Mommy/Daughter Day in the Gardens

If you read my last post, maybe you realized before I did that Georgia and I were in some serious need of mommy/daughter time - no daddy allowed. So when my husband needed to get some work done Sunday, I decided Georgia and I would head out alone. There would be no daddy to block her blows or tantrums!

Despite that fact that it's August and we're now on the Carolina Coast, I thought we'd take advantage of the once-a-month, free day at the Tryon Palace gardens. The palace is a historic site, the first state capitol of NC. So with a car thermometer reading 100 degrees and plenty of sunblock and water in the diaper bag, Georgia and I headed out on our own.

We stop for some deep fried sustenance on the way:


And then we stop for a sailboat to pass by:

(I can't tell you how happy I am to live once again in a place where drawbridges are a necessity!)

We parked on the street just a few hundred feet from the palace entrance, and as soon as I opened the car door, the sounds of a band filled the air. It wasn't just any normal-sounding band - it had the sound of colonial times - the raspy drums, the high pitched flute, the patriotic tunes. Georgia was delighted.

This was our first trip to Tryon Palace:


Georgia loved the twisty-turny paths through the flowers, but she wasn't so fond of those white sculptures in the background.


And every water fountain or pond sent her into a squealing fit, running straight for it as soon as she spotted it.


At almost 22 months, Georgia has her first encounter with a cannon. Is this significant? I have no earthly idea, but she thought it was cool.

The cannonballs, however, were another matter. They frustrated the hell out of her that she could not pick them up. All I kept hearing was "ball, ball, mommy, ball." Then the grunts of a frustrated toddler trying to pick up a heavy metal ball welded to 10 other heavy metal balls.


Oh, and try taking a toddler to a public garden where they're not allowed to pick the flowers. I promise you, the only thing they'll want to do is... yep, pick those flowers.



But hey, who's going to miss a blossom or two?

Amid the flowers and trees and paths and water fountains and buckets of sweat on this day, Georgia and I discovered some things.

We discovered it's really hot in New Bern in August. We discovered all the doors on the palace grounds are, indeed, locked.


We discovered cannonballs are heavy (especially when welded to others). We discovered hidden corners.


We also discovered that we still can get along with each other. There was not one tantrum, not one swing at mommy's head, nor one evil look in my direction.


We discovered a beautiful day.