Botanic Gardens + Trains!

The Botanic Gardens were a fun spot to visit at any point, but it was particularly exciting to visit post-Thanksgiving when the train displays were up! The girls and I met up with a friend from college and her two little boys to tour the display.

I'd heard that the train sets were really cool (and we would have gone *almost* no matter what, as my kids all really love trains), but they weren't anything like I had expected. In addition to the actual trains, there were miniature, fairy house-style replicas of botanic gardens from around the world. I was so not expecting that part! One of the first ones I saw was a replica of the greenhouse at Biltmore, which I recognized, so I read the plaque next to it to confirm. That's when I noticed that all of them were from different botanic gardens.

From the Biltmore!

The girls were so excited that one of the trains was actually Thomas and his friends!

Inside the little hole Claire was peering into. I think this is from St. Paul, MN.

This one is from Huntsville! I was so excited to see this one.

#sweethomealabama

#alabamianforlife

And now...a series of Lily faces. In front of, what I think is, St. Louis.

We're good at pictures.

All of the trains/botanic gardens were in one room, and apparently, if you don't go in the morning of a work day, you wait in lines that wrap around the building to get in. Outside of the train room, though, there were replicas of monuments and other important DC buildings.

Got this one in front of the Supreme Court, since we weren't able to get a real picture of everyone on the day we actually visited the Supreme Court.

Union Station

Washington Monument

The White House

Lincoln Memorial

Jefferson Memorial

The Smithsonian Castle

The Capitol

And again: a series of Lily and her faces

Before leaving, Katie and I attempted to get pictures of our children, which met with varying levels of success, as I'm sure comes as no surprise to anyone.

I mean...we tried.

Such a DC gem.

And this one is just a gem in general.

It was freezing, and everyone was hangry before we got home and fed (don't be fooled: we had plenty of snack with us, but that is just no substitute for a proper lunch), but it was still a very fun morning with friends. Another one of those adventures that we were so glad we signed up for.