December 24, 2010

Calloway Gardens Fantasy in Lights

Last night I went to Callaway Gardens to see the Fantasy in Lights show.   It was wonderful!



Doug was our enthusiastic chauffeur. 
Pam, Trish, Sarah and I were his guests.

Doug does a lot of driving for his job and his car is outfitted with all sorts of gadgets.  A navigator, satellite radio and telephone were close at hand, and I must say none interfered with driving.  Sarah had control of the phone for game playing purposes.  The navigator told him about upcoming turns and made the drive a breeze. I think the navigator may be one of the best gadgets to have!  I really think I'm going to have to get one for my dear hubby.


If you are from Georgia or Alabama, you probably already know about Callaway Gardens.

For those who don't know, I'll try to explain. Callaway Gardens has been famous in Georgia for as long as I can remember. It's a big place that where you can stay overnight or go for a day trip.  It has miles and miles of trails to walk or drive or ride bikes through.  It's stunningly beautiful every season of the year. The gardens are legendary. There are huge lakes for swimming or boating.  There are specialty buildings like the  butterfly conservatory, which is magical. In spring, it's a must see - it has the world's largest azalea garden.  There are always special events going on.  The hot air balloon show is one that I'm dying to go see.  This was my first time to see the Fantasy in Lights.


Tickets are bought ahead for certain time slots.  When you get there, it's all very organized and set up in a way that gets people through the show quite smoothly. You drive through the Gardens and everywhere you go there are different themed light displays.  It took us about 45 minutes to see everything.


I took a zillion photos hoping some would turn out.  I had a few challenges other than light.  The car was moving pretty much constantly so I had many blurred shots.  My back seat car window was having issues and couldn't be rolled down.  My camera view was limited. Every now and then I took shots by sticking my arms up through the sunroof.  Considering all of that, I am quite pleased with the shots I got.  
There were lots of animated displays.

These were from the Twelve Days of Christmas them area.

Rows of soldiers were on both sides of the road in one section.

Fairies were everywhere in the Enchanted Rainbow Forest.

The butterflies were in Firefly Cove.  I used photo editing to put them with the flowers.

There were lots of places where you felt enveloped by lights. 

There were quite a few elaborate drive-under light displays.


There were some blurry photos that turned out to be pretty interesting.  
They look a little artsy. Here are two favs-



My favorite area of all was Snowflake Valley.  None of my photos captured how magical it was.  Even the photo of it from Callaway's site doesn't do it justice.  Honestly, I think it's a place that would be hard to capture in a photo. 
from Callaway's site
The show runs through December 30th.  If you're in the area and have never seen it, go!!!  It's best to buy tickets ahead.


Merry Christmas to All!
 
Be sure to check out the latest RE- Party!
We RE-do, RE-decorate, RE-organize, RE-pair,  RE-upholster,     
RE-member, RE-finish, RE-purpose, and of course, we love to RE-lax!   
This party celebrates ALL the RE-'s in our lives!  

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