Who Knew We Were Virginians?

[dizneeat]

Trying to catch up again ........
Two large tests this week, they keep me from the DIS - NO fun!

Great photos, Jen! I just love to see all the flowers and greenery! Thanks for sharing.

 

[jenseib]

The close ups of the flowers are really stunning.

Corinna

Thanks

I wish I was the one with the idea for American Girl shops. LOL.
LOL. The plate and cup for the doll. Cute.
MMM, lobster. Love lobster. The dessert sounds good.
The conservatory looked beautiful. We have the botanical gardens and every year they put on a train display for the holidays like the fairy tale one but of NYC made out of wood. Very pretty just like those.
Great updates and pics.

I wish I had that idea too! I could go to Disney more often then!

Trying to catch up again ........
Two large tests this week, they keep me from the DIS - NO fun!

Great photos, Jen! I just love to see all the flowers and greenery! Thanks for sharing.

Claire has had no school yet this week. They keep canceling because of the cold and snow.

Thanks. It was a fun little side trip.

 

[jenseib]

We next went to another outdoor area that had more of the Munro exhibit.








You can see a sign behind Claire in this next picture that says “Hot Shop”. They did glass blowing there, but it was too early for them to be doing it yet that day. We ended up not coming back later to see either as we finished our touring before they would even start for the day.





We went back inside again and my map had marked another Chihuly in the area. It was kind of in an area where most would not see it and that was sad, because it was so pretty.



This is where we ran into another family and we found out they had basically come for the Chihuly exhibit as well.



We started down this hall then as I needed to find the restroom and I almost passed these pictures. Only when I heard the family behind us say “These are Chihuly’s too” did I stop and take a look.



This is not what I associate with him at all and I am glad they spoke up or I would have walked right by.









After the quick stop to the bathroom we made our way to another outdoor area, this one with more of the Munro exhibit.













Someone needed a quick rest.

 

[dolphingirl47]

What a shame that the Persians were so hidden. They look great on that wall. I have seen some of Chihuly's drawings in Seattle. They were nice, but not in the same league as the glass.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

What a shame that the Persians were so hidden. They look great on that wall. I have seen some of Chihuly's drawings in Seattle. They were nice, but not in the same league as the glass.

Corinna

It was totally hidden in kind of cubby area.
I had never seen the drawings before and they were neat, but you are right not in the same league at all.

 

[jenseib]

We once again went in to another indoor exhibit and this room was really neat and one of our favorites. We probably spend the most time in here.

I really had to work to get this picture as there were other kids in here and they would not move out of the way for me to try to capture this. I really think they thought they were going to catch one…..and the parents were not watching them either. I kept waiting to hear a splash, but luckily no one ever fell in.



Another Chihuly! This thing was HUGE!!!!!!!



I stood a moment to line up this shot and as soon as I clicked…well you know how it goes…people walked right into it.



And they wouldn’t move then so I didn’t stick around for another try.

We found some stairs to go up to a lookout tower. This was a highlight to Claire, so we went up and took a few pictures.



And she ran down then so I could take her picture from up top.



I came back down and joined her then.



There were lots of butterflies in here too so I kept trying to capture them.



There are the kids who wanted to catch a fish.





You can’t see them very well in this next picture, but they had some things hanging from the ceiling in here…again I think they were part of the Munro exhibit.















I’ll let you in on a secret……I was curious if this was glass or not, so I reached over and touched it. I am pretty sure it was plexiglass if I remember right……Though sign lists it as handblown glass…so maybe it just had a strange texture.













I think these spikes were Chihuly’s as well.

 

[dolphingirl47]

This is definitely glass. I have seen plenty of near identical sculptures and chandeliers and at Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle, they had a film on how a sculpture like this is created. As far as I am aware there are only two installations that consist of something other than glass and that is the chandelier that used to be on the Magic and the chandelier on the Wonder. Even the chandeliers on some of the Celebrity ships are glass as far as I am aware.

Yes, the spikes are Chihuly. They are part of his Blades series.

Corinna

 

[Poolrat]

Loving the Exhibits. I caught the Munro exhibit in Nashville last summer.

All lit up it was fascinating.

Looks like a great trip. AG for Clair and Chilhuly and Munro for you.

 

[jenseib]

This is definitely glass. I have seen plenty of near identical sculptures and chandeliers and at Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle, they had a film on how a sculpture like this is created. As far as I am aware there are only two installations that consist of something other than glass and that is the chandelier that used to be on the Magic and the chandelier on the Wonder. Even the chandeliers on some of the Celebrity ships are glass as far as I am aware.

Yes, the spikes are Chihuly. They are part of his Blades series.

Corinna

That makes since. I knew the Wonder and Magic had plastic ones, but I wasn't sure if he made other things that way or not.

