Meriden Daffodil Festival

It was a beautiful weekend!  The sun was shining and it was in the 80's.....unseasonably warm.  Saturday I spent most of the day outside soaking in the sun.....even got a little sunburn!  I was so excited to have some color. 

Sunday we went to the Daffodil Festival in Meriden, CT:  www.daffodilfest.com/.  There were over 600,001 daffodils in the 1,800-acre Hubbard Park. There were 61 different varieties of daffodils, crafts, amusement rides, food, entertainment...it was the first festival of the season for us and one that David had never been to.  

So Sunday afternoon - after church and lunch - we headed out for our big daffodil adventure.  We got in the car - drinks and camera in hand....put on the High School Musical CD for Evan, opened the sun roof and took off! It was about a 45 minute ride or so.  We jabbered the whole way.  Time flew by. David couldn't believe how fast the trip was.  (I think I'm getting him used to driving around.....after Providence and New Haven and Greenwich and all over the state, a quick trip to Meriden seemed pretty easy.)  

We exited the highway and pulled on State Street.....not the "loveliest" part of the state.  David said he'd never been to Meriden before and I was starting to understand why! We pulled in and parked in the lot.  I guess we are going to have to take a shuttle, I said.  Shuttle?  Well, not a shuttle per say....more like a yellow school bus.  I haven't been in a school bus since I can't remember when! The bus was hot and the ride seem to take longer than the trip to Meriden.  It was sticky and hot and I was ready to get out! We finally climbed off the bus and into the world of daffodils:





It reminded me of a little bigger Goat Cook-Off.  It was in a big park, tents, crafts, food, the typical stuff.  There were balloons and flowers everywhere.  It was fun.  There was a Mexican band playing near the entrance and we stopped and watched them for a few minutes. Parents were putting their little kids in the flowers (much like the bluebonnets) taking photos.  Here's the entrance:



Ha! They were good sports.  The Sign:



David and Evan rode a ride and had a few tickets left over, so they played the "squirt the water gun in the clown's mouth" game and won.  Evan got a little red bear:



While they were standing in line, I walked around the pond and saw the park.  The flowers really were pretty: 



Here's a few photos that I took of the Park:









We came back home and grilled hotdogs and hamburgers and sat outside on the patio and ate.  The warmer weather sure does make me happy! It was a great weekend. I can't WAIT for the summer to get here!