Summing up my trip

Ok, so my posts have been rather scattered. Not exactly in the order things occurred. Partly the way my mind is going, & trying to catch up now that the computer is running properly. So to help straighten things out, I'll use links for my trip, in the proper order. :)

Monday, August 6th: Traveling There
-I posted that evening, so you can just go to that blurb (why repeat myself?).

Tuesday, August 7th: Day 1
-IHOP... Botanical Gardens... Ansel Adams exhibit (talked about in the blurb above). Here are pictures from the Gardens, both indoors & outside.
-After our adventures we returned to the house (when I posted) for a bit. For dinner we were going to go to the County Fair, but it was closed due to the rain. We ended up at Panera Bread instead. Good food, but it started out disorganized & stressful.

Wednesday, August 8th: Day 2
-We went to the Lake House Cafe for a wonderful breakfast -- a spinach & feta omelet, with a tomato salad, fruit & toast! YUMMY! Plus it had a lovely view looking out at the water. I'd definitely go back & recommend you to go if you're in the area of the Lake House Condominiums (where it's at).
-Then we were off to the Holden Arboretum. I didn't walk around with the map, so I really don't know what areas were which (the Botanical Gardens were a bit more obvious) but the pictures are lovely nonetheless. When we took breaks inside to cool off we visited the gift shop & enjoyed the Whiskey Painters of America display. Their history is really quite interesting & amusing. But if you'd rather not check out the site, here are some of the rules: The watercolor must not exceed 4x5 inches in size & the brush must be dipped into some form of liquor & subsequently sipped. Um, yum?
-That evening we enjoyed a delicious dinner at Olive Garden. A little after arriving home my mom & I decided to go to a local garden center. All I can say is WOW! & that I needed more time there. Petitti's is really big & has some wonderful things. I walked away with one thing -- a stepable plant, Mother of Thyme.

Thursday, August 9th: Traveling Here
After my mom went to work, I got ready, said goodbye to Michael, & headed home. Glad to get some cheaper gas there. (Not the cheapest that I saw during our travels, $2.58, but that was back at Petitti's & entirely out of the way... I'll take $2.69 though, way better than $2.85 I paid here last week!) So just one stop & 210 miles later I found myself safely at home.