Huntington Gardens

To celebrate Mother's Day, my mom and I went to the Huntington Gardens for picture taking fun and lunch.

The Gardens did not disappoint and this place has become one of my favorite places in all of Los Angeles. If you get there right when it opens, you can almost go without seeing a single person in some of the smaller gardens, which is an incredible feat in Los Angeles.

We went before June gloom set in, so there were plenty of blue skies for picture taking.

]And there was all sorts of wildlife - like this cute duckling.

Or this frog. See his head poking out?

The bamboo forest...

Of course people, could give an eff about this helpful sign.

Hannah, you suck. Luis y Lore are probably broken up by now.

Bonsai trees - some are hundreds of years old.

We spent some time in the Japanese garden.

The rose garden was beautiful. I love how they just grow in abundance, all wild like. lol

Lunch time! The Tea Room serves an all you can eat high tea. Yummy sandwiches, desserts, and freshly baked scones.

The scones are all you can eat as well, and if you don't finish them, they give you a nice bag for you to take them home with you. Greedily little piglet that I am, I hid some scones in my first basket behind the teapot so I could get a fresh new basket to take home. Shameless - I know.

Egg salad, smoked salmon, curried chicken salad, cucumber and watercress, cucumber and mint - all on a variety of breads with the crusts cut off. It feels so decadent. My mother would always make me eat the crusts of my PB&J sandwiches, so I always feel like I'm getting away with something when I eat tea sandwiches. A selection of hearty salads accompany the sandwiches along with hummus, olive tapenade, and caviar.

Fresh fruit and assorted pastries/tarts abound on the "sweet side" of the buffet station. I stay away from this and load up on the savory.

Only problem? The plates are too damn small.

A wonderful lunch and afternoon.

One word of caution if you come here though. Pay attention to where you park.

There are all sorts of bushes between the rows of parking so it is reeeeeeally difficult to find your car by just wandering around aimlessly.