April 19, 2024
Today, Dean (Weldon) picked us up at the Dallas Elks to go to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden.
We began at Rory Meyers Children’s Adventure Garden.
Even though “First Adventure” is specifically designed for toddlers, the employee monitoring the entrance insisted we go in, check it out and take a fun picture. So we did. 🙂
Water fun…water sprayers, water troughs, etc. We didn’t feel the need to check it out any closer since we didn’t have kids with us and there were several school field trips present. There were raised orange “targets” out in the water to aim at to make them spin, but had more fun aiming at their friends across the way.
This flower triggered a childhood memory so I had to take a picture. I remember we loved to pull out the stamen and suck the sweet nectar from the end that attaches inside the flower. No, I didn’t do that here, but I did tell Barry about it.
I get excited when I see snap dragons. It may sound strange, but they are one of my favorites. They also stimulate childhood memories of living in the South Shores area of San Pedro when I was in first and second grade. I loved it there and we had lots of snap dragons around our yard. Velvety, vibrant flowers.
Dean and I had quite a chuckle watching people pose for pictures these days. Such drama in their poses, and just how many pouty and puckered-up lip shots can you have?? Dean gave it her best. 🙂 Naturally beautiful. 🙂
The gardens are a hot spot for weddings. They also provide a beautiful setting for engagement pictures, senior pics, graduation pics, etc. We witnessed a couple girls in their quinceañera dresses (the Hispanic celebration of a girl’s 15th birthday), and a wedding ceremony. Dean and I chuckled seeing the tennis shoes, so I had to take a quick pic.
ROSES were absolutely gorgeous! I kept thinking “I found my favorite”, but a few more steps and there was another. The following were my favorites of those currently in bloom.
Four Frog Fountain
Oh my, this place was incredible! It spans 67 acres. There is an amazing network of paths to facilitate taking your time to go from one section till you come to another choice of paths. You meander from one area to another without a specific path to follow, but you may not see everything. You will want to pick up a map unless you are with someone like Dean who is quite familiar with the layout. We were there for four hours and did not see it all! Dean has a membership, and I can totally see why it would be worth it! We would definitely go again.
We had lunch at the arboretum’s dining terrace. Once again—I forgot to take a picture of our lunch. Barry and I split the Roasted Portabella Panini.
Roasted Portabella Panini | $13.50
Balsamic Portabella Mushroom, Roasted Red Peppers,
Jalapeno Hummus, with Vegan Cheese and Baby Greens.
It was SOOO good! I would definitely get it again! Dean enjoyed their “famous chicken salad sandwich” on a buttery crescent.
On our way home we stopped at the Cheesecake Royale. Dean has wanted to try it, but she has never timed it when they were open till today! We got our slices to go. Dean and Barry both got raspberry, I got the Black Forest one.
No one was disappointed!
Thank you, Dean for another wonderful day!!
Such a fun day. And your pictures are marvelous! Thanks,