Saturday June 18, 2011
I was in heaven...until I was attacked by bugs and my socks and shoes were wet from the morning dew. It was then that I realized I was still on Earth.
That's how I felt at NJ Botanical Garden in Ringwood, NJ. I arrived at 9:00 AM. and only saw two other visitors in the vicinity of the gardens- for sometime, the place was mine. Nothing but flowers, trees, shrubbs, stone, and undisturbed silence. I was listening to nature's soundtrack of chirping birds and the occasional trickle of water down a stream or fountain. I was surrounded by perfectly maintained gardens and perfectly green grassy fields. I was in a peace of mind like no other.
Unfortunately, as I explored more of the gardens, I was the prime target for flies and other bugs. Not more than a half hour into it, did I get some sort of bite on my forehead that swelled up to almost a golf-ball size bump. But it went down after an hour or so. The dragonflies, wasps, and bees kept their distance, for which I was very grateful.
When my cousin arrived, we continued to explore the gardens, and eventually found a trail, so we started a very easy hike along a driving path before the Eagle Trail. It took us around the perimeter of the property. We saw signs for Shepherd Lake, and decided to continue walking in that direction. Though I had no concept of time, it took us longer than anticipated to walk there from the far end of the garden. If we only started at the intersection at the entrance of the garden, it probably would take 20 minutes? I had no concept of time at that moment, so that's a very rough estimate. We could have driven there, but there was a $5.00 parking fee, just like at the parking lot in the garden.
Shepherd Lake Recreation Area is a nice place if you live in the area, but I wouldn't travel a distance just to go there. I'd rather put the time toward a coastal beach. Regardless, it was nice to see some lily pads and ducks on the one end of the lake, and people seemed to be enjoying themselves basking in the warm sun. There was even a small chapel near the lake, but the doors were closed, and I didn't see a sign for when or if it was open. It may be reserved for weddings at the NJ Botanical Gardens.
So we walked back to the gardens to visit the last place of interest- the Skylands Manor. And what an interesting looking Manor. You could see three distinct types of architecture looking from one end of the house to the other. The one side of the house was built to look like a castle! To my dismay, though, the Manor wasn't open for tours, so we could only enjoy the view from the outside. But we were able to peek into one or two of the rooms through the windows.
There were so many little creatures I found at the gardens! Squirrels, chipmunks, a turtle, a rabbit, frogs, and a turkey. I spotted the turkey in the corner of my eye. We then tried to find where he hid so we could follow him, but he was a clever bird. We finally got a peek here and there, and saw him trotting down a path in the garden. For those of you who have seen the movie "Up," I felt like we were chasing a smaller version of Kevin. The turkey running down the path reminded me of him running away.
So all in all, this Garden gets high ratings from me. I drove about 75 minutes to get to the place, and it was definitely worth it. A Sunday visit may be better since they have a tour on Sunday, but either way, if you're looking for a peaceful place to spend half of day, I highly recommend the NJ Botanical Garden. It's worth waking up early to visit, so that you can see morning dew on the plant-life, and have the place to yourself. Plus, there's something about mornings and dusk that make everything prettier to look at.
Here's a link to the pictures, number 1-142: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150286070565260.378359.753450259&l=7d03902836
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