Grand Tour - Missouri, Kansas, Illinois - Day Five

Today marked the halfway point in our trip.  We spent the day in Wichita with Andy and Lois.  After a leisurely morning and a delicious brunch at their home, we got started at Botanica around noon.  Botanica is a collection of themed gardens with continuous expansion planned for the future.  It took us almost three hours to walk through the various gardens.  probably our favorite was the children's garden which is a wonderfully creative space for play in what is really an enchanted forest.  The emphasis here was not on plants but on activity areas that would spark the imagination and freedom of children.  We both wished we had something like this back home for our grandchildren.

As you might imagine, my camera was busy throughout our walk taking pictures of flowers, bees, butterflies, and of the four of us in this wonderful setting.  You can go to the updated Picasa album to see more photos of our second day in Wichita. 

The only interesting subjects for video were the koi when we put some food in the pond.  You can see this below.

We also paid a visit to the Nifty Nut House...where we went nuts and bought all sorts of vintage candy and chocolate covered almonds and other goodies.  You will note the big smile on Marilyn!  When we got outside, we discovered that it was raining a bit and had gotten a lot cooler.  We decided to put into a local pub in Old town for some warming beverages and a few appetizers before heading home to play with Andy's harmony remote, another delicious dinner...and more of those delicious desserts followed by some television:  All Star Dancing With the Stars and Castle.