Museums and museums-like places are the places I find the most joy—my quote-unquote happy places.

How many times can I say places in a sentence? A billion if I really tried I suppose. To avoid the agony that would bring to both you, whoever you are, and my poor P, L, A, C, E, and S keys on my keyboard, let’s just take a moment to redefine what museum-like-places means in the context of this stream of consciousness thing.

• Museums are “institutions devoted to the procurement, care, study, and display of objects of lasting interest or value.” (Merriam-Webster)

• Museum-like-places include, but are not limited to, zoological parks, wildlife preserves, nature centers, conservatories, observatories, national parks, libraries—truly any place that is dedicated to the conservation, protection, and learning about the contents therewithin.

February is Museum Month in San Diego, which is basically my dream. My partner and I explored the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park and the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla during President’s Day weekend.

The museum + aquarium were magnificent. I definitely took more photos at the Birch Aquarium (because critters, obviously), but I loved the different crystals and rocks on display at the Natural History Museum.