Last Sunday we decided to visit Rockford. I’ve been wanting to visit the Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens ever since I learned of its existence, and I also wanted to see the special Megalodon exhibit at Burpee Museum of Natural History.
We started our morning off at the conservatory. Let me just say for the record that I think the entire area surrounding the gardens is done quite nicely (although there wasn’t anything to see in the gardens due to the time of year) and the conservatory building is beautifully designed. That being said, the price of admission is rather steep ($8 per person) for what you get which is an extremely small conservatory with not a whole lot of flowers (mostly orchids and daffodils). I got excited that they had a limited-time butterfly area but that excitement quickly turned into disappointment in the size of the area and the variety of butterfly species available. I’m glad we visited to see what it was all about, but I can’t see ever going back when we have Garfield Park & Oak Park Conservatory here, both of which are free (although we always give a small donation) and have a lot more to offer.
After less than an hour at the conservatory we made our way to the museum. There’s actually a whole museum campus that also includes an art museum, a children’s museum, and a children’s recreational facility. The admission to the museum is also a bit steep for what you get and it was a bit irritating that you pay extra to see the special exhibit (Megalodon) when they don’t have anyone making sure you actually paid to enter that portion of the museum. I’m not suggesting you pay the regular $8 admission instead of $13 and “sneak in” but it sure wouldn’t be difficult.
After the museum, which actually had some other interesting exhibits, most notably Jane, the juvenile T-Rex, we had lunch at Lonestar Steakhouse. I got my usual, the filet mignon. For the life of me I still don’t get how the Lonestar by my house went out of business but the disgusting Outback Steakhouse is doing great. No accounting for taste, I guess.