#011 Best Place to Zen Out

Well I owe you all an apology for being quite the negligent blogger!  I am not even sure how it happened...but I feel like the last week has been super busy.  I have been going past my bedtime regularly (10 pm makes that easy to do) and my boyfriend was in town this weekend.  I promise to jump back on the blogger bandwagon, and the good news is I have tons of places to talk about.

Last night I went to the Idaho Botanical Gardens, (IBG) rated #011 Best Place to Zen Out.

The IBG is a beautiful garden that feels a bit like you might imagine the Secret Garden feels.  It looks small from the outside, but as you wander around, it seems to go on forever.  There are flowers, trees, benches, a wooden swing, a koi pond, and plenty of paths.  The garden is located adjacent to the Old Penitentiary, which gives it a slightly creepy but interesting vibe (in fact, one of the women we were with told us they rent out CELLS at the Old Penitentiary on Halloween night. How creepy would that be?).  One of the coolest things about the IBG is all the events they put on. 

Almost every Thursday in the summer (June 2nd to September 29th) they have outdoor concerts called "the Great Garden Escape."  I haven't made it to one yet, but I would love to check it out.  These concerts are a bit more expensive though.  It normally costs $5 for a non member to visit the garden, and these concerts are $10 ($7 for members). 

I love that the garden lets you bring your own food/drinks/alcohol.  I am not sure if that qualifies for every event, but we could bring anything we wanted when we went last night.

Last night we went to the first of the IBG Movies for a Cause.  Whoever did the movie selection did an excellent job.  Yesterday was Singing in the Rain, and we have The Princess Bride, Grease, and Casablanca to look forward to.  Surprisingly, I haven't seen The Princess Bride or Casablanca yet, so I am really excited to see them.

To go to the movies, you simply pay $5.  I thought that was a great price.  The atmosphere is awesome.  We had a light blanket each, low chairs, and a few pillows.  My friends packed an excellent picnic of Doritos Flamas (try them -- delicious), sandwiches, nectarines, and peanut butter and jelly bites.  I tried to provide my fair share by purchasing everyone a sno-cone (mostly to make up for the price of my chair).  We bought the super-jumbo $5 cups, because we can get refills at the other movies for $2.  I got Pink Lemon Sour with Mango flavoring, and it wasn't that good - ha! I am a bit of a sno cone specialist, and these were more the sno cone you get from the ice cream man, and certainly no shaved ice.  The ice was rock hard and you had to chip into it with your spoon.  Oh well though.  A bad sno cone is still better than no sno cone.

As for Singing in the Rain, I absolutely loved it! This is how a movie should be.  Funny, smart, entertaining...all around fabulous. 

 If you plan to go to any of the other movies, the movie started a bit after sundown, which was around 9:15 pm last night.  We got there around 8:00, but it was fun to hang out.  The gardens were open, which means we got to check them out for free.  There was a little labrinyth path laid out in the grass, and we got dizzy running around that for awhile.  There also weren't many people at the movies.  Attendance might increase once word catches on, but last night there were only a few families. 

The next movie is Wednesday, August 24th (The Princess Bride).  I don't think i can miss this one because apparently I am one of the only people in the world who hasn't seen this movie.  I always thought it was some girly movie, but I guess it is a movie boys like as well.  Then, I am going to have to think up some costume for Grease.  It is a singalong (the words will go across the screen) and they want to encourage people to dress up.  Who should I go as?? I am thinking John Travolta, but I am going to need to hone my thrifting skills.

I think one of the best parts of this movie series is I didn't have to worry at all about the set up! I used to assist at these type of events at my college, and it was awesome to be a spectator and not involved in the planning.  Yes, it was a bit weird and of course I missed that feeling of running the show, but it was also nice to be able to just relax.  As we were leaving, I couldn't help feeling bad for whoever had to stay and tear down. 

Definitely check out the IBG movie series.  I can't vouch for the other events, but this series is excellent and a great price.