Japanese Gardens

Its always a spiritual type experience for me to be the Japanese Gardens. Its a meditative type place as it is intended to be. The beauty of the surroundings awakens in me a deep sense of awe at how nature convicts a person of the magnificence of creation.
In the early part of the day, the gardens are filled with laughing, often loud children, filled with the exuberance of exploration and uninhibited expression. That is fun to watch, but in the late part of the afternoon, when parents with small children are heading towards home, the gardens become pensive in mood and your more serious minded folk start to appear. There was one older gentleman strolling around, with the most serene look on his face. Just seeing him, made me feel peaceful.
Emery and I sat quietly, holding hands, soaking in the moment.
A great blue heron walked right up to me, not more than 3 feet away and allowed me to take about 20 pictures of him. It was a perfect day.