Visit to Huntington

My sister-in-law, Irene, informed me that we were scheduled to have afternoon tea at the Huntington Tea Room, which is located at the Huntington Library. My initial thought was great, but I found it strange that a tea room was located at a library.

As I walked through the main gate, an attendant handed me a brochure and I found myself admist a beautiful botanical garden. I quickly began looking at the brochure and learned that the Huntington Library is a private, nonprofit collections-based research and educational institution. The Huntington consists of a library, museums with art collections, and botanical gardens. The Huntington was established in 1919 by Henry Edwards Huntington, who was born in Oneonta, NY. Information in the brochure stated that:

"Huntington was a man of vision -with a special interest in books, arts, and gardens. Durning his lifetime, he amassed the core of one of the finest research libraries in the world, established a splendid art collection, and created an array of botanical gardens with plants from a geographic range spanning the globe."

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised when I walked through the main gate of the Huntington Library. Irene and I headed to the cafe for lunch and then we spent about an hour walking through the botanical gardens. We also visited one of the museums. Many of you know that I don't like museums, but this one contained the Gutenberg Bible; something that I truly enjoyed seeing.

Irene and I met my brother and two neices at the tea room for our afternoon tea appointment. We enjoyed their special tea, Holiday Season, and all the snacks; there were even healthy snacks that I could eat with lots of veggies.

We paid a visit to the gift shop prior to leaving. We all bought souvenirs and left the feeling very satisfied with our visit.

Here are some pictures of our visit.

My two neices, Whitney & Nicole

Me enjoying my snacks & tea.

A flower in one of the gardens.