The Arboretum has always been a magical place for our family, filled with fond memories starting back in our beginning days of dating and courtship as students here at UC Davis in the mid 70’s. The love of my life and I would often picnic by “the duck ponds” near Mrak Hall. We even contemplated a simple outdoor wedding at the Wyatt Deck, as it is now called. However, in those early days, it was not so quaintly named!

We searched the campus map back then to find the location for our wedding invitation, only to find that our lovely deck area there by Spafford Lake was called the “Snack Shack” in reference to the snack bar there in olden times. We had to laugh and decided that perhaps the name took away from the romantic nature of our plans, though fitting for my love and enjoyment of food! Following a more traditional church wedding, many delightful family picnics continued through the years, bringing children and friends to the Arboretum to share the ponds and the ducks and the funny story of wanting to marry at the Snack Shack! Thank you for all the beautiful memories, dear Friends of the Arboretum!