During our trip to Richmond we visited two very different outdoor areas. Just off I-95 between Petersburg and Richmond we stopped at the Confederate Fort Darling, used during the Civil War to...
Blog posts from botanical gardens
Spain 2022: a day in Madrid
Our flight back to the US left out of Madrid, so we spent our final night in Spain here again. This time we stayed next to the Puerta de Atocha train station, as we were arriving there, plus it...
NC mountains, April 2022: stops on the way there and back
On the way to Waynesville we stopped at the Ciener Botanical Garden in Kernersville. A fairly small garden, it is free to visit and has a nice selection of specimens, especially Japanese maples....
Longwood Gardens
I've long wanted to visit Longwood Gardens, one of the most well-known gardens on the US east coast famous for its water features and formal gardens. Since we would be driving (relatively)...
Wellington: botanical gardens & coastal views
Since breakfast was good the day before, we returned to Sweet Mother's Kitchen. Eric got scrambled eggs on toast and I got a flat white with an order of beignets and the breakfast burrito. Service...
Eric’s 40th: Kew Gardens & Richmond
To help celebrate my birthday Leandra treated me to an afternoon at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (better known as Kew Gardens). The District line took us within a few blocks of the entrance, and...
New Zealand: Hamilton Gardens
After stopping for a few waterfalls, we continued on to the famous Hamilton Gardens. We were pleasantly surprised at the free parking and free entry to the gardens. Once inside we found a garden map...
Nashville and Franklin, Tennessee
Last weekend we took advantage of our Southwest Airlines companion pass to visit our friend Leah in Nashville. Saturday We arrived Saturday morning and were impressed by Nashville's arrivals area--...
Asia/Australia 2013: Singapore sights II
Wednesday Our morning goal was to see the Singapore Botanical Gardens, and knowing the warmth that midday would bring, we got an early morning start. The gardens were about a 30 minute MTR ride...
Asia/Australia 2013: Singapore sights I
Monday Following our evening arrival we only had time for a short exploratory walk through Chinatown. With the Chinese New Year approaching the neighborhood was decorated with lots of red, gold and...
Helsinki 2012: sights of Helsinki, day 1
In 2002 I traveled to Helsinki for a conference (my first passport stamp!) but Leandra had to stay in Georgia. Ten years later we were finally able to get Leandra to Finland when we found a good...
Missouri Botanical Gardens
Upon booking our trip to St. Louis I immediately knew one place we couldn't miss- the Missouri Botanical Gardens, or Mobot. Famous for their plant taxonomy I've known and used datasets from them for...
Royal Greenhouses in Laeken
As luck would have it, our visit to Brussels coincided with one of the three weeks that the Royal Greenhouses are open in 2011. As soon as I found out I made it my one must-see site for this trip....
Golden Gate Park gardens
On Sunday afternoon, after braving the BART ride back to the airport to pick up our rental car, we stopped off at Golden Gate Park to visit the Japanese Tea Garden and the SF Botanical Gardens. Eric...
Our Itinerary
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Bordeaux (Sep)
Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castile and León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)
2022 Trips
Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)