About this event
Afternoon Tea and Tour of the World Famous 120 Acres Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens
Wednesday, March 20th, 2024 ~ 9am
This tour will be led by our members, Denise and Jeff Kilpatrick. We will leave early on the morning of the 20th of March, a Wednesday, around 9:00 am from the Starbuck’s on Winchester by the 15 freeway where donuts and coffee will be provided.
The group will drive the 82 miles to the Huntington Library and botanical Gardens which includes thirty different gardens and the original Mansion and art collection of Henry Huntington and the group will enjoy the Afternoon tea/lunch at the newly remodeled Rose Garden tea room that will include an array of pastries, muffins, sandwiches and desserts served on a three tiered plate array and of course – your choice of English loose leaf tea in your own heated pot. Refills of items is always available until you have had your fill. No one goes away hungry. There will be additional food items and alcoholic beverages available to order at your own expense. There are also several other excellent walk-up food venues available as well in the other gardens where you can sample Chinese food or other refreshments again on your own.
Images of the Afternoon Tea (which is indoors)—the items served are typical of what is served at an English Afternoon tea service at a five star hotel in London- see images below:
images of the Huntington library rose garden tea-- - Search (bing.com)
A served buffet of an endless variety of finger foods – everyone finds items they enjoy and possibly some you don’t. It is a culinary Adventure to say the least.
Short History of the Huntington Estate, library and Botanical Gardens-
One of the richest men in America at the turn of the century. The “Musk” of his era as he became of the “Big Four” railroad tycoons that crisscrossed America with iron rails. He bought this 240-acre parcel over 100 years ago and today the property is open to the public to enjoy and to experience. Over 120 acres of beautiful gardens- Japanese, Chinese, Children’s, priceless Bonsai, desert garden and of course one of the finest Rose gardens in California. His Mansion is open to the public and houses his art collection including the priceless Gainsborough portrait of the “Blue Boy”.
The advantage of visiting the Huntington on a weekday is that this avoids the huge crowds that can visit on the weekends – and to enjoy the tranquility and beauty of the garden settings without “screaming” children will prove more enjoyable.
·There are more garden areas than you will be able to visit in one day—
·Australian Garden
·Camellia Garden
·Children's Garden
·Conservatory
·Herb Garden
·Jungle Garden
·Lily Ponds
·Palm Garden
·Ranch Garden
·Rose Garden
·Shakespeare Garden
·Subtropical Garden
·The glass Conservatory building houses carnivorous plants and an collection of warm weather tropical plants from around the world. There are in addition several exhibition halls that host different
·Collections of art, furniture and science as well.
More details on this destination event-
Only eighteen reservations are available because we could only secure 18 seats at the newly remodeled English Afternoon tea and lunchroom – which usually requires several months advance reservations.
Parking is free in the Huntington’s expansive parking lot and admission is included in the per person registration fee and the prepared English Tea style lunch.
Driving route-
There is a mountain sort of route we can take to the Huntington that is longer in time but more fun for driving but this route does reach elevations where snow could be possible and if that is the situation, we will take the shortest Freeway route to the Huntington and focus the day on spending more time exploring one of the finest garden estates in the country.
This website will show you some images of the estate:
HuntingtonLibraryLogo - Huntington Library - Wikipedia
If you have not experienced an English Afternoon Tea – this is a nice introduction to this English Tradition.
The restaurant will take requests for gluten free and vegetarian food items but you must communicate this as soon as possible as they require a week’s notice of these special requests.
The $145 fee includes entrance, a guided group tour ( if we have 18 they will likely break our group up into two groups for easier presentation by the guide (volunteers), the preset Afternoon Tea service at 2 PM including taxes and 20% tip for our wait staff.
Register now at: msreg.com/gardensandteatour and if you have questions – call Jeff Kilpatrick – 951-704-4111 anytime.