It's fun to share!

     As you all know, Jeff and I love going to gardens. We've been to the Arboretum a few times, the Huntington Library once, and to Descanso about a dozen or more times. The one thing we haven't done, is invited our friends to come too! So, when Julia and Mike suggested that we should all go together one of these days, I jumped at the chance!

     So, we made plans to meet for lunch in Pasadena and then on to explore the LA Arboretum after. After a teensy wrench was thrown at the original plan, we decided to skip lunch and meet at the gardens around 1pm. When we arrived, the sun was high and blazing, and due to the heat (it was beastly hot!), we decided to stick to some of the shadier areas. We traveled first to the prehistoric forest and the lake, passing the citrus orchard and rose gardens along the way. It was so great just to walk and talk out amongst the trees and flowers. And, despite the heat (it must have been at least 85F), we had a great time. Julia and I would get distracted, taking photos of the peacocks or occasional hummingbird or duckling, and instead of J getting a bit bored (as I'm sure sometimes happens when I get super snap-happy), he just walked on, chatting happily with Mike. It was great! 

    Speaking of photographs, it was nice to be able to take photos of other people without it being awkward (I've been trying to practice my portrait-taking, etc).. and it was equally nice to have a friend to take a photo of J & me. So, without further ado, here are some of the amazing snaps taken on this joint adventure!

 
     When the day was done, we were fairly worn out and very hungry, so we decided to stop for dinner at the diner M&J had suggested for lunch earlier. The place is called Pie 'n Burger, and as you may be able to guess from their name, they are known for their burgers and homemade pies. It's a cute little diner, started in the 60's, and tucked away and so small that J and I missed it the first time we drove past. Once inside, we collapsed into the bar seats and ordered up some milkshakes (and a diet coke for me) and burgers. I ordered one of my all time favorite foods: a patty melt. The patty was juicy and the cheese and onions melted to perfection on deliciously crispy rye bread - it was wonderful.
     With a plan in motion to meet back at the apartment for drinks and board games, we ordered a boysenberry pie to take with us. On the way home M&J grabbed a carton of vanilla ice cream - because hot pie deserves to be served a la mode, of course. And so it was, at the end of our adventure, that I served us all a slice of hot out-of-the-oven pie topped with vanilla bean ice cream, and we finished our day in a tasty reverie, until the very last bite was gone.