April 1 / HSV Day at Oaklawn Park Race Track

Sunday, 01-APR, was Hot Springs Village Day at the Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, AR.  Villagers got free parking, free entrance into the track and a $2.00 voucher (for betting or simply taking the money - we took the money).  So - after church on Sunday, Rosie and I made a quick stop by home to change clothes and head out to Oaklawn Park.  Here's the "well trained horse" at the entrance to the track.

We enjoyed watching the owners and trainers getting the horses ready for the race.

The horses are heading for the gate.  Looks like a parade to me!

The winning horse had a comfortable lead at the finish line.

 The track infield was really nice.

We also went to the restaurant on the second floor (based on input from track regulars) to get a corned beef sandwich for lunch.  The sandwich was delicious; much better than the one we got during our last visit to the track (two years ago during HSV day).

We had great weather and stayed at Oaklawn for about 1.5 hrs before heading off for other errands in Hot Springs.  

Azeleas at Garvan Woodland Gardens

On Friday, 30-MAR, Rosie and I stopped by Garvan Woodland Gardens to see the azaleas.  The azaleas plus other flowering trees were beautiful.

Here's Rosie by a flowering tree at the start of our tour.

The view down the trail was really colorful.

We always enjoy the Japanese lantern.

Here's Rosie with some of the azaleas.

I'm sitting in front of white and pink azaleas.

We also saw some pretty wildflowers.

Rosie got a nice photo of a butterfly landing on red azaleas.

The carp were also busy searching for food.  These guys were so big we could see them from above the carp pond.

It was a great day at Garvan Gardens!