Urban Encounters
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Although I love getting out into the wilderness to photograph plants and animals, travel occasionally takes me to metropolitan areas. Rather than leave my camera at home, I seek out opportunities to find and take photos of plants and animals that I may not have access to otherwise. Since cities represent major population centers, they offer situations where large numbers of people, especially children, can be educated about nature in gardens, parks, zoological gardens, museums and aquariums, to name a few. Examples of those opportunities appear in this section.
When I visited Atlanta and went to the Botanical Gardens, I found an astounding array of beautiful orchids, actually the largest permanent orchid collection anywhere in the country. A visit to the Atlanta Zoo proved to be an exciting day spent with various animals, especially the enchanting meercats and a gorilla family.
The city of Boston is actually a living museum. Many events in the early history of our country occurred there. The Freedom Trail is a walking path to 16 historical sites in the city. There are many museums, cultural and sporting events, shopping and dining. I concentrate here on the Aquarium, the Museum of Science and some historical sites.
Washington DC is all about the monuments and government buildings. They are stately and befitting of our country's capital city. To see the monuments during the Cherry Blossom Festival is even more beautiful. The museums are first rate. the Smithsonian museums are fantastic places to visit and charge no admission fees.