Back to San Marino

 Last month I went to the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA. It was expensive, the ticket cost $25, but it was quite an experience. I have never seen such an elegant garden, each section was beautiful, and I took many photos. It was my second time there, since I had gone in early 1990, but this was my first time exploring the garden. 

Well, a friend who has a dance group (Yolanda) posted a message recommending the other park next to it. That is not an admission garden (except on weekends, when they charge $5 to keep the riffraff out). It is a public park that is maintained with public dollars. I was curious. Could we have two outdoor treasures side by side in the city of San Marino, where no home is worth less than one million dollars minimum? I had to go.

Before I went, I saw that this park was on a recommended list for seeing fall colors. Now, that piqued my interest even more. There were a few photos on the internet, especially one with a trellis and flowers. I decided to escape today, Monday, Oct. 19th, and go visit.

It took me a quick 50 minutes to get there, and the drive was direct once I left the freeway. I arrived but was confused about parking. There seemed to be an opening, but it seemed to be blocked. I quickly found out it was best to do what most people recommended, just park on the street.

I have to say, I had my expectations up, but things were not what I had expected. This is a big garden, with two loops, an outer and inner loop, with people walking in opposite directions. I thought, this might be very good, but it turned out to be a public park with a few features. It was not the sensory experience and wonderland of the Huntington Library.

I did the inner (shorter) loop first, and didn't see more than just trees and a few features such as some interesting bushes. I didn't have much to photograph, and I was a little disappointed. I wanted to post on social media that I was disappointed, but I desisted.

Later on, I did the outer loop. There are many Asian and White women with strollers or with small children at this park! What happened, I thought the affluent in this country were experiencing a baby bust and were not having children anymore. The thought was, of course, superficial. Of course. The park attracts only a small segment of the population, those that are precisely like these people I saw, young moms from wealthy areas that have children who are desperate to go out and do something during a long, long quarantine, and older people. 

On the outer loop I found the trellis, but it was mostly in shadow. I did take some photos with my Fuji GW690 camera, but only a few. Not even one cellphone photo, though. I also took photos of trees.

This is a park for walking, but it is not a park where one can get entranced by artificial garden landscapes. That is for other parks. Here, it is a public park with a few features. I can't complain. As Larry David would say, I need to curb my enthusiasm.