To The Domes!

I last ventured to the Mitchell Park Domes several years ago to experience the very underwhelming and misleadingly named Cupcake Fest (only one cupcake vendor 😭!) My home has since added a son and my in-laws so Jenny and I decided to help them break up their first winter with a trip to the domes. The popular train show is here and coronavirus restrictions limit the capacity so the domes are quite spacious. A few observations follow.

• Jumping directly from months of dull-colored winter scenery to brightly colored flowers without spring in between or travel is disorienting initially. My body was slightly unnerved.
• The structure of the domes looks better in photographs then in person.
• The Desert Dome is not as warm as I remember (maybe 70°F.) Perhaps my memory is wrong or the tight county budget forced them to cool it down?
• The trees are more enjoyable then the plants. Trees draw attention upwards which allows for the simultaneous viewing of treetops and the geodesic dome. Perhaps I'm lazy and enjoy not having to focus too closely on the smaller, tucked away plants.
• Capturing the massive scale of trees is difficult with photography. I had the same issue on a trip to Hawaii where I failed to capture the incredible largeness of a banyan tree.
• The Tropical Dome is the best; a higher proportion of exotic plants and a temperature that required the removal of my coat.

All said and done it was a much more satisfying trip.