Monday, June 27, 2011

Chicago Botanic Gardens

This past weekend was PRIDE weekend in Chicago. Whoohoo! Happy pride to all. An exciting weekend all around especially because of this. New York is the 6th state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage. Being such a huge state it will hopefully open up the doors and influence other states to change laws and legalize same-sex marriages. It's an exciting step but there is still a lot more to fight for so show your pride and stand up for equality! Yes!

On a lighter note, Rob and I had decided we were going to go hiking on Saturday and enjoy the pride parade and festivities on Sunday. We decided to do some hiking in the Forest Preserve, then head to the Chicago Botanic Gardens. Admission is free, unless you park in their lot which will cost you $20 dollars. We decided to cheat and we parked in the Forest Preserve parking lot and walked roughly 2.5 miles up the gardens. We were feeling very ambitious. I think we walked roughly 7 miles that day. Here are some pictures I took around the gardens. It's such a visually stimulating place!

I liked these but I forgot what they're called. Whoops.

More pretty flowers that I also do not know the name of.

Here's my little bee friend. Hello little bee friend!

I loved this sculpture.

These flowers were my favorite! Purple Alliums or "Onion Flowers"

Ahhh refreshing!

The Theodore C Butz Carillon.

One of my favorite parts of the gardens was the Rose Garden. "Stop and smell the roses", as they say. We literally did. This may sound cheesy but it was such a great moment. To admire and appreciate the beauty of nature that we sometimes take for granted. Each rose was so special and smelled completely different. I wanted to smell the roses all day! Any chance I get from now on I will definitely stop and smell the roses. :)

Ahhhhhh...

Amazing!

5 comments:

  1. Great flower pix! Love'em. And Happy Pride Day!

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  2. Yay to NY! I am definitely going to hit Pride here in town this year. I bet Chicago Pride was crazy. I need to try to make it next year. I miss Chicago. I need to plan a trip up there BAD! lol

    Great photos!! Sounds like it was a very nice time! Thanks for sharing. :-)

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  3. Beautiful flowers! And for the love of all things rainbow, the USA needs to get with the program. Canada legalized same-sex marriage across the country in 2005, and guess what? The sky did not fall. Donkeys did not start marrying antelopes. The institution of marriage still soldiers on. The majority of Canadians support it, and you barely hear a peep of dissent these days! So YAY for New York. Now the rest of your country needs to catch up. :) Equality, people, equality!!! You can do it.

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  4. Dreamday-Yes, Chicago pride was crazy! Unfortunately some miserable person(s) slashed the tires of all the floats overnight. It took all morning for the Fire Department to replace the tires. The parade was a little late but we soldiered on! Haters can’t stop us. And yes, you should plan a trip soon!

    Natalie-Your comment made me laugh! I’m going to start using. “for the love of all things rainbow!” I will be sure to credit you! People really need to look at Canada’s progress and realize it will be ok if same-sex marriage is legalized. Silly Americans. I am really excited for NY and I hope for more positive changes. And by the way, a donkey and an antelope might actually make a cute couple. Ha! :D

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