Travel Journal Day 4

After visiting cities all week, I decided that it was time to take a break and take a step back and venture into nature.

First stop was the Botanical Gardens. Smack dab in the middle of downtown and I never even knew it was there! Of course, my severe pollen allergies and my fear of bees have created an instinctual aversion to anything flower related so this is somewhat excusable. But after 5 years of allergy shots, I figured I could risk it.

I was a little bit jumpy at first seeing as there was a constant humming of some insect or another around me, and I did not want to relive the one encounter I had with a bee that did not end well for either of us. But, I stuck it out and was rewarded with this picture!

Satisfied, I hightailed it inside to this.

Now I know what Elizabeth Taylor must have felt like on the set of Suddenly Last Summer in Sebastian's garden. All that was missing was a Venus Fly Trap.

The tall, overbearing trees and gargantuan leaves completely enclosed me,

yet everything felt so open with the sunlight streaming through the branches.

It was a strange feeling.

There was also this aspect of strange...

I wonder who came up with that one.

Very funny.

But I have to say, it made for a pretty picture.

And so did these.

Faced with my fears again, I headed into the desert climate room. I was surrounded by cacti.

Concentrated on not falling, I VERY carefully made my way on the narrow path to the other side of the room. You would think it would be a slightly wider path with all the cacti and their threatening needles. I guess it is a slightly irrational fear, but it doesn't affect my day to day life... so I just deal.

Again I was rewarded for my bravery with this picture:

Now it was off to the National Arboretum.

Apparently, the only exhibit to see there at this time of year is the Bonsai tree exhibit.

I say this with no disappointment though because Bonsais are really something else. Some of the trees have been in training for over 400 years! It really is an art form.

I especially like the ones that look like little forests

But all I could think about then were fairies.

It also made me want to train a Bonsai tree. I will add that to my list of things to do.

As I made my way back to my car I stopped at a Koi pond. Replete with Koi of every size and color it was quite a sight. I even got to see two kiss! But my camera wasn't fast enough to catch it. That wasn't the real attraction though. As I was taking pictures of the Koi, someone decided to toss in some food to them. I was ill prepared for what ensued.

Complete and utter chaos.

If you've never seen Koi feeding, here is a video I found that pretty accurately demonstrates what I saw. The Koi went completely crazy! The bigger ones were getting on top of the smaller ones, thrashing outside of the water, splashing water everywhere, just completely insane. If you ever get the opportunity to feed Koi I would definitely do it.

But that's all for today. Now I'm off for an early night to prepare for an early rise. Apparently there's a meteor shower at 4 AM. Another thing I will soon be able to check off my to do list.

Check out my Tumblr for more pictures from today!