Arboretum on Thursday

Traveling with 2 small kids seems impossible to my husband and me for now. Our 18-month old boy is so energetic and can't stay still for a minute so a 9-hour flight to Amsterdam, the Netherlands followed by another 3-hour flight to Bucharest, Romania -where home is- is out of the question. That's why we'd rather have grandparents come over and live with us for a few months. 

Last time my mom-in-law was here it was during wintertime and we didn't get out of the house too much.  This year, though, she arrived in September, when there were enough warm days left to enjoy the outdoors. So we took her to some of our favorite places, one being Arboretum.

If you have already been there I'm pretty sure you're in love with this place but if you haven't seen it yet I totally recommend it. They have something for everyone: amazing gardens (my husband particularly likes the rose garden), hiking trails, tram rides, weekend family programs,  Thursday story times, galleries, horticultural library and more. We usually go there during summer or fall time but it can be visited year round. Arboretum was named the "Best Place to Snowshoe" and the "Best Place for Classic Skiing" - just to give you an idea about the winter excitement you can have there.

October 16th was a beautiful, sunny day and as my hubby could come home from work a bit earlier we decided to enjoy the late afternoon at Arboretum. The reason I remember the exact day is because it was the third Thursday of the month when you can visit for free after 4:30 pm. This goes from April through October and November through March all Thursdays are free all day.

This place is huge and you can discover new sides of it every time you visit. Last time it was the Japanese Garden for us. Although it is pretty close to the Visitor Center at the entrance, we have always passed by it until now. We usually walk to one pond we love or take the 3-mile drive with several stops on the way. But because of the kids, who want to go other ways than we'd like, we have discovered the Vegetable Garden, the Japanese garden and some incredibly nice trails.

If you have stories or pictures of Arboretum that you'd like to share with us, please email us. We'd love to hear from you!

Stef