Longwood Gardens

I'm back with another installment of our trip to Pennsylvania. On our last day there, we drove to Longwood Gardens. It was about 1 1/2 hours from our hotel, but was worth the drive. It exceeded any expectations we had of it!
This land was purchased in 1906 by Pierre DuPont so he could preserve the trees that were there. They had been planted by a Quaker family named Pierce, who had owned the property since the 1700's. They had an interest in botany and had planted many trees and started one of the first public parks. Mr DuPont took care of it until his death in 1954 and created much of what is enjoyed today.
This garden is huge and I took so many pictures that I can't put them all in one post. I put many of them into collages to make it easier for you to view them.

Here are just a few of the nooks, walls and pathways we encountered!

The original home of the DuPont's remains on the grounds

This shows the center courtyard in the house along with the arched doors on the side of the courthouse. The stairway is in the entry of the house.

Here is the grand ballroom along with the organ that is in it. There were several rooms filled with different organ pipes.

There was a section filled with bonsai trees. The 3rd tree from the right was started in 1906. They are each about 12-18 inches tall and are trees or bushes that are quite common. The first one is a type of cypress, the second an azalea and the last is a birch.

This is called the Canopy Cathedral. It's a fancy tree house.

I don't know what this plant is, but I liked the curtain effect.

There was a large area filled with topiary. What fun!

This is 7 acres filled with fountains.

Another spot filled with ponds and water lilies.

This is a type of water lily. It's called a platter lily.

All through the gardens are inviting little areas to sit and take it in. I think this is a good place to stop. I'll be back tomorrow with more from the gardens.

Happy Fourth!

We in the United States are celebrating the birthday of our country today. I found this clip of comedian Red Skelton discussing our pledge of allegiance and although this is from quite a few years ago, what he says still holds true. I thought this was a fitting time to review what our pledge really means. Happy Fourth!

Sight and Sound Theater

We had a great day with Alan and Cheryl, and they had a great evening planned too. They took us to the Hershey restaurant, where their son Chad joined us. It was nice to meet Chad, but I forgot to take a picture while there! Our supper was a buffet, and everything was so good!
After eating Alan and Cheryl took us to the Sight and Sound Theater.

Here is the front of the building. The banners hanging in the entry show the current production, which is 'Joseph'.

This statue of the Lion and the Lamb is in the front of the building.

This is just inside the doors. The entire building is beautiful. Much of it has a historical look to it.

A statue in the foyer.

The interior walls.

These pictures only show the building. They don't allow pictures during the show, but I can tell you that I have never seen a production like this before. There is a main stage, but there are also stages on the side of the auditorium. The sets are lavish, and the speed in which they change them is astounding. The costumes looked really authentic. There were animals in the show; I saw sheep, camels, donkeys and a few cows. The directors used the whole theater. Stars lit up the sky, Joseph was up in the air during his dream of the sun, moon and stars and the actors went up and down the aisles.
Seeing this made the story of Joseph come alive!
The show finished after 10 and we made our way back to Alan and Cheryl's home to say good bye. Cheri and I both had a wonderful time with them. There were people who thought it was strange to drive 12 hours to visit people we had never met in person. However - Alan and Cheryl were just as sweet in real life as they are in Cheryl's blog. It was great to spend a day with them.
Thanks Alan and Cheryl, for being such great hosts! You are welcome to visit us in Michigan anytime!