This is the first in a series of Day Escapes.
These days it seems everyone is over scheduled and wishing for a day of tranquility and escape. Is this sounding familiar to the theme running through your head? I know my thoughts touch on escaping from my daily grind several times a week. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve considered packing a bag and heading for the airport to see what international flights are available and where my escape could take me. Tahiti would be very high on my list at the moment.
Okay I can’t head for Tahiti yet and you probably can’t either so what options do we have when our schedule is kicking our butts and we need real peace? I opt for day trips when I have no time for a longer get away. Even a day gives you a sense of space to reflect and recharge a little bit. Those hours away bring you a calm that hopefully carries through the rest of the week or month when your life is going full throttle.
Madison, WI Botanical Garden
One day trip that brings me a great deal of calm and peace is a visit to a botanical garden. I can spend hours wandering the gardens enjoying the natural sounds, the scents of the flowers and the views of small ponds. In the winter I love the climate controlled glass green houses of fabulous tropical flowers that give you a glimpse of another world with their exotic beauty. One particular garden comes instantly to my mind; The Botanischer Garten in Berlin, Germany. This garden became my haven in the dark cold Berlin winters that drove me crazy.
In my search for botanical gardens I found this handy list of gardens, state by state on Wikipedia. That way no matter where you live in the US you have a list of options. If you live outside the US then this is the list for you, International Botanical Gardens. Botanical Gardens are just one option for a day escape. Check back periodically and I will add another day escape to my list of quick adventures!
Photo Credit Lisa Overman