Last Saturday was my day, so after the morning run with Jim Gaul, Mer and I got ready in a leisurely fashion. We headed out at about 12:00 and headed north to the Holden Arboretum. We like parks and gardens, so it seemed like a great time to join a garden. I got really lucky – this weekend was a special, and membership was only $40, which gets us sun-up-to-sundown access to the park, and the membership has reciprocal membership rights with many gardens around the country. It seemed as if we would get $40 worth of use out the membership.

It was a gorgeous day – sunny and in the high 70s, so the temperature in the shade was perfect. What was a bit odd was how crowded the place was – there were cars everywhere, and people directing traffic. In costume. We had managed to come up during the “Goblins in the Garden” weekend. The place was packed, and there were kids in costume everywhere. We managed to find our way to the membership desk, and then we explored the garden behind the main building. It was very pretty. We then forged our way through the madding crowds of candy-seeking children, and got onto one of the many woods trails on the property. The crowds were left behind pretty much immediately.

We had a lovely walk in the woods, including going down a long set of stairs to a swampy boardwalk area that had a small stream running through it. We found a bench and sat on it and enjoyed the sound of the water. We then headed back toward the stairs and up to the center. We never did see anyone in the woods, although we heard one couple at some point. It does not seem as if many people stray too far from the Arboretum center.

The entire walk was about an hour or so, but we headed back home. I had further plans, and we could come back to the Holden Arboretum any time we wished now. After getting home, we wandered over to CVCA to the soccer field to hook up with Dubbs and Liz, two colleagues. We watched the last ten minutes of the game, in which our guys lost after being up 2-1, which is rare for them – they usually can protect a lead. The game was not the main get-together, though. We got into two cars and headed south to Canton, to Taggart’s Ice Cream, where we had a great supper and dessert. Dubbs and Liz are both funny people, especially together, so it was a grand time.

After supper, Dubbs, Mer, and I headed over to the cheap theater to see Captain America. I am a superhero fan from long ago, so I had been looking forward to the film. It did not disappoint. It was clean, funny at parts, well written, and, for a comic book film, well-acted. I liked all the main characters, and thought the movie kept the spirit of the comic book going throughout. It was one of the better comic book adaptations I have seen.