Out and About

Taking our trip to Maine last month has had an effect on how we've been spending our weekends since we've been home.  When we were on vacation, we spent each day taking some sort of mini-trip to either a bunch of places and turning it into an all day outing, or just picking one place or activity.  Either way, we did something different every day--things we don't think to do during the course of our normal weekends at home but that we could if we wanted (museums, the zoo, new parks, etc.).  It got us wondering why we don't take advantage of all our city and its surroundings have to offer, and why "doing things" is so often limited to vacations.

Cleveland gets beat up on a lot, but having grown up around this area and living here my whole life, I can say that the reputation we are sometimes known for is far from the whole picture.  Every major city has its negatives, some more than others, but we are lucky to live in area with so many things to do and places to visit--all set against the backdrop of the Lake Erie shoreline and dozens of public parks, trails and gardens.

Even though Chad and I have lived in the Cleveland area for our entire lives, we have never been to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens.  I don't know why we've never visited, especially since we love doing things outdoors and it's right next to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Cleveland Museum of Art, both of which we've visited several times in the last few years.  This weekend we decided to try out the Botanical Gardens and I am so glad we did--we loved it!  There is a huge glass building with multiple gardens (and levels) that can be toured year round, as well as a huge outdoor garden space that has at least a dozen gardens, waterfalls, bridges, and more plants and flowers than I can count.  The place is just beautiful, inside and out, and we liked it so much that we ended up buying a family pass that we can use for the next year so we'll be able to visit as many times as we want.  I took an excessive amount of pictures (surprised?) and here are some highlights:

They even had a kids' play area inside, so we took a quick break so Charlotte could "cook" something at the play kitchen:

On our way to the gardens, we discovered Lakewood Park.  It was gorgeous and practically empty since it had just finished storming.  I don't know how I've managed to make it this far and just now find this park, but now that we have we'll be spending many more mornings there.

Charlotte got a kick out of the geese...

I'm excited about finding new things to do and places to see--today I'm taking Charlotte to the fair for the first time.  It's supposed to be beautiful outside and not too hot, so we're taking advantage.  She gets to see animals, I get to eat fair food, everybody wins.

Happy Monday!

~Stacy