Loving the Exhibits. I caught the Munro exhibit in Nashville last summer.

All lit up it was fascinating.

Looks like a great trip. AG for Clair and Chilhuly and Munro for you.

How neat to see another exhibit of Munro. I had never heard of him till then and I really did like his stuff too.

 

[jenseib]

This room had so many neat things to see.














We found another look out.



Claire was annoyed that the tree was in the way.









We then headed out. We had seen most everything there was to see, so we did what every good woman should do…..headed to the gift shop.



I didn’t buy anything, but Mom did buy some cute glass pumpkins to give as gifts.



They had some Chihuly pieces for sale too…Quite a bargain! NOT!



I didn’t have $7,100 with me today.





This was from their Hot Shop. It was all very pretty.



I was tempted to get this cutting board as I have collected pigs for years. Now people give me cow things since I am married to a Dairy farmer, but I was collecting pigs long before I was with Skip. I didn’t for 2 reasons ….1. it was very pricey and 2. It was very small.



We were getting hungry and they did have a café, but it looked dirty. The whole place was so nice and clean, but the café looked disgusting and it smelled like bad meat, so we passed on that and headed out. Actually Claire and I went out, while mom and Amanda were still shopping as we wanted to take a look outside before we left.

Of course I had to get a few more shots of that beautiful Chihuly fixture as we left.

 

[jedijill]

What a cool location for the exhibit...the sculptures fit right in with the plants.

Jill in CO

 

[MEK]

Thanks for posting so many pictures Jen! That conservatory looks absolutely stunning! I know I would love it there. But since I will likely never get there I feel like I got a real insider view thanks to your pics.

I especially like the one of that tiny butterfly. How cool. Great shot!

 

[mom2rtk]

I loved the Whizz Pops. I don't even know why. But they look cool. So do the hanging bulbs. I really am fascinated with glass things I guess.

Maybe I just have Disney on the brain, but that Palm tree greenhouse just reminded me of Crystal Palace. I would expect to look in and see Pooh and his friends wandering around!

And that little village reminds me of the Storybook Land Canal at DL. So charming.

And that one house you couldn't figure out, with a cat in front or whatever..... it reminded me of Tarzan's treehouse!

I also liked the little globes stuck in the ground. Although they did look a little like dandelions........

Love the photos of Claire dragging along. I take those shots too! I do hope you have her in training right now or she'll never make it Through Disney next month!

And just so you know..... the mail must be REALLY slow. My $7100 Chihuly gift didn't make it here yet. I'll keep you posted.

 

[dolphingirl47]

They had some Chihuly Macchia Bowls for sale in Seattle as well and the price made my eyes water.

I love all the different things in that glasshouse. I had to smile about Claire complaining about the tree being in the way. What a shame that the cafe was dirty.

Corinna

 

[jenseib]

What a cool location for the exhibit...the sculptures fit right in with the plants.

Jill in CO

It was really neat. I had thought it would all be in one room, not scattered like that and it was a nice surprise.

Thanks for posting so many pictures Jen! That conservatory looks absolutely stunning! I know I would love it there. But since I will likely never get there I feel like I got a real insider view thanks to your pics.

I especially like the one of that tiny butterfly. How cool. Great shot!

You don't have an exciting trip to Ohio planned? It was really a neat place and I am glad we went there.

I loved the Whizz Pops. I don't even know why. But they look cool. So do the hanging bulbs. I really am fascinated with glass things I guess.

Maybe I just have Disney on the brain, but that Palm tree greenhouse just reminded me of Crystal Palace. I would expect to look in and see Pooh and his friends wandering around!

And that little village reminds me of the Storybook Land Canal at DL. So charming.

And that one house you couldn't figure out, with a cat in front or whatever..... it reminded me of Tarzan's treehouse!

I also liked the little globes stuck in the ground. Although they did look a little like dandelions........

Love the photos of Claire dragging along. I take those shots too! I do hope you have her in training right now or she'll never make it Through Disney next month!

And just so you know..... the mail must be REALLY slow. My $7100 Chihuly gift didn't make it here yet. I'll keep you posted.

I loved the Whiz pops too. I need to get Claire walking again or I might have to get a stroller. She is addicted to Youtube now and mindcraft, so she is doing one or the other most days.

That does look like Crystal Palace!

oops, I forgot to check that shipping for you. I'll get right on that!

They had some Chihuly Macchia Bowls for sale in Seattle as well and the price made my eyes water.

I love all the different things in that glasshouse. I had to smile about Claire complaining about the tree being in the way. What a shame that the cafe was dirty.

Corinna

Yes, I can't imagine they sell a whole heck of a lot of them. Who has that much money to get that on the spur of the moment?
It was annoying that the tree was right there in the middle. Someone didn't think when they planted it.

