Flat Kiwis Visit Aquarium of the Bay

The Flat Kiwis did not have much time to rest. Before they knew it morning was here and it was time to get going. Today we would visit Aquarium of the Bay, this time with Oliver's school class. There sure are a lot of field trips at the end of the year!

Once again we headed over the Golden Gate Bridge. This time our car was packed with Oliver, 3 of his class mates and one of his teachers. Good thing we have a big car! We arrived at the Aquarium a little bit early but that was OK because we all had to wear green shirts so everyone would know we were part of a school group. The Flat Kiwis were excited to go in, but we had to wait a few minutes.
Finally it was our turn to go in. We were all very excited to see what was in store for us.
We saw fish and eels but we really liked it when we turned the darkened corner and saw the jellyfish.

The jellyfish exhibit led us right into an Aquarium tunnel which we all loved. Sharks swam next to us and over us. Abbie liked the purple star fish best of all.

The next stop was the touch pools where anyone who was not made out of paper was able to touch the rays. Flat Casper wished he wasn't made out of paper, just for that moment.
The Aquarium is pretty small so that was about the end of our tour. Since we were at Pier 39 there was one more thing we had to do. There is one sight at Pier 39 in San Francisco that locals and tourists alike both enjoy...
We just couldn't leave without a little walk out onto the pier...
Abbie, Cade, Casper and Keira wondered what was all that noise? It was loud. There was such a strong smell of fish that even Aidan, who was not flat, could smell it. The noise got louder. The smell grew stronger when suddenly the Flat Kiwis exclaimed in unison:

" Sea Lions!"

There they were, about 400 Sea Lions. Up until late last year there had been about 1900 sea lions living at Pier 39. They came for the herring and they stayed. At first the local people did not like the sea lions. Sea lions are loud. They bark all the time. Sea lions also smell. They smell like fish. They smell like the most fish you have ever smelled. But one day, last December, right around Christmas time, the sea lions ALL disappeared. No one knew why. No one knew where they went. Scientists were puzzled. Suddenly the same people who said they did not like the sea lions suddenly missed the sea lions. They missed the barking, the noise and well, OK, they didn't really miss the smell. But they really, really missed the sea lions. Suddenly it was quiet at Pier 39 and that quiet made everyone a little sad.
Then one day in February something very special happened. A few sea lions came back. The people held their breaths. They hoped for more. Slowly, slowly, the sea lions are returning. Today there are about 400. Scientists think there are about 300,000 living along the California coast. When people ask the scientists if they think more sea lions will come back to Pier 39 do you know what those scientists said? They said they didn't know. Abbie, Keira, Cade and Casper were happy they got to see the sea lions.
Cade was so excited he almost blew away.

The Next Day

The next day we had to get up early, despite having been out late. Everyone had to get to school. Holden had a field trip scheduled and Flat Abbie, Flat Keira, Flat Casper and Flat Cade were all excited for another adventure.

First we had to make a quick stop to get some coffee.






Then we were ready to go. We headed into San Francisco. Flat Abbie, Cade, Keira, and Casper really wanted their picture taken as we drove over the Golden Gate Bridge. We always like to keep our guests happy, but as it turns out this was a little dangerous.


Pretty soon we reached our destination. The Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. This is the oldest wood and glass conservatory in the Americas. We were all fascinated by the exhibit named Chomp. We learned about carnivorous plants!


Just then we thought we heard Aidan saying he wanted to take a look. So we tried to get a little closer so he could see through our eyes. Our guide cut open one of the plants so we could take a look inside.
See all the bugs? Keira wasn't sure if she liked looking at the bugs, but Casper thought it was really cool that a plant ate bugs. Abbie quite liked the orchids and thought she might try to grow a few of her own later.
We all took careful notes and then it was time to head home.
The sky had darkened and it was pouring down rain. All of the Flat Selves begged to have their picture taken by the Golden Gate Bridge. " Please! Please! " They cried. This time I decided to pull over:
Cade wanted to know how long it took to build the Golden Gate Bridge. Casper knew the answer! A little over four years.
Keira frowned, why isn't the Golden Gate Bridge painted gold?"
Abbie knew the answer to that question. "Well Keira, she explained, the bridge isn't called the Golden Gate Bridge because of its color. Its called the Golden Gate because the Golden Gate Strait is the entrance to the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean.
" Thanks, Abbie!" Keira smiled because she loves learning new things.

Then it was time for a rest because tomorrow these Flat Selves from New Zealand will be headed back to San Francisco, this time for a field trip with Oliver's class.
Good night Flat Abbie, Flat Cade, Flat Keira, Flat Casper ( and Aidan too even though he isn't flat).

The Flat Selves Have Arrived

After a long journey across the Pacific Ocean Flat Abbie, Flat Cade, Flat Keira and Flat Casper arrived in California at Brookside School. They were pretty relieved when the teacher opened the package. They had been squished in there! It was time to say goodbye to Flat Holden. He went to join his flat classmates and hear about their adventures all over the country and the world.

Flat Abbie, Cade, Keira and Casper were sent to Holden's home along with all of the brochures and materials which had been enclosed. Holden only had a few minutes to look over everything before it was time to go to the pool. Holden is on the swim team so he has to practice. Flat Abbie, Cade, Keira and Casper wanted to watch. They thought his practice went pretty well and were quite impressed when they got to see Holden's ribbons from last week's meet as well as his special best time ribbon which meant he'd beat his previous record!







Then it was time to go home and rest a bit before dinner. Finally Flat Abbie, Cade, Keira and Casper would have a chance to meet everyone in our family. Jeff was not yet home from work, but the Flat selves were able to meet Catharyn, Holden ( 8), Oliver (6), Griffin (4) and Laurel (4). They also met 3 cats, Chloe, Paddington, and Walle, and our dog, Maisie.

There wasn't a whole lot of time to rest. After dinner Jeff came home long enough to pick up Holden and the Flat Selves, and leave again. It was time to head back to Jeff's work where Holden and the Flat Selves were in for a special treat. You see, it happens to be the 30th anniversary of the movie The Empire Strikes Back. Lucas, which is where Jeff works, was having a special screening of the movie in their own movie theater. They were allowing each employee to bring one guest to come see the movie. We thought it would be OK if the Flat Selves came along because they were flat and no one had mentioned anything about any rules involving Flat Selves. Jeff took the Flat Selves and Holden on a little tour around the campus before the movie started. The Flat Selves liked meeting Yoda,

















Boba Fett
and Darth Vader,




















but were a little nervous when they met with King Kong.










Cade wanted to see Darth Vader up close.
Everyone liked watching The Empire Strikes Back but they were all pretty tired by the time it ended.