Wednesday and Thursday, May 29-30-Botanic Gardens

Wednesday we drove out to the Botanic Gardens to see if that would work as a venue. We got there thanks to Lea (our GPS) and went into the office just inside the gate where we met an Indian gentleman who noticed our badges and asked what happened to the other guy that had been by and given him a bible. He didn't remember his name, but said he was very tall and professional. He then picked up a Book of Mormon with the card of the missionary just inside. It was Elder Murdock. The description was very funny because Jerry is the same height as Elder Kyle (about 5'9" - Definitely under 5'10") and this guy was at least 6' tall. I guess Elder Murdock made a 'large' impression. When we told him why we came, he directed us to another building on the other side of the park.

The place was definitely beautiful, like being at the Summerfield hotel in Swaziland, only on a larger scale. There was a covered area full of orchids, beautiful! And there were Knarley trees that were hundreds of years old and huge. There were flowers and large lawns surrounded by bushes and trees. The birds were out in force and making all kinds of noises. There was a lake in the middle, which is one of the places they have their concerts, but they also have an amphitheater and that was what we were there to check out.


We took a wrong turn on one of the paths, but that was okay, because although Elder Kyle was all business, I was enjoying the scenery. We met a couple of men who saw our badges and the older one said he was from Ogden, Utah (not a member), the younger one from Austin, TX. The older one was very outgoing, so they talked to Elder Kyle for a while. We saw them later on looking at the trees.





We finally came to the building and found the person we were supposed to meet. She was the head of a marketing group that handled renting out the park to the public. She was a blonde lady with a thick English accent. She took us around the area that were for rent and explained about how they have weddings galore in August and September (their busiest month), but for some reason she couldn't check right then to see if it was booked on August 10th.




The option by the lake was nice, but the other two she showed us were basically grassy fields with no trees or bushes. She said if they were having a wedding we would not be able to rent any of the areas as it would disrupt the wedding.


So, we left there not really knowing much more than when we came. We then went to Elder Kyle's hair cut appointment at the mall by our house. While he was getting his haircut, I went off to the eyeglass place to see if they would put the screw back into his relatively new glasses. They repaired it and didn't charge a thing...very nice. I then went to the post office and purchased some stamps and mailed three letters. By the time I got back he was looking pretty good and ready to go. After we arrived back at the house, I got an email saying that the Botanic Garden was booked with a wedding the day we wanted to rent it...sigh...

I then spent the rest of the day into the evening looking for somewhere else to have the concert. I found some places that were too small. I found some large places that were too expensive and I left messages with several others. They all ended up being dead ends.

Thursday we spoke to Elder Murdock. Everyone is in panic mode now. Elder Kyle was on the phone again calling private high schools to see if they had an auditorium. Elder Murdock tried the Dolphin stadium again...he was going to beg. The problem is on Saturday, they have two dolphin shows instead of the three they do on weekdays. Elder Murdock was trying to get them to do a third show and the concert, but in the end, they were not willing to do add the extra show. So Elder Murdock was going back to them to see if they could let us just do the concert that evening. It's a longshot.

Elder Kyle had to go to the doctor's to get his PSI test (prostrate test) to make sure the cancer is no longer active. This is the first time either of us has gone to a regular family doctor. They ended up being two white guys, no nurses. Their office was a converted older house and very sunny and bright with a waiting room full of wicker furniture. Their office staff were very nice and doubled as 'nurses' just to show the patients into their rooms to see the doctor. I was in the waiting room for Elder Kyle's visit and a very pretty black woman (the only one there in a full waiting room) and her five-year old daughter sat close to me. I kept teasing the little girl until I got a big smile from her. We became friends right away, though her mother was not as easy to befriend. I tried to teach her to wiggle her nose, make a fish face, make a church and a steeple with her hands, etc. She was having a great time. She had on jeans with a design on front and aqua trim around the edge of the pant leg. She had on a matching aqua shirt with a cute design and aqua shoes with bows on them.

When Elder Kyle finished we went up to the reception window and he had a vial of blood in his hand. He told me that he had supposed that he would have to go somewhere to get his blood tested and wait a couple of weeks (like in Austin), but the doctor did it all himself, checked him out, asked questions, took his blood pressure and drew the blood. Then he said to call back tomorrow and he would have the results of the test. He wrote out prescriptions and we were on our way in less than 15 minutes. Wow. I think I am going to like the doctors here. I go for my visit on Tuesday next week. It should be interesting. All the senior missionaries go to this guy (Dr. John, first name).

We got back to the house and started searching out venues again. I started on hotels and found a few that sounded and looked good and were available, but when I called I found out they were both located in casinos. Not a great place for an LDS event! Back to square one. I left lots of messages. Hopefully tomorrow we will know something.

You can tell by the photos that the Botanic Gardens was the best part of these two days. We should go back when we have more time to relax.