• Mood: amused and giggly
• Music: people hate me (the murderdolls)

oh no, it's lincoln park!

          Yesterday, pierrotseven, danaeaphreal, dykestar, miyu_sakura, and I (hellowonderland) decided to go to the Lincoln Park Conservatory for a picnic and general silliness. It is a beautiful Victorian-style glass conservatory. *_* Everyone was itching to be dressed up, as the weather in Chicago was actually in-between our two seasons. (No, not "winter & construction"--construction is year-round!) For once, it wasn't too cold or too hot. (Although I was chilly, because I'm always cold... ; ; )

          pierrotseven packed a beautiful picnic lunch of tasty tea sandwiches, sun tea, an orange punch-type drink, and tons and tons of breads and scones. (All that studying at French Pastry School means everything she makes is amazing! *_* Hooray~) dykestar provided transportation for most of us, facing the frightening driving habits of Chicago suburbanite tourists with gusto! ...And miyu_sakura actually arrived on time and did her part to make sure the conservatory didn't run away while we made our way there. Heh heh~ n_n;;

         There were a crazy number of people out yesterday, including several weddings. (...One of which asked to have a picture with us. We don't have a copy, unfortunately, but it was pretty funny!) I didn't take a lot of pictures (I know there are more on dykestar's camera), but here they are! Please bear with me--I am not good at witty captions.


Yes, Ariel actually laughs! I now have proof~ >3 Muwahaha~


The flowers outside were very pretty. They call this area "Grandma's Garden."


Kamika has awesome powers of photography...and an amazing camera~ This is a very good combination. n_n


When we were eating and talking, an older gentleman came up to us and asked if we'd like him to take a picture for us to "preserve this moment," so we figured--why not? I like being able to have pictures of everyone!


Ariel is very pretty. *_*


Aunt Abbie's outfit was very bustled and black and elegant~ (And "bustle" is a fun word to say.)


I found a flower that looked like a shrimp. ...But alas, it was not edible. They also had huuuuge taro plants...but I wasn't allowed to eat those, either. ; ; Later, Ariel-poppa tried to convince me to climb some citrus trees to bring her oranges and limes, but there was a huuuge sign that said not to take flowers or fruit, and I do not like to break rules. Perhaps if she had bribed me it would have been different.


Ariel contemplates adding a conservatory to her own future palace. Hmm, perhaps...


I love it when gardens have fountains in them! They make such a nice sound.


Professor Abbie consults her book on flowers and Victorians in an attempt to enrich our appreciation of the conservatory. Unfortunately, I was more interested in a series of attempts to run off with the very heavy picnic basket.


I love waterlilies, and there were lots of them! Unfortunately, lots of people thought that it was okay to throw coins into the various ponds...so lots of them had penny-sized holes on their pads where the various elements of the coins had eaten through! ; ; So don't throw coins into ponds with plants, please!


Ariel expresses her distaste at a large sculpture composed of reflectors and metal framework, which looked very out of place in the otherwise period conservatory. Who thought it would be a good idea to hang that in the middle of one of the rooms?


I have never seen a flower this terrifying. It looks like it would fit in at Silent Hill.


Uncle Danae is always trying to get the girls.


She spent most of her time taking pictures, because she has a secret, unrequited love affair with Kamika's camera.


PROOF THAT ARIEL-POPPA MAKES "THE ARIEL FACE." TRY DENYING IT NOW!


She also practiced her ability to mime.


Here are some pretty flowers if Uncle Danae's miming was distracting. n_n


Auntie Kamika tells us about the mouse that was trapped in her stove last night. @_@ It was an interesting story...


I had to get out of this picture because the sunlight was soooo bright that I couldn't open my eyes. x_+ I'm wimpy~ Everyone else looked much nicer, though~ n_n


ILU, AUNT & UNCLE~! <3 <3 <3


Afterwards, we went to dinner at a pizza restaurant with wonderful food. The restaurant itself was really neat, because it was filled to the brim with all kinds of antiques and found objects, most of which were salvaged from the demolition of various buildings in Chicago.


We were seated at a huuuuge booth...yet we all crowded together on one side. This made the perfect opportunity for imitating a certain very famous piece of artwork. ...Notice who is Judas...