by JiaYing

Our favorite meal in San Francisco: Tony’s Pizza Napoletana

Our favorite meal in San Fran was at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana!

Walking in felt like being wrapped in a big hug. Tony's is famous for its Margherita, which won Best Pizza in the World in Naples. But kids. They just want cheese. The general manager insisted if cheese is what they want, cheese is what they get — the best cheese pizza in the world! The kids couldn't stop laughing. Seriously, the best pizza and the nicest people here.

Here's a link to my story for Seattle's Child: family-friendly adventures in San Francisco.

by JiaYing

Heath Ceramics showroom in Sausalito

Bucket list item checked off! I have waited decades to visit the original Heath Ceramics in Sausalito. They have a beautiful showroom and factory tours. The seconds store and tile overstock shed is also here.

Because we were on bike (also, on a freelancer budget), I limited myself to ONE purchase: a Chez Panisse mug. Original price $45, marked down to $16.90 in the seconds shop.

by JiaYing

Seattle Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavilion opens

Two lucky kids got a sneak peek inside the Seattle Aquarium's new Ocean Pavilion with me yesterday. The expansion opens to the public today, and we are so excited for this huge waterfront upgrade.

Here's a link to my story for Seattle's Child.

The biggest window into the biggest habitat. This is a 23-foot-tall window into the reef ecosystem.
LMN Architects designed the building. They also did the Asian Art Museum expansion. Such a big fan of their work.
The interior is so open and airy. Love, love, love.
A spotted eagle ray swims by one of five viewing windows into the reef.
The Indo-Pacific leopard shark. The Seattle Aquarium is part of the ReShark breeding program, where they take eggs hatched in aquariums and release them into protected areas.
View of the old building, which opened in 1977. It's due for an update too.
A lot of the coral inside the tanks are fake. But the fish use them the same as real coral, as habitats.
Video projections on the walls, staircases, even the floors.
Diver getting ready for the grand opening.
I can only imagine how tempting it will be for kids to reach into this water. This is NOT a touch tank; touch tanks are in the old building.
by JiaYing

Astronaut Tom Jones visits the Museum of Flight

At The Museum of Flight, we saw a real NASA astronaut! Actually, two: Tom Jones was speaking, and Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger was sitting two seats behind me. What an amazing opportunity. We are so lucky to have the Museum of Flight here. Someday I want to go work for NASA.

Some things we learned:

  • The space shuttle re-enters the atmosphere at a speed of mach 25, or 25 times the speed of sound
  • The spacesuit controls are printed backwards, because astronauts can't look down, they're wearing a helmet, so they use a mirror on their wrist to look at their controls.
  • Cancer cells in space grow in 3-D, not flat on a petri dish, so scientists can test cancer medications better
  • The shuttle crew has a commander and a pilot, because none of the astronauts wanted to be called the co-pilot.
by JiaYing

IslandWood retreat on Bainbbridge Island

Field trip to IslandWood on Bainbridge. The 5th graders at Paul's school go on a camping trip here every year, so we went to get a sneak peak. Turns out it’s not a campsite, it's a super swanky RESORT.

IslandWood is open to the public one day a month. The rest of the time it's hosting 4th and 5th graders learning about nature with UW grad students, retreats and weddings.

Backlit fern
Fire lookout repurposed here for kids to learn about the layers of the forest. 191 steps to the top.
Loved the rustic furniture, which was all made from local wood by a Bainbridge craftsman.
A Pete Nelson treehouse! So fun to go inside.
Boy the ferry is not for the faint of heart. We left around 5 for the ferry, and didn't get on until 9 p.m. Bremerton's ferry went down so Bainbridge went down to one boat. I don't know how people do the commute.