Descanso Gardens

 Mr Duffy and I had a day in Los Angeles before finally making our way back home. I thought it would be a good idea to do something that was on the calmer side, so a garden came to mind.

 I looked online and found that Descanso Gardens was in the area. So that is where we went.

 This ended up being a good idea. Not only was it not crowded, the weather was not hot and we got fresh air among beautiful plants, flowers, and trees.

 When you walk in, to the right is a gift shop, and to the left there is a cafe and a walk-up window for snacks and drinks.

 There are streams, small creeks, and tiny waterfalls throughout the park. There are also many benches, so this would be a great place to unplug and just read a book, or snap photos of the nature.

 It feels so relaxing to be near running water. I did look to see if there were salmon in there. Alas, no fish, but that's probably a good thing because I might have jumped in there.

 There are several different types of gardens, such as a rose garden, Japanese garden, and a whole section devoted to native California plants.

 They do have a cute little train that is a few dollars extra. To me, it was worth it to try it once. I do like these little rides, and it put a smile on my face.

 There were a lot of flowers in bloom.

 The color of these flowers - sunflowers or daisies, I'm not sure which - was so bold and gorgeous.

 Ah, another place to enjoy a relaxing pond.

 I liked walking across all the bridges they had.

 This is in the Japanese garden. I was really disappointed that they didn't have any koi.

 We trekked up the hill to the California area. This section had palm trees and cacti.

 They also had redwood trees.

 We noticed the time and the train was about to end its run for the day. So we made haste to the train.

 Whee!

 Hang on tight!

 After our train ride, we went back to California.

 It's a hidden Mickey!

 I miss Disneyland.

 "I just wanna see some palm trees." Are you singing along?

 There was a neat little hideaway under these gigantic leaves.

 There were lizards! They are so cute.

 Here was another shaded spot that had some benches inside.

 I love the greenery.

 We made it up to the gallery and the Boddy house, but they were both closed for the day. The grounds around the buildings were open, though.

 This was the end of our tour. We went down a very long, steep hill and to the exit. The park is beautiful and I had a nice time. I just wanted to get an icy beverage before heading back for our final night of vacation. So we went to Starbucks.

I had an iced, sugar free vanilla latte. Good stuff!

It was a lovely day, but I was wiped out from so much travel.