Fools that we were, we thought we could do the Huntington Library in 1 day.

Following breakfast (and a discussion with Arlene about the tattoo convention currently being held at the Pasadena convention center) we picked up Billie (Steve was stoved-up from our day yesterday) and headed to the Huntington Library.

The “library” is a large complex including an actual library, a significant art collection, and extensive gardens.

We began by visiting a structure called “The Orbit”

This structure receives signals from a series of earth-orbiting sattelites.  The designer has assigned a “tone” to each satellite, so when a given satellite is transmitting, that tone is played thru speakers inside the sphere.  It’s eerie and other-worldly, but strangely beautiful.

We spent the rest of the morning viewing art.

Over lunch we gathered our collective senses and agreed that we would need another day there and since tomorrow is supposed to be hotter we decided to devote our afternoon to the gardens.  From the choice of ten different garden styles we chose to explore four:

We started by passing thru the Camellia grove to the Chinese Garden

Next we moved to the Japanese Garden

From there we moved to the newly established Australian Garden

Finally we crossed the Subtropical Garden and the Shakespeare garden to visit the North Vista and Sculpture Garden.

This lawn was lined with statues – many labeled as “allegory of this or that”.  Cheryl and Billie decided that this statue was an allegory of knee replacement surgery:

Then it was time for Ice Cream (or in Cheryl’s case a chocolate chip cookie).  Thus fortified we proceeded to the gift shop.

Having escaped with our credit cards intact we headed home to recoup and prepare for dinner at a local ribs joint.

Tomorrow we return to the Huntington.  On the agenda are the actual library and more art. We’ll see what we can accomplish.

Tonight we sleep.