I made my first visit to the AOS Saturday and must say it was an excellent
trip... Highly suggested for those relatively new to orchids if you get a
chance.

A while ago I asked for recommendations on a greenhouse to visit while I
made a trip with my family to South Florida (from Jacksonville, FL). I had
several recommendations and will make a trip to a greenhouse tomorrow.

But for some reason I had not thought of visiting the AOS until yesterday as
we were getting packed for the trip. The botanical gardens are well done,
and people were very friendly. They even had several activities set up for
my kids (such as painting pots). In fact, my kids (2 girls, only 5 and 7)
thoroughly enjoyed going from orchid to orchid and pointing each one out to
me ("Take a picture of this one. And this one. No, this one..."). They even
had fun trying to find the one that was the most fragrant (my youngest found
that one, though I do not know the genus/species).

One thing I was disappointed with was that many of the blooming orchids were
not labeled. Too bad, because I am not familiar enough with many (most) of
the genus available.

And of course I could not leave without several purchases (have to support
the AOS). Maybe this was the most exciting part, because prices are
exceptionally reasonable (especially adding 10% discount for AOS members).

Anyway, my thoughts, for whatever they're worth ($0.02)...

Larry