Day Two

No camping trip can have perfect weather. We knew there would be a big chance of rain. And it did, on Saturday, on and off, all day. One of those times where it is a blessing to have a travel trailer. But, we sure didn't want to stay in there all day!

One of the couples we traveled with had been to the Gardens before so they knew what to do. And we did! All day! Our first stop was the butterfly garden. It was huge and the kids enjoyed watching the butterflies and trying to get them to land on them.

It was a little stressful, though, trying to keep up with all of the kids. There was 8 adults and we all did our part! My friend's parents were with us and she is a preschool teacher. It was a little ironic that she spent her weekend off chaperoning a passel of kids. But, as she said "all of these are good kids." And, I agree.

The next stop on our Saturday tour of the Gardens was the horticulture center. In the building they had all types of plant life. Some of it was pretty amazing. The kids loved the tree with the little bananas. I LOVED the poinsettia tree. It was absolutely gorgeous! As you can see.

The kids got along SO well. The age range was from 18 mos to 9 years. And every age in between. Not once did any of us hear a complaint about any thing or any one.

We left the Gardens for lunch. We all agreed on pizza so we stopped at a little pizza joint just down the road and it turned out to be very tasty and the staff was really very nice. We all ate well.

Our next stop was the chapel. A must see as quoted by our "travel guides." And once again we were not disappointed. The chapel was spectacular. It was set in a little ravine in the middle of some woods. As we drove up to it (all three cars) they sign read "A place for quiet meditation." I wasn't exactly sure why we were there - ha, ha!

We looked around the architecture and then went in to listen to the organist. It really was a place for peace and contemplation and reflection.

Behind the chapel was a little creek with this huge rock. One of the big boys thought it would be fun to climb it. And so the others had to follow.

Our last stop for the day, before we went on our trolley ride to see the million Christmas lights, was the Bird of Prey show. Because of the weather it was an abbreviated show. But, the kids loved it. The speaker was really very knowledgeable about the birds she was showing. The first was a Harris Hawk. Then a Great Horned Owl and, lastly, was a Red Shouldered Hawk. They flew freely around and would swoop right over our heads. It would make you duck they were so close. Amazing!

Finally, we ran back to the campground to get extra layers on because we were about to ride an open air trolley to see the million Christmas lights displayed through out the Gardens at night. Everyone I spoke to before we left said it is spectacular. And they were right. It was one display of lights after another. My favorite was a huge Christmas wreath and about a dozen big poinsettia plants made up of lights. Another fan favorite was the winter wonderland done in white lights. And, also, the Tinker Bell and Jack Frost fight between spring and winter was an ahh oooo moment. It was also done in lights that made the frost covered flowers spring into blossoms right before our very eyes. There were displays of lights on the waters and their reflections in the lakes were stunning. It met every expectation. And even hubby was impressed. That can be hard to do sometimes!

It was cold, but no one noticed.

I know, lots of words and lots of pictures. And I am not even done yet. But, we really did have the time of our lives. Camping and adventuring . . .