GPS, Academy of Science, Fair, Lawn Bowling, and Oakland Temple

So, driving for a couple of weeks out in California after a life in Utah will make you crazy in no time! I don't know why they can't design streets to run straight, but apparently the more windy, the better (and we're not even in San Francisco!). Needless to say, we decided to head to the store to get a GPS. Did you know they don't have monthly subscription fees?!? I (Mitch) sure didn't or I would have been all over that my first days out here!
We decided to go to RadioShack and check out GPS pricing. The irony is that after driving around for a half hour, we found the RadioShack located 5 minutes from our house! There was no question at that point. We were getting a GPS! It's a nice little "Garmin nuvi" and we like it so far. It would be our recommended GPS for anyone looking (of course, we have nothing to compare it to!).


A week ago we went into San Francisco on BART (their "subway" here) to the Academy of Sciences.

The Academy is a really cool place with an indoor planetarium, huge aquariums on the bottom flood, and indoor rainforest, an extreme (preserved) mammals exhibit, and lots of other neat things to see.

Jellyfish are always a favorite, along with the penguin feeding time.


They also let you ride a bronzed tortoise and hug the largest mammal ever!



After a day at the Academy, we walked by the old Czirr home (where Mitch's mom's family lived while they were here in Livermore). It's been refurbished since then, but the people who live there now were happy to let us take a few pictures.


I'm "picking" one of the oranges on the orange tree growing in the front yard!



This last Friday night we went to the Alameda County Fair, which was actually a pretty big fair, with tons of exhibits, rides, food, and entertainment! There were baby ducks to be held, rides to be taken, food to eat, and an amazing hypnotist show that kept us laughing until our stomachs were sore!



The next day (Saturday) we went into Berkeley (well, first Oakland because our GPS isn't forgiving if you enter in the wrong city!) to go lawn bowling and also to the Oakland Temple. The temple is situated on the side of a big hill/mountain and it is beautiful there! Pictures will come later.

The lawn bowling was a blast, too! If you haven't tried it, you've got to give it a shot! It's a fairly relaxing game, still competitive, and a little out of the ordinary. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowls