Botanical Garden

Saturday all alone w 3 kids. What to do? I had decided we'd take a trip to the nearby botanical garden since it's really close, fairly cheap & promised to be enough walking to wear the kids out. We had been to the garden our first month here but there aren't actually any pictures of it bc I hadn't brought my camera charger (don't ask me why, I had a lot of other things to remember!) so my camera was dead after the first two weeks on the island.

I did have some concerns about the clouds looming overhead but I figured w island living, you can never predict the weather so we packed our rain jackets & the rain guard for the stroller & we were out. About 5 minutes after we entered the gardens it started to sprinkle. Then it started to pour. The kids were happy to splash around in the rain while Elliot, the stroller, my camera & a bus full of Japanese tourists watched w amusement. After a few minutes I realized the rain wasn't clearing just yet so we ran over to the gift shop to have some ice cream. This was pretty much how the rest of the day went. Rain, take cover & wait. Cleared skies, walk around. Rain, take cover & wait. Clear skies again. This went on for about 2 hours w us taking in as much of the garden as I could wade thru until we got caught out under a small hut for at least 20 minutes. The kids were splashing & running back & forth along the bridge. Really they were having the best time. Turns out, kids like to play in the rain but even that gets old once the novelty of being sopping wet & chilly wears off. Then the 5 yr old attitude comes out. After I heard, We're freezing, lady! I decided to pack it up & head out. It was probably about time since the rain was now coming down harder than before & the wind gusts were blowing it sideways. Nothing like a tropical storm.
I was surprised at how fun the day actually was. We didn't do much but just a break from the norm was a nice treat for the kids. Even if it was a wet break. I think about how many times they've actually gotten to play in the rain (never) & I guess it isn't surprising they had fun. Expecting to hear moans & whining, this change of attitude was refreshing for me as well. You might say it was almost as refreshing as a summer rain storm.