Butterfly

This lovely butterfly lives in the rainforest at the California Academy of Sciences. The butterflies fly freely in the forest with visitors and visitors are asked to check their clothing for them as they leave. Just outside the exit stands a person with a butterfly net. I asked him if he had to use it much and he said, 'Nah'.

Claude

He may look like a rubber alligator you could have in your bathtub, but Claude is a real live albino alligator in the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. He weighs about 150 pounds and is about 8 1/2 feet long. He used to share his swamp with Bonnie who was a little feisty. Claude's pink eyes can't see very well and he suffered some injury at the 'hands' (or ?) of Bonnie. Bonnie has now left the building!

Said the spider

If this Orb Spider had been anywhere near yesterday's fly - oh! words fail me! But this spider dwells in the California Academy of Sciences and doesn't get a chance to hunt in the wild.

Glass cubes

This is about two glass cubes. The first photo is in the Rio airport and signifies the end of our South American trip. The glass cube is a smoking room in an otherwise non-smoking airport. The second glass cube is the elevator from the basement garage to the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. Yes, it is outdoors.