Christmas Outing

I was hoping to go on a Christmas outing with Greg and Kylen before we got too far into December, and last Saturday ended up being the perfect time.  :)

We left our snowy driveway - which set the mood, by the way! - and drove downtown to Davenport Hotel's Christmas Tree Elegance event.  Twelve beautifully decorated trees were raffled, each one gorgeously staged and part of a larger package of goodies (including a substantial cash prize!).  At only $1 each, it was fun walking around with a handful of tickets, dreaming and deciding where to enter them.

Kylen was still recovering from a cold and opted to relax in a chair with his phone, while Greg and I did all the looking.  But he did help fill out tickets!

View from the tree area looking down on the dining area.

This was one of the more unique trees - not a traditional evergreen.  My shot doesn't do it justice.  It was beautiful and elegant.

A close up.

Another beauty.

So much variety!

My absolute favorite display was a woodland theme with gnomes, mushrooms, and lots of forestry touches.  You can see the box for raffle tickets on the right.  It's pretty full - not a very good chance of winning!  Greg put all his tickets in one of the less popular trees, which I thought was smart.

Next, we ate at Anthony's.  They did a wonderful job decorating, the food was excellent, and we had a table next to the window with a snowy view of the falls.  Delightful!

They usually have a specialty ice cream on the menu, and this time it was candy cane.  It was delicious!  I'm hoping to go again before the menu changes.  :)

Finally, we checked out Gaiser Conservatory at Manito Park, something we wanted to do last year but gave up when there was a long line on a chilly evening.  It was cold this time too, but we got in quickly.

All I can say is WOW.  Lights and more lights draping over plants everywhere!  We were all really impressed, even Kylen who doesn't usually enjoy conservatories.

Just look at those needles!

This was an ideal Christmas outing in many ways and definitely gave the "festive fix" I was hoping for!  It was almost magical!  Now back to shopping and wrapping.  :)