Mainau

Mainau is the "Flower Island", just over the border in Konstanz, Germany.  We're due for a couple of days of rain, so we made the most of our last day of sunshine.  On our way in, we saw these great wagons which they let you have in exchange for your passport.  It was a good trade, and I spent the day having Mason and Katie haul around Chloe and Andrew as well as all of our stuff.  Best. Day. Ever.

 I had to add in a photo of something I haven't seen in a long time: a cigarette vending machine.  We may be fatter in the US, but I'm pretty sure we smoke less.

 The gardens were fabulous, 

 and the butterfly house was one of the best I've been to.  It had bridges, turtles, birds, and fish.

 Chloe spent a lot of the day throwing gravel and kicking it with her feet.  And then complaining when the rocks got stuck in her shoes and made her feet hurt.  I love this girl--and she drives me crazy.

 Katie took on the role of "tour guide" pointing out the fine gnomish sculpture and other fine garden features.

 Again, let me just say that having the only real argument of the day be over who got to pull the wagon made for a really great day.

 There was also a petting zoo with the typical animals (everyone loved the alpacas).

And I scrounged up the right kind of euro coins to get some goat food.  Not that the goats wouldn't have eaten pretty much anything we held to their faces.

 This little guy was the favorite.  

 The playground was really unique.  They had a big part that was built over water and had rafts that the kids could get on and push around.  There was also a sort of modern/contemporary part that was a little weird, but Andrew liked the beaver dam.

 By the time we got to the playground, we'd already been going a few hours and I just wanted to park it.  That's when having an awesome 16-year-old niece along with me really pays off.  She got on the rafts and was playing some sort of pirate game with them--which bought me some rest time and resulted in Mason falling in the water and getting completely drenched.  Luckily he was a really good sport about it.

 Even Andrew got into the wagon pulling, and we headed home happy and tired.  Some of us a little more tired than others.

 And here is evidence that Ryan is actually with us on this trip.  After he got home, we headed down to the river by our house. They waded from the bridge we cross to our house all the way down to where there is a trail that goes directly to our house.  We wish Ryan could go do more with us, but there's that pesky little detail of having a job.  

When I picked Ryan up after work, there was a woman dragging a carryon suitcase in the direction of our house.  We guessed that she must be staying in the house that is next to ours.  There has been a lot of turnover since we've been here (family reunion, a kids camp, a confirmation party, etc), so we were curious what the new group would be.  

It turns out they are here for a meditation weekend, and this location is perfect for that.  Except they probably weren't planning on sharing a fence with four loud kids.  The campers were all out rhythmically shaking maracas as we boisterously headed down to the river, and when they headed down the path by the river, I doubt it was as serene as they had expected.  Maybe they'll be glad for the rain tomorrow since it will mean we're stuck inside and they won't have to listen to us.