Feeling Like a Kid Again

Last night the whole family piled into the car and we drove out to the coast to see the "Festival of Lights". It is a coastal family tradition put on by the Mendocino Botanical Gardens. Through out the upper garden loop they put on an incredible display of lights. It made you feel like a kid again with discoveries to be made around every corner. My two favorites had to be the red volcano and the jellyfish. Most of the displays were static but there were a couple that were moving and flashing. Part way around they had a tent set up with hot drinks and food. We all opted for hot cider which was just perfect because it was freezing out. One of the best spots of all was the fire pit with marshmallows to roast and the kerosene heater at the very end of loop which was very popular for warming up our hands. It was a great evening topped off with clam chowder and seafood dinners at the wharf down in the harbor in Fort Bragg. The "Festival of Lights" was ten dollars for adults and free to children under sixteen. It is running through Dec. 20th on Fri,Sat and Sunday nights from 5 til 7:30 p.m. God's blessings upon your day, chris

Dazzling Dahlias

The highlight of our trip to the Mendocino Coast in Northern California had to be the dahlias at the Mendocino Botanical Gardens. Though I must say that the performance of Bach at the Mendocino Music Festival wasn't far behind it. When we paid at the front entrance to go in to the gardens the young woman behind the counter noted, "Oh and you have got to see the dahlias they are a couple of weeks early and they are just dazzling!" I will say that she was absolutely correct. We spent a good part of our time there. Much of it just sitting on the bench looking at the blossoms and listening to the other guests exclaim at the beauty of the flowers as they came around the corner of the path into this part of the gardens. The admission price was well worth it. God's love and blessings to all, chris All images created with a Canon 7D and either a Canon 10-22mm lens or a 100mm macro lens.