When you're furloughed in Frisco, you go to free museum days

I'm not one to shun corporate handouts, especially when it means that I get something for free. So when a fellow-furloughed (furloughian?) called me to attend Wachovia Wednesday at the California Academy of Science, I went. Wachovia Wednesday is exactly what it sounds like: a day of free admission to the museum, sponsored by Wachovia.

As far as I can tell, Wachovia probably gave a bunch of money to the Academy of Science in exchange for the museum offering free admission one day each month, thus luring huge crowds of people who, while waiting in the endless line to enter the museum, are forced to gaze at Wachovia branding images. Normally, I would take a bit of offense to this fairly obvious ploy, but for our purposes at Furloughed in Frisco, we must put aside such luxuries as vegetarianism and conscious consumerism and avoiding any association with corporations. We must get down to the basics: we need free stuff. And Wachovia provides this. Please excuse this liberal tangent (it is Furloughed in FRISCO, after all, what did you expect?).

The California Academy of Science, first of all, is located in one of the most beautiful (among many!) spots in San Francisco. It's in Golden Gate Park, located across from the DeYoung, in this little alcove that appear vaguely tropical. So, I didn't mind too much when I arrived at the museum and had to stand in line for 30 minutes to get in. It was free, after all, and I had a beautiful view from my spot in line (that is, if I could look around the Wachovia signs).



The museum was crowded. Too crowded. The planetarium (not included in the free admission) was sold out. We spent a few minutes looking at the animal exhibits in the main room, then got into another line to see the rainforest, which was the highlight of the trip. Lots of plants, humidity, and butterflies. This was worth the trip. There's also a small aquarium, but the crowds were almost too much to enjoy any of it: too many people clustered around the glass, too many kids pushing each other, too many strollers. Ugh.