We stayed at a little cottage in Guerneville so that my husband could compete in the Iron Man triathlon in July. The Vine Man swim portion begins in the Russian River at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville and then ends at Windsor.
My husband rode his bike to the race start while we slept (5:00 a.m.!). Later, the kids and I took garden pictures of the beautiful rose garden at the cottages before driving to Windsor to watch Daddy transition from the bike to the run portion of the triathlon.
The cottages had a rose garden enclosed in a garden wall. I liked the little shoes on the garden wall. They must have been cemented on because my children didn’t attempt to try them on.
Rose gardens sure are beautiful. Maybe we’ll get lucky, and a neighbor in a future home will have a rose garden that we can enjoy but not have to maintain.
The cottages also had a vegetable garden. We would like a vegetable garden someday too. Our lemon tree has just one little lemon again this year. I’ll have to do a lot more gardening research before attempting a full vegetable garden.
We also found a wild flower garden at the Guerneville cottages. I bet that’s a nice life: gardening and running a bed and breakfast along the Russian River.
My husband ended up completing the Iron Man, by the way. Go Daddy!
Most of the animals hung out in tanks (snakes, small turtles, frogs). But the center area under a huge tree housed turtles that moved surprisingly fast.
I thought this garden area was the prettiest. The orchids were beautiful. (That is one plant I’ve never tried to grow.)
Although this year’s garden theme was not my favorite, it sure drew a large crowd. I guess animals attract more people than pretty flowers.
I liked this creative garden theme at the 2009 California State Fair. But, as you can see from this picture, it didn’t draw the large crowds like the jungle theme and live animals at the 2010 fair.
This garden theme reminded me of the Bug’s Life theme at Disneyland. Everything was big, and we felt like little bugs walking around the garden. I liked this large snail and watering can feature.
I wonder if someone built this bee hive especially for the fair, or if it came from somewhere else. 
I like the color combinations of these plants: coleus, impatiens, and others. I hope to have enough shade to plant a flower garden like this someday.
