Sunday 27th August 2017

And all good things come to an end. It is time to bid America farewell for now, pack our remaining stuff and make tracks for the airport. But as we had an evening flight, we had an almost full day to spend.

Dawn had gone out to fetch muffins and cake, so over strong coffee we talked more, but then with the clock ticking towards ten, we knew we had to part. A sad parting, but maybe we will meet in the near future if they come back to England. We shall see.

Dawn had suggested the botanical gardens, so it was there that we headed, programmed the sat nav and back onto the crowded interstates. I thought they would be quiet on a Sunday, but no. Madness.

We go through a rich looking leafy suburb to the gardens, find a place to park in a free parking garage, then walk to the entrance, pay our 15 bucks each to go in.

It was another hot and humid day, and really we were hoping to see butterflies. And we did see a couple of yellow swallowtails, but they never settled. I did snap three dragonflies. In fact, it was a fabulous garden, lots to see, but then it was also very warm, so we sit down a lot, and just watch stuff. I spend ten minutes watching a large blue dragonfly circling a pond, hoping it would settle, but it was too hungry and the weather too warm for that.

We have lunch in the garden, but my order of two salads somehow was only one, so we share, and it is Ok.

Come half one, we are pooped, and had seen enough, our final visit was to the tropical house which was, as you would expect, even more hot and humid than outside.

We walk back to the car and program another Barnes and Nobles in, it was downtown and parking was seven bucks for twenty minutes. We pass on that and find a large branch out of town so drive over there, down long busy dual carriageways past strip malls, gas stations and the other stuff that makes up modern America.

I get another butterfly book, and then we have iced coffee in Starbucks next door. It was all at an end now.

Back to the car, we set the sat nav for the airport, and jools drives us over back to the other side of the city, though downtown again, and out through the industrial areas back onto the interstate and so to the airport.

The checking in of the car was easy, just a quick look over, sign here and you are free to go. We jump aboard the shuttle bus, it departs right away, and we are on our way to the terminal.

A half hour queue to check in, and another at security and immigration, and we were through. We go to the lounge where I could hear the sound of free beer being served.

We just wait now for the flight to be called.