I accompanied Dave to Washington D.C. last week for his work. We took Amtrak's Acela from Providence for a pleasant six hour ride. It was nice not to have to deal with airport lines and security. I sat in the "quiet car" which gave me the opportunity to relax and catch up on some reading. When we arrived on Tuesday, it was raining and the trees were still bare. When we left two days later, the trees were starting to bud, including the infamous cherry blossoms. It is amazing how quickly the environment changed once the sun came out and the temperature warmed into the sixties. On Wednesday, up with my good friend, Karen, whom I hadn't seen since ninth grade - thank you Facebook! We spent the morning at the U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory. How pleasant it was to reminisce about our years growing up and to find out what each other has been doing for the past forty years! It was rejuvenating to walk among lush green plants and exotic colorful flowers from around the globe.
The United States Botanic Garden has been open to the public since 1850, and at its present location since 1933. We spent most of the morning inside the Conservatory, which was completed renovated fourteen years ago. Here is a sampling of what we saw on our tour of the Conservatory's ten garden-themed rooms.
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| Entering the Conservatory |
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| Cacao pods |
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| Fresh Squeezed Oranges Anyone? |
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| A Special Exhibit of Roots |
Outside, in the National Garden, the snow had only recently melted, but spring flowers were starting to bloom.
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| These ducks were enjoying the sun while preening their feathers |
Having whet our appetite at the Conservatory, we walked over to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History after lunch to view a special exhibit on Orchids. It was a beautiful way to end the afternoon.
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