This is the first year we've had my dad's parents for Christmas and it was a really big treat to have them come and spend time with our family for a whole week!
We read in the paper about a train exhibit "Gardenland Express: Gateway to the West" at the Missouri Botanical Garden, and so, on Wednesday, 27 December 2006, we decided to take everyone for a little outing to see the trains. When we arrived we had the added bonus and surprise of finding out that Wednesday the Gardens are open to the public (meaning no admissions charge) so all we had to do was purchase tickets for the train exhibit - a significant savings for a group of 10.
A room about the size of a elementary school gymnasium, was filled with beautiful varieties of poinsettias and "G-scale trains traveling over a living landscape of miniature plants and American landmarks, from the Gateway Arch to the Hollywood hills." It truly was fantastic! They had trains going around the perimeter of the room, and two large land "islands" in the center of the room with trains winding in and out and around the imaginative landscape. Definitely one of the best train displays I've seen.
Despite crowded isles, everyone had a great time watching the trains go around and around, finding familiar things within the landscape. Here are a few group shots ...
Emily with my Grandmother:
Rebecca with my Grandfather:
Me and the kiddos - Happy 5 months Alex!:
There was another stunning exhibit out in the gardens "Glass in the Garden: Chihuly at the Missouri Botanical Garden.” Renowned artist Dale Chihuly had a blown glass exhibition designed for the Garden and we got to see a few of his pieces. They are beautiful and still take my breath away.
I think this was my favorite Chihuly piece, it hung in the entry of the Botanical Garden, like a giant chandler.
3 comments:
Wow, I wish I had been able to come with you to the Garden. Maybe the exhibit is still there?
What an awesome train exhibit! Looks way better than the one we saw at the Nixon Library.
I heard about that glass exhibit- I saw it on some news show- it looked really cool. How fun to b able to see it.
Hey there. I really loved this post. I wish I'd told you that right when I saw it for the first time. The things we miss out on . . . Oh, and I stole one of your Chihuly pictures for my blog. Hope you don't mind.
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