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Not quite so tired this morning. We didn't have to wake up too early to go anywhere, and we (Dena and I) wouldn't have to do any driving the whole day, since Adam would be taking us places. Adam works second shift at the Air Force base, so he's a late riser. While he slept, Dena and I had some snacks for breakfast, relaxed, and worked on catching up on the website. So easy to fall behind on everything! By the time you get to where you're staying for the night, you're dead tired, especially if there's any hanging out with friends. Good time to get back on track!
The plan for today was going to southwest Arkansas and seeing a garden that was out there, Garvin Woodland Gardens. Seemed simple enough, though we were about to find out differently... After we were able to awaken Adam, we made our way south on I-30. We had directions straight from the website of the gardens. Everything looked pretty great, but after we got off the highway, it was pretty obvious that we were well out in the middle of nowhere. After we drove about 20 miles or so, we came to the conclusion that wherever the gardens were, we had very much driven past them. Turning around, we saw a sign for those same gardens, pointing 8 miles in the direction we had just come from. Where were the signs in the other direction? Augh!
Turning around, we quickly made our way back, and sure enough, there were signs for the garden right where they should be. Just not facing the way we had come. With slight hiccups, we quickly got to the gardens and then somehow we walked the direction away from the entrance, though we found the Anthony Chapel first. Quite an amazing building! Dena and I both lamented that this lovely chapel belonged in Virginia, not Arkansas. Way too far away to be of any use.
After some more wandering we finally got into the gardens and what an amazing place it is! Lewis Ginter and Maymont, our favorite Richmond places, paled in comparison. I worried at first that my batteries might not be enough for the whole day, but thankfully they lasted. I did regret leaving some of my camera accessories in the car back at Adam's, I really enjoy taking pictures of waterfalls and you need a ND filter to keep the light down on the longer exposures. Especially on a day as sunny as today was!
Everything about the garden was amazing, we definitely plan on a return trip whenever we get to visit Adam agin. Since we plan on living in Nashville soon, that actually won't be too bad a drive. And since Adam has his own place now, it's a lot easier to visit!
Heading back I grabbed a few pictures of signs that caught my eye, as long as I was fast enough. I was amazed to find that I had completely filled my SD card. Since it's a 6MP camera over my older 4MP, filled meant 295. But that's plenty of pictures! My only regret was that I would have to upload so many! But that's a good problem.
We wrapped up the evening with some pizza from Papa Johns, and sat down to watch Sin City on Adam's huge TV. It's like a theater experience! We weren't able to stay up too late, knowing that tomorrow was going to be one of the bigger drives; Little Rock to Amarillo, TX. Lots of Oklahoma in the way. Time for sleep!
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