Yesterday, Dad and his family went to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. Let me tell you this was one of the most fun I’ve had in such a long time!
Oh my the walking! I’m sure I filled my daily quota of 10K steps yesterday. Of course the 10K quota is an ongoing target for Dad in his futile attempt to lose weight by walking 10K steps each day!
I’ve been meaning to go to Longwood Gardens for such a long time and I was pleased that we finally went on Saturday. Of course everyone knows by now, I refuse to pay full price for admission to anything.
Dad’s Tip to save money: So the first thing in the morning, I scrambled through my mounds of emails and finally found a great deal on Groupon which saved me 50% off the admission ($18) for each person. Yea me! Of course as soon as we got there, we spent $50 for food that should have cost not more than $20 as a non-captive audience outside.
Oh well, such is the labors of saving money. One hand saves, the other hand gives..
Dad is not known to appreciate nature’s beauty, but the Conservatory, and the grounds that we walked truly were a sight to see. I’d like to come back again when we can see the night shows as well as the fireworks.
I won’t bore you with the amazing stuff I saw there, but I’ll give you my perspective on what I saw.
- Tremendously helpful staff, and great layout! I had come here when I was a child and I really don’t remember this place being so well laid out and so beautiful! I think I was a teenager when I came here last and I remember the light shows in the water fountains! Spectacular!
- The horticulture and the landscaping of this place is to die for. Thank god I don’t have to mow the grass here! The layout is conducive to walking and walking and walking. Plenty of places to sit along the way.
- Luckily the weather was conducive to walking. Low humidity and a clear sunny day! I took so many pictures! I finally figured out how to (correctly) take panoramic pictures using my iPhone. Yes, that’s pretty pathetic, considering I’ve had this iPhone for a few years.. Once I got the hang of it.. I became panoramic picture happy.. Did you expect anything less?
- Dad’s Tip to remain hydrated: Come in with a water bottle. Once you walk around, you WILL need it. Fortunately, there are quite a few well placed (working) water fountains on the grounds. For the coldest water, go back to the main entrance, get your hand stamped and get water from here
- The drive to Longwood Gardens from Central NJ (Middletown) is about 2 and 1/2 hours. If you follow your navigator from Google Maps.. 🙂 and don’t deviate no matter how many times you feel like. Of course, today I found out that I could have shortened my trip time, if instead of taking local roads, I should have taken exit 4 from the New Jersey Turnpike and taken all highways!
- Dad’s Tip: Arrive later in the day, so when there are night shows at the fountains, you can just lounge around and see the great fountain light show with music!
I’m finding that in order to have a great time, you really don’t have to spend a lot of money. Yet Dad being so Frugal (many call me cheap) is always looking to cut corners with expenses and this causes paralysis by analysis before going on any journey!
Being of South Asian descent, I was also surprised at this: There were so many South Asian Families enjoying the same venue. From where I stood, there was at least a two to one ratio of South Asian visitors to others. I think this is great! So many extended families were there with their entire generational family members! I just wondered how the older family members managed to walk the amount of walking that had to be done!
Dad’s Tip: If you truly don’t want to walk, you can rent a 3 wheeled cart that you can take anywhere! Don’t think I wasn’t tempted, but these are truly meant for individuals with handicaps or have some kind of physical limitations on walking!
I tell you, the Water Lillies and the conservatory were the highlights of this visit, I could have spent the entire day in the conservatory just admiring the inside and how the beauty made you feel like you were not even indoor! Gotta go back here again and spend more time here.
Finally, Dad is doing things instead of just staying home and vegetating. Last week camping, this week Longwood Gardens!
If you have visited Longwood Gardens, what was the highlight of your visit? I’d sure like to hear from you!
Dad's Taxi 