Coxhall Gardens, Carmel, Indiana

Now that all our fall hiking trips are over, I thought I would spend some time this winter blogging about our travel adventures this past summer.  The past two weeks I shared our anniversary trip to the Porcupine Mountains in the Upper Peninsula.  Starting this week, I am going to share our trip to Carmel Indiana and all the fun we had exploring that area and beyond!

My daughter and her family moved to Carmel last spring.  Her husband accepted a school principal position there.  It is a very beautiful, affluent area.  We went in early September and it was still quite warm.  We spend five days in the area, but we also went into Kentucky two of those days to see the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter.  I will cover all of our adventures in Indiana for the next five weeks.

Today, I wanted to share our trip to Coxhall Gardens.  Coxhall Gardens is a gorgeous, unique 125 acre park.  The land was donated to the city by Jesse and Beulah Cox.  It includes twin 90 foot bell towers and a recreational lake (pictured below).  There are three venues for weddings and other gatherings.  The Crepe Pavillion (also pictured below), and there is a stunning architectural marvel called "The Centerpiece", plus a mansion!  

The Centerpiece is an amphitheater design with tiered seating, fountains, and a gazebo.  What a romantic spot to have a wedding!

The steps leading down to the gazebo have water flowing down and into the moat surrounding the gazebo.

There are signs everywhere saying not to play in the water, but of course the little ones had to get their hands and feet wet.

The walk to The Centerpiece is so gorgeous.  The architecture and trees reminded me of Italy.

Isn't this a cute picture?  My sweet Alethea poking her head through one of the sculptures.

It was a long walk from the parking lot to the Centerpiece, so someone needed a piggy back ride from daddy!

The Cox Mansion was inspired by the Governor's Mansion in Williamsburg, Virginia.  It was closed when we there so I only got an outside picture. I'm actually not even sure if you can tour the mansion, but it used as a venue for weddings and other social gatherings. 

Well after doing all the "adult stuff" we then headed over to the Children's Gardens to make the grandkids happy.  But I found that I really enjoyed them myself too.  This is the entrance.

Of course we had to snap a picture of Grandpa and Grandson before we headed out.

Like most children's gardens, they are both fun, pretty, and educational.  This "mound" is actually a gopher home.  The kids pretend can see how gophers construct homes underground.

My favorite part of this garden was the colorful path that ended in a circle.  It reminded me of Dorothy's "Yellow Brick Road" in the Wizard of Oz.

There was plenty for the grand kids to do here:  play in the sand, water play, or taking a ride down a slide.

Another part of the Children's Garden I really liked was the "Butterfly Village".  It was a beautiful little town just for children.

We loved the bright red "Pharmacy".

What town would be complete without a jail?  

Even the local fire hydrant was so cute surrounded by red geraniums.

Dragonfly Island had a sand pit and a water feature for the kids to enjoy.

Atticus sure loved playing in the sand!

Coxhall Gardens really has something for everyone!  It is such a beautiful park in an even more beautiful community.

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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