Chihuly, first visit

My sister Linda and her husband Al made a quick trick up from San Antonio this week to go to the Chihuly exhibit at the Dallas Arboretum. We all four schlepped over there (it's a 53 minute drive from our house). It's really spectacular! Well, the Chihuly pieces are amazing, but the Arboretum itself is well worth the drive.

I've seen some pretty great gardens, from Bellingrath on the Alabama Gulf coast to Buchart on Vancouver Island, the Borromeo Palace garden on Isola Bella in northern Italy (where the bamboo had its own gardener) to Fragrant Hills Park and Beihai Park in Beijing.

The Arboretum has lovely formal areas, but is so very appealing because (besides being on the same continent, conveniently reachable by car) it has all these quiet tucked-away spots where I could easily see myself sitting and reading, or sitting and chatting, or just sitting for a while. And a lot of those spots are beside White Rock Lake or near charming water features that include little water falls or things that look like springs or creeks. And I do love me a spring or creek!

The Chihuly show was scheduled to end next week, but is so popular it's been extended through the end of the year. Our good friend Pat is coming up next weekend to go, so I'll be visiting it again. If you're in the area, you should too!

That's the "Dallas Star" piece behind me. And that's me looking
surprised that blue spikes are coming out of my head.