some parkland (Golden Gate Park) that would lead us to the Academy of Science, another of our city pass destinations. Once inside we almost turned and ran: screaming kids, queues and pushy parents - not a great mix inside a rather hot and airless building. We however persevered and headed to the cafe for a drink and whilst there bought Kelly a birthday cupcake and I had one too. Not bad (but not great either) but it allowed us to make a plan of what to see in the chaos, after all we had paid and we then set about it. First stop was a large dome that housed a rainforest and all the associated birds and butterflies and some other encased crits such as frogs, lizards, geckos and some spiders, some spiders were even loose, which didn't sound like a great idea! Below all the flora and fauna there was water with lots of big fish, turtles and the like. It was impressive to say the least. We walked up and around inside the airlocked environment and left the dome via an elevator down to the swamp area after checking for any stray butterflies. Underneath we walked beneath the water of the above rainforest and could see the large fish above us and the trees and the rest of it, quite impressive. Next there was a number of large aquatic tanks with some real interesting fish and sealife from all over the world, such as alligator gars, electric eels, angel fish, octopi, sea horses and catfish. We rounded this area looking at some very strange looking things and then there he was - Santa Claude. Santa Claude is an albino alligator, complete with pinky red eyes (that's how's you know he's the real deal). He was sharing his area with a couple of snapper turtles but not much else. Odd to say but the whiteness almost made him cute - especially as it said his chances of survival in the wild were unlikely due to his albino colouring. The 9 foot alligator becomes even cuter because he's vulnerable. Poor little guy.
Next stop was the planetarium in a 360 degree domed roof. This showed a digital projected view of life on earth from the big bang. I quite enjoyed it. Kelly enjoyed laughing at the women next to me who fell asleep and snored all the way through the show. Next we had a look at the penguins and watched their antics for some time, including one having a poo! We thought the pen looked quite small for them but they seemed happy enough.
We left not long after and headed back toward the hostel planning what to do for a birthday tea!
After a bit of deliberation about various diners and cafes and bars we settled for Lefty O'Douls, an Irish themed bar, that drew us in with mashed potatoes, roast beef, veg and gravy. It turned out to be a canteen type service with a bar. To be fair the beef was awesome but the veg and sides were a little on the cold side. The mash however made the grade and the "au jus" (gravy) was quite good. We stayed on to listen to some old songs sang by a guy playing the piano and drank a little too much but enjoyed the birthday night out.