US Horticultural Building

As my regular readers will know, Brandon loves horticulture. When I saw online that buildings made out of plants would be on display over the Christmas season, I knew he had to see it. So on Monday December 28th, we headed there as soon as we got to downtown Washington and found out from a police officer that the best place to park was Union Station. From there we grabbed a taxi and the driver let us off right in front of the Horticulture Building.

Beautiful poinsettas were everywhere and all were displayed nicely.

Guards in brilliant red coats were standing guard.

The Lincoln Memorial. Every aspect of the building was made from a kind of plant. Brandon thought they were awesome and Jordan agreed. Even hubby and I were astounded that such beautiful buildings were made entirely out of plants of one type or another.

The displays were very authentic. The Lincoln Memorial, the Pool and, at the opposite end, the Washington Monument.

The steps of the Jefferson Memorial were made of birch bark. It had been cut into little squares and then varnished.

I only wish they had put up a sign that told what kind of plants were used. All of the buildings were absolutely breathtaking.

The National Museum of the American Indian.

The Horticulture Building.

We couldn't help but wonder how many hours went into these displays. They have some very talented people working for them.

All around them were plants and flowers. Everything was so beautiful.

The Christmas tree in the front foyer was so large that I couldn't get it all in a photo. This is a section of the lower part of the tree.

This is one of the sculptures done for the Children's Garden.

Not far away was a small waterfall with lots of lush plants. If you look closely, you can see the mist coming off the water.

There was lots of water here and the room was quite humid. The sound of water is balm for the soul and this area was very enjoyable.

I have more photos of the Horticulture Building and I'll post some more tomorrow. I don't want to overwhelm you with dozens of pictures in one post.

I wish all of you an enjoyable first weekend in 2010. Please stay safe. Many areas are experiencing frigid temperatures (here for instance) and frost bite can occur in about 10 minutes according to the weather forecast. The reporter had put a bottle of water outside and it was frozen solid in a couple of hours. If you are going to be playing outdoors, please dress in layers and be sure to take frequent indoor breaks to warm up. Hypothermia kills.

Other areas are experiencing storm fronts. If traveling, be sure to take a flashlight, blankets and some candles. We took all of these things when we traveled to Washington. Thankfully, we didn't need them.

Back From Washington, DC

Happy New Year to all my friends and readers. It is my wish that 2010 is a great year for each and every one of you.

Now to let you in on what I've been up to since I left on my blogging break. Hubby, the boys and I jumped in the van and headed to Washington, DC, on December 26th.

The sunset was beautiful as we neared Maryland. The colours were awesome. This photo, taken from the van, doesn't really do it justice. We stayed in Maryland overnight and then made our way into Washington on the morning of the 27th. It was a beautiful day.

First stop was the Lincoln Memorial and as we stood on the steps, we saw this plane coming in for a landing. The planes fly in right over the Potomac and are quite close.

This picture is out of place. We saw this monument to women a little later on, but blogger won't let me move it.

A view of the Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial. This is one of my favourite places in DC.

We took the elevator up the Lincoln Memorial because of my arthritic knees, but I wasn't to be beaten. I walked down every step.

Brandon and Jordan in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It was warm enough we only needed sweaters.

Here is the path going toward The Wall. You would never know that they had a foot of snow just a few days before we arrived. We did see signs of it, but not in this area.

This is a tribute to those who fought in Vietnam.

A Christmas tree at The Wall. The decorations are made by children. There were a lot of people at The Wall the day we were there.

Another view of The Wall. It always humbles me to stand before this beautiful tribute to those who sacrificed all.

If you look closely, you can see a young girl who found the name she was looking for on The Wall. Could it have been her grandfather? The boys had been to the Wall in 2005, but didn't remember it well. They were astounded at how many names are written there.

Then we drove down Constitution. Here is the Capitol Building. The traffic was horrific and there were no parking places anywhere. This was taken just before I accidentally knocked the camera out of the van and into a gutter filled with water. I was sure it was ruined, so that night we went out and bought a new camera.

It's remarkable that the photos on the memory card weren't damaged and believe it or not, when I got home and tried the old camera, it still works.

We arrived home today about 3pm, dropped the boys off and came home for an hour and went to Mom's for New Year's dinner. As always, it was delicious. I have other photos that I will be posting after I get the software for the new camera installed.

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year, filled with love, laughter and abundant blessings.