Memorial Day

I had a lovely holiday weekend and I hope that everyone else did as well.  I asked my husband to take me out on a drive to the Mandarin area of Jacksonville because even though I've been there, I haven't been able to explore too much.  I'm too nervous about getting lost because I don't know the roads at all out there! 

Tom asked me if I wanted to go all the way to Switzerland.

I laughed and said "Sure!"

and next thing I know, we are indeed in Switzerland.

Here is a close up of the sign below.

See!  Switzerland!

I had no idea the Swiss were just outside of the Jacksonville city limits :)

Tom and I pulled into the Alpine Grove Park because I thought it might be along the river.  Little did I know what a cool place it truly was.  It wasn't just a swingset and a jungle gym. 

The neatest thing was that on this day, Memorial Day,  I saw the Butterfly Garden sign.  The sign is there year round celebrating those who protect our freedom. 

I'm sure that one of my friends will be able to identify this flower, but I can't at the moment.  I love it.  Purple and yellow - complementary colors even in nature.  The flower itself makes me think of someone jumping in a pool.  The rings that form when you jump and then the waves that radiate out.

This is the butterfly garden. It was a very lovely space.

The big bell.  I think it was permanently tipped this way. 

The park has a farmhouse and a several barns on the property.  There was a sign that said that they project was to be completed by 2007 and to me, it looked finished, but since the sign was still there, I'm not sure!  This tractor looked to be pretty old and was staged outside of fairly small barn. 

This is the farmhouse.  What a cute place and it was right on the river. 

Beautiful, beautiful spot.

While I was walking slowing, taking pictures of everything that caught my eye, Tom was walking to the river.

He told me that whoever placed the swing was not a lover of the water, because the swing faces the house.  Too funny.  The other swings on the property do face the water, so maybe this one really was placed to admire the farmhouse.

Moments after we left the park the heavens opened up and it started pouring.  We spent the perfect amount of time at the park and this little corner of the world was cooled off by the much needed rain.

I hope your corner of the world is just fabulous!  Have a great week :)

Kristin