WPS Garden of Lights

On Saturday, Man Friend and I went to the WPS Garden of Lights at the Botanical Gardens. It was my first time going, though I had been wanting to go for years. It was one of those things where I said I wanted to go, but plans were never made, and by the time I finally had a free weekend, the holidays had passed. This year, I was determined to go, and set aside a Saturday night to go. I'm so glad we did; I enjoyed it so much that I've already decided that we're going next year too.

We picked the perfect time to go. It was chilly out, and enough so as a gentle reminder that it is the holidays, but luckily for my anti-cold ways, was not frigid. I was afraid I had under-dressed (though Man Friend thought I had too many layers on), but as soon as we started walking instead of standing in place, it was more bearable.

We got there, and to our surprise, there were significantly more people there than we had expected. We ended up parking about a block or so away and walking so we could avoid the crowds in the parking lot. As we drove past the parking lot, I saw the line stretched out pretty long. Man Friend would say this is where I became worried and stressed. I say I'm just realistic. I was upset that the line was so long and wondered if we'd even be able to get in. If we did, would we have to rush through all the displays to be out by the time they closed? Luckily for us, Man Friend was right (I hate that). The line moved surprisingly quick and we were out to start the walking tour within about 20 minutes. Once inside the building, I found it was because they had so many different people taking money for the tickets that the line was able to move smoothly and effectively.

While we were waiting in line, we started noticing how many babies were there. I'm not talking toddlers, or even babies in the walking or crawling stages. I was actually appalled at how many parents were carrying infants. None of these parents (that I saw at least) were there with an older child as well. It was just the parents and the baby. First of all, even though it wasn't frigid, it was definitely too cold to have a tiny little baby outside. Second of all, by the time we got into the tour, it was close to 7:45-8. Let your poor child go to bed. Finally, a child so young will get nothing out of the tour. If you want to go so badly with your spouse, pawn your child off on a babysitter, or wait until your child is old enough to appreciate the lights and displays. End rant.

The tour was shorter than I expected it to be, and I was actually hoping it would have been a little longer because I was enjoying it so much. As we were nearing the end, I was a little disappointed we couldn't see more, but remembered that typically this time of year, it's way more freezing out. Had it been any colder, I would have started growing miserable and cranky and wanted to leave. So, all things considered, it was actually a decent length.

One of my favorite things to do around Christmas time is drive around looking at lights and decorations. I think that's why I enjoyed this so much. The light displays were so beautiful, and there were so many different kinds of displays to enjoy. The brightness and variety of colors was just amazing. One of my favorite displays was a spider. I actually cannot stand the little bastards, but spiders remind me of Halloween, which is my favorite holiday. There was also a display of a flower bed, which was probably the best one. It was one of the bigger displays and had the most colors. Of the displays without much color, my favorite was of "icicles" hanging down. It was so simple, but so elegant.

The tour was a great place for a date, whether you've been together for a long time or have just gotten together. It keeps you talking the whole time, and isn't the typical dinner and/or movie that can get a little repetitive. I'm anxious to see what's in store next year.