FAIL!
There's a very interesting museum located in the Boca Raton area that my sister-in-law mentioned that I should visit. Today being a gorgeous sunny (and hot!) day in So. Florida, I figured it was the perfect day to visit this museum and gardens: Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. Who knew that there was an authentic Japanese garden located in So. Florida? And it has a very interesting history.
The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens is a center for Japanese arts and culture, which includes two museum buildings, several formal and informal Japanese gardens, and a fantastic bonsai display. The park and museum are named after George Morikami, a native of Miyazu, Japan, who donated his farm to Palm Beach County to be used as a park. George Morikami was the only member of the Yamato Colony, Florida to stay in Delray Beach after World War II. The Yamato Colony was an attempt to create a community of Japanese farmers in what is now Boca Raton, early in the 20th century. With encouragement from Florida authorities, young Japanese men were recruited to farm in the colony; primarily pineapples. Because of various difficulties, the colony never grew very large, and gradually declined until it was finally dispersed during World War II.
The Museum was opened in 1977, in a building that is now named the Yamato-kan. The principal museum building opened in 1993. Construction of the gardens began in 1993.
These gardens are some of the most spectacular gardens that I've had the privilege to view. The only negative was the other people in the garden. I was surrounded by disrespectful and obnoxious tourists all day today. Every time I tried to have a seat and enjoy the surroundings, some group of tourists would show up and ruin my solitude and quiet. It's truly sad that people don't have respect for things anymore. But I did manage to take some incredible photos of the gardens, to feed the koi and turtles in the pond, and to enjoy the surroundings when possible.
After leaving the gardens and taking my car for a much needed bath, I decided to go get a massage - hoping that the massage would ease some of the stresses. Unfortunately, I got a very chatty Cathy for a masseuse so it ended up being less zen and more coffee klatch. She was a great masseuse, but I would have preferred a quieter massage. Oh, well, what can you do? Despite not finding my zen today, I had a fabulous time.
Check out all my photos from the Morikami Museum on my GART photo site. They are pretty spectacular (I say that with all humility).
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