At 8:52 on the last Saturday in June, Ben and I were standing at the gate of the Huntsville Botanical Garden with no snack bag, no sunscreen argument and nobody asking how long this was going to take. Harper was in Florence, halfway through two weeks of camp grandma. My mom had texted a photo at 7:15 of her eating pancakes on the porch, and I am not too proud to admit the quiet felt strange for about ten minutes.
Ben looked at our empty hands and said, "Look at us. Two grown people with nothing to carry." Then he bought a bottle of water so he would have something to carry.
When Harper is with us, a Huntsville Saturday means the rocket center. We have been so many times she could lead the tour, and she would charge for it. This was our chance to do the Huntsville that doesn't end in a gift shop full of astronaut ice cream.
Morning: the garden before the heat
The garden sits a few minutes from my office in Cummings Research Park, which I tried hard not to think about. On a Saturday, the same 38-minute drive on I-565 feels like a different road. Admission was about $17 each. We went in at opening on purpose. The forecast said 94, and by 11 the paths had the kind of heat that comes up off the pavement and finds the backs of your knees.
The first two hours were perfect. We walked the shady woodland paths first, then the daylily beds, which were still putting on a show at the end of June. The butterfly house is open in the warm months, and it was the best 20 minutes of the morning: humid, quiet and full of grown adults whispering because it felt like the right thing to do. One landed on Ben's shoulder and stayed long enough for me to take a blurry picture he has since sent to his entire family.
We walked past the children's garden without stopping, which felt strange. Without a ten-year-old to chase through it, it was just a nice place we waved at.
Lunch was the cheap part on purpose. We drove over to Memorial Parkway and ate at a little taco place we had been meaning to try for two years: three tacos each and one horchata we split. It came to $24 with the tip. It was air-conditioned, and honestly that was half of what we were paying for.
Afternoon: Lowe Mill
Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment is an old textile mill on the southwest side of Huntsville that has been turned into artist studios, galleries and small shops. Admission is free. It's open to the public Wednesday through Saturday, and Saturday is the day to go, because more studio doors are open and there is an outdoor market in the warm months.
We stayed almost three hours, which surprised both of us. We watched a potter trim the bottom of a bowl, talked to a printmaker about why her prints cost what they cost (time, mostly) and walked every hallway on every floor. Ben found a table of hand-drawn maps of North Alabama and studied the Tennessee River on one of them like he had never seen it before.
We bought exactly one thing for the house: a small print of a blue heron for $14, which now hangs in my home office above the printer. I also bought a $5 bar of chocolate from one of the shops and did not share it, which Ben says he is still processing.
When to go: in summer, the garden at opening and Lowe Mill after lunch. In spring or fall you can flip it. The one tip I would give anyone is the rule we followed all day without meaning to: outdoor thing in the morning, indoor thing in the afternoon. In a Huntsville summer, that rule matters more than the itinerary.
We drive to Florence this afternoon to pick Harper up. When I told her on the phone what we did, she said, "So, nothing," and went back to her book. Fair.
What it cost
- Gas: about $10 (around 75 miles round trip)
- Botanical garden admission for two: $34
- Ben's bottle of water: $2
- Tacos and a shared horchata, with tip: $24
- Blue heron print: $14
- Chocolate bar: $5
- Lowe Mill admission: free
Total: $89. A whole day in Huntsville for two, under $90, and not one space shuttle.
