Lindsay Wildlife Museum and McCovey's

Sam and Auntie Pauline.

Ben giving us a puppet show.


Pauline and Olivia.

Sam enjoying his lunch at McCovey's

The kids in the bald eagle's nest.

Olivia's wingspan was closest to the red-tailed hawk.

Ben's wingspan...wood duck?

Sam's wingspan....crow?

Olivia hugging the grizzly.

Our original plan for the Wednesday following Easter was to attend an Oakland Athletics - Boston Red Socks game in Oakland. After a snafu in the tickets sales office, we were left high and dry :(

No worries, my sisters (Pauline and Beth) and I decided to take the kids to the Lindsay Wildlife Museum in Walnut Creek (http://www.wildlife-museum.org/) then meet Uncle Pete and Uncle Howie for lunch at a popular baseball themed restaurant. If we couldn't get to a real game the next best thing would be to watch it in a restaurant focused on baseball.

At the Lindsay Wildlife Museum you can have close encounters with many live, non-releasable wild animals such as an eagle, hawk, fox, snake or coyote. An on-site wildlife hospital treats more than 6,000 native California animals every year. The museum also features changing art and natural history exhibits, classes for children and adults, and a discovery room with hands-on activities for children.

Ben, Sam and cousin Olivia especially liked seeing the birds. The boys were most intrigued with the owls while Olivia was smitten with her favorite bird - the turkey vulture.

We finished up at the museum and headed to downtown Walnut Creek to McCovey's(http://www.mccoveys.com/) for lunch.

McCovey's is owned by baseball legend Willie McCovey....ever heard of McCovey Cove while watching a San Francisco Giants game? According to Uncle Pete, McCovey's is one of the hundred places every baseball fan must visit in their lifetime. The entire restaurant is reminiscent of a baseball field with memorabilia everywhere and the floor painted to look like the infield. The atmosphere was fun and relaxed, the kids were well-behaved, and the food was very tasty.