Disclaimer: Experience Columbus sent my family and four other Pittsburgh Mom Blogger families on a weekend getaway to check out their city. We were compensated in the way of attraction passes and gift cards; however, this does not impact the views expressed in my recap posts (including this one). All opinions are my own (or my kids’ / husband’s).
It was the calm after the storm, just what we needed.
Our visit to Franklin Park Conservatory was right at the end of our Experience Columbus trip. So right at the end that I had to assure the ticket counter attendant that YES we REALLY wanted in even though we only had 45 minutes to enjoy. I really needed a calm event before our drive home (after a rain storm, almost dropping the best ice cream I’ve ever had, and a mild mama breakdown). Ahem.
And enjoy those 45 minutes of calm, we did. For 43.5 minutes, we explored the Blooms and Butterflies 20th Anniversary Exhibit. Our ‘lil butterfly fit right in.
Greg spent most of that time trying to catch the brown butterfly that had gorgeous blue wings inside. It was definitely worth his time, although I was using a smaller, tighter, slower lens and this was the best shot I got:
Because normally it looked like this:
Evan and I were busy looking at plants. While I love butterflies (and, fun fact, have a tattoo of one), one of my favorite memories as a kid was of when my mom would take our Campfire Kids / Buckeye Y troop to the botanical gardens in Fort Wayne. This girl is totally going to be that lady that once the kids are grown and the retirement check is coming in will be a gardener. We explored the beautiful plants like…
With just over 2 minutes to spare, we left the butterfly exhibit and while I started at gorgeous glass sculptures, Greg and the kids looked at the butterfly life cycle part of the exhibit. I really wanted to see more plants, so rushed into one more room before we had to call it a day (and a weekend, boo hoo!). But it was amazing to have taken that peaceful time because…
If I had to pick a “best moment” of the trip, it just might be the calm, quiet 45 minutes we got taking in nature’s beauty.
You can experience the Franklin Park Conservatory in Columbus on your own either by buying a ticket ($12 for adults, $6 for kids over 3) or including this as part of your Experience Columbus Roar and Explore Package like myself, The Pittsburgh Mommy Blog, Champagne to Crayons, Momma on a Mission, and Pgh Momtourage got to do last weekend.
More photos from our trip can be found here on our Flickr page. If you know my husband and want to pass him a “hey, Becky’d love this gift” idea – tell him to pretty please take me back for alone time with the gorgeous plants, ok?
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