I had never been to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. I was, however, anxious to visit them because Caitlin takes Holli and Andrew there quite frequently. Whenever I think about botanical gardens in general I think about places that have lots of beautiful flowers. What I discovered about these gardens was that they are that and so much more. It is an enchanted place where children's imaginations can run wild and adults are transported back to their own childhood as well.
Poppi flew in to join us for a few days and as soon as his plane came in we set out for a full day of adventure in the gardens. We started out in the rainforest where there were butterflies flying around our heads and occasionally landing on some people's hands.
Once we left the rainforest we went to the desert where this little guy was wandering about. We were told that he's forty years old!
When we left the rainforest and desert areas we went outside where we found shaded trails that led to a serene world where anybody would love to spend hours lost in the hidden world of nature.
The first thing I noticed were the many interactive tree houses that could be found throughout the gardens.
This one had a slide and wooden tic-tac-toe game.
The musical treehouse was one of my favorites!
Sweet Poppi staying down below with Andrew so we could climb up and play.
I managed to get the kiddos to stop and take a few photos so I could capture some of the botanical beauty.
Well, Holli wasn't too keen on the stopping...
As we confined to walk we found this zip line that the girls absolutely loved!
And then there was the giant- sized Jinga game.
While I was watching Caitlin show the girls how to play Jinga, Hubby was etching our initials in a tree. There were supplies provided for doing this and there were lots of other writing that could be found there too.
We let the girls wear their swimsuits under their dresses because Caitlin knew they would enjoy running through this fountain which is actually a really cool sundial with the months and days all around it.
Andrew sat with Poppi looking longingly at the girls running through the water and I'm sure he was wishing he could be out there doing the same with them.
Next, we went to the children's gardening area. This was probably one of their favorite areas because you got to plant seeds and water plants here.
There were pumps for getting the water.
Our outing to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens made for a wonderful day! Yes, two little girls were really worn out that night but it was a good worn out. I love seeing children play outside and enjoy nature while letting their imagination run wild.
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