Trip to Callaway Gardens

August 23, 2006

As part of the August visit with Darla and the girls, we drove down to Callaway Gardens for the day, having a picnic and giving particular attention to the butterfly house.

Brenda, Rod, Darla and the girls rode down to Callaway in Darla's van. The girls were very good on the trip. Ashleigh busied herself drawing, Jordan tried to take a nap, and Elyse played with her new bear.


The Butterfly Center was a treat and a challenge.

We drove to the visitor center to see the raptor show, but it got rained out. No show with dripping wet birds! But a young lady showed us this neat European kestrel and talked with us about the birds and about the need for conservation.
We walked across a walkway spanning the small lake near the visitor center and were able to see turtles and fish in the clear water. A larger turtle came up - probably about 14 inches in diameter.

There were also lots of friendly ducks, which the girls liked. Elyse is very much an active part of everything now. We had to get used to her having so much hair! This was the first time we had seen it.

Jordan and Ashleigh on a bench appropriate for the Butterfly Center. We spent quite a bit of time there.

Seeing the butterflies and the well-designed garden was a treat for all. Ashleigh managed to get a butterfly to land on her finger.

The multi-leveled garden with stairs and ramps was a great place for the girls to explore. Rod enjoyed taking closeup pictures and Ashleigh and Jordan would put out their fingers in hopes that a butterfly would land. Here a blue morpho has landed.

Elyse watches as Jordan gets to hold the parrot. Below Ashleigh gets a turn at holding the parrot. The parrot and some other tropical birds were in the butterfly house.

Holding the parrot and seeing and hearing about the other birds was quite a treat.

The whole process of exploration was quite a treat for Granddad and Grandma as well.

We moved to the sheltered gardens of the horticulture center just in time. It came a very hard afternoon thundershower.

Ashleigh and Jordan had had fun together and it had been a very nice trip. With the coming of the pouring rain in the garden, it seemed a good time to pack up and head back for Atlanta. Thanks to Darla for good photos while Rod was preoccupied with butterfly closeups.

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2006
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