 

[jenseib]

It was turning colder, as it was fall, but they still did have some flowers outside.







This was the first fallen leaf I had seen this season.







We loved these petunias….they were black.









Mom and Amanda came out and Amanda sat on a bench and Mom joined us as we looked around.











I wanted to get some nice posed shots of Claire, but she wasn’t cooperating so much.



She was just being plain goofy about the whole thing.



And I couldn’t find the right angle either without having shadows and things in the background so I gave up.





We then headed back to meet up with Amanda.

 

[dizneeat]

And more great scenery!

The lone leaf is a great shot! And even though you think Claire is goofing around - I like the pictures of her. What a pretty little lady.

 

[jenseib]

And more great scenery!

The lone leaf is a great shot! And even though you think Claire is goofing around - I like the pictures of her. What a pretty little lady.

Thanks. Yes she was making a lot of faces and my Mom was trying to convince her to just be nice and do it, but it just wasn't meant to be...to get that perfect shot I had in my head.

 

[jenseib]

I was lagging behind, still taking pictures.





I saw another guy out doing the same thing too. He had a nice camera as well and was trying to get lots of different pictures.





We reached Amanda and we were all pretty hungry. Claire was close to wasting away to nothing. I had to decide what we would do for the rest of the day. The other place I had wanted to go to was not close to here really, but also not close to where Amanda wanted to eat. In the end, we were kind of tired, so we just chose to all go eat together and then head back to Amanda’s house.

We programed our phones with the address and headed out. This took us through some scary looking areas and I was all too happy to get out of there as soon as possible.

We ended up at a place called the Rusty Bucket (I think). Amanda says it is really good. It was fairly empty too, so we got seated right away. We were STARVING by this point…..and you guessed it…SLOW service once again. I really think this waitress was not with it at all. I think we even ordered an appetizer that took forever to come. And then Amanda ordered something and she had to come back over and over to ask her questions about it. Amanda was very clear that her steak could not have seasonings or butter, but Amanda is sure it had something as she tummy issues later in the day. Thankfully they weren’t too bad though.
Our meal was good, though I don’t remember what we all had. I think I had a patty melt and fries, and I would like to say Claire had chicken tenders, but she was on a kick that weekend to try new things, so she might have had something different.

After lunch we headed back to Amanda’s and helped Mom pack up her car. We said our goodbyes and off she went.

I had Claire pull out her doll so I could take a picture of her with it to post online.



Claire then played and I had to do a bit of work again, as I had to keep calling my vendor over and over to fix things.

Amanda rested on the couch and then I said that maybe we would go to a movie. Amanda gave me info to look online and sadly there wasn’t really anything new and good for Claire to see. We then looked at the $2 theatre, which has newer movies at the end of their run. I spotted the Lone Ranger. I LOVE the Lone Ranger. I had seen it alone when it first came out and would love to see it again, we all decided we would got to see that. We still had time to kill, so Amanda napped and Claire and I went for a walk outside.

Finally it was time to go and we headed off to the theatre. This was an old theatre and didn’t have stadium seating. It’s been a long time since I have been to a place like that. The seats also were quite snug for those of us with larger rears. It was kind of like once we sat down, we hoped we didn’t have to get back up for a long time!
Claire and I got popcorn and drinks. Amanda had brought her own snacks since she couldn’t have anything there.
We loved the movie! When that Lone Ranger music starts……boy it’s just so neat..you just want to gallop around to it.
On a side note, this was something I asked for for Christmas and got it and we watched it on Christmas day.

After the movie we headed back to Amanda’s and just lounged around. We weren’t very hungry after all the popcorn but we did finish off the Cheesecake Factory left overs for dinner.

Amanda cleaned her fridge out and told me I could take several items home with me since she couldn’t eat them and if she could eat them in the future it would be after they all expired.

We watched some TV in the evening and Amanda had recorded the MTV award where Miley Cyrus had done her “strange” dance with Robin Thicke. We had seen it when it had originally aired, but we had to see it again to critique it a bit more. We were laughing so hard. What an idiot she has become. There were some other acts we watched and laughed about too. (Lady Gaga was another odd one) And then we enjoyed the 3.5 seconds worth of the NSYNC reunion.

It was time for bed and Amanda had to work in the morning. She showed me how to arm her house alarm so I could do it before I left the next day and we said goodbye to her in case we didn’t see her in the morning and went to sleep.

 

[mom2rtk]

I really loved the flower photos. I bet you had a ball wandering around there with your camera. I know I would. I know you were looking for "the shot" when you were photographing Claire, but really, the silly shots are the ones you value later.

And seriously....... you really need to make a mental note to take Claire back there when it's time for her Senior photos. I wish we lived closer. I would have loved to take shots of the boys there when they graduated.