Even amongst parks in Houston, there’s something a bit different about the vibe at the Menil lawn. It feels less like a park and more of a giant backyard at Shangri-La, where time stands still and the inevitability of aging can be halted as long as you don’t leave. Think of a tailgate party, and then imagine the opposite.

You know others are noticing when this urban oasis is the inspiration for numerous memes on Instagram, all seemingly testifying to the transcendent nature of the space. “I’ve never been to heaven but I played bocce ball on the Menil lawn and that felt pretty good,” goes one written by Montrosecellectuals on Instagram, who at one point also sold a shirt that said: “Follow me to day drinking on the Menil lawn.”

The 1.5 acre sculpture-dotted Menil Park is just one of the green spaces on Menil’s expansive campus, populated with majestic live oaks—some more than 100 years old—under which people are sprawled. This isn’t the kind of place where you’ll find guys hurling Wiffle balls at each other. It’s where you’ll see yoga, meditation groups, sound baths and drum circles, among other activities I’d have a hard time focussing on in this heat.

“The Menil Collection’s green spaces are a defining feature of the museum’s 30-acre campus,” Jennifer Greene, senior communications manager with The Menil Collection, told Chron. “They’re a destination for first dates, engagements, family portraits, casual drum circles, sound baths, and more.”

Opened in conjunction with the Menil Collection in 1987, the green spaces have always been as free and open as the galleries themselves and seem to cultivate the same, “Not now I’m staring at art” vibe. You don’t simply leisure here, you ponder. You ponder while appreciating Mark di Suvero’s large steel Bygones sculpture that looks like an anchor tethered to a space ship about to land. Pondering is also what you do while swinging from the red swing suspended underneath a massive live oak or traipsing through the little grove of fig trees.

“The Menil has gone to great lengths to preserve the native plants and trees; some now very fragile due to age and climate,” Greene said. “You’ll see support beams on some of the historic oaks to ensure that future generations can enjoy them.”

Those support beams, and this being a museum lawn, should clue visitors in to some of the grounds’ understandable restrictions. As inviting as they may look, you can’t climb the ancient trees or sculptures. Grills, glass containers and alcohol are not permitted as well, no matter what Instagram tells you. And please, no loud music. That doesn’t go well with pondering.

It’s a place where you try to keep the excitement level down and party like there’s a docent watching. Go nuts at while riding the choo-choo at Hermann Park and jog with a sense of superiority all you want at Memorial Park—but when it comes to Menil, just lay back on that Saint Augustine lawn and let the art and trees wash over you, until you realize it’s been four hours and you’re late for an appointment.

While the oasis has remained mostly unchanged over the years, a new installation of sorts is coming that may prove to be groundbreaking. “In 2027, the Menil has plans to open a freestanding air-conditioned public restroom, providing a new amenity for visitors to the museum’s green spaces,” Greene added.

And yet, no matter how clear the restroom signage is, you know some of the Menil regulars are just going to stare at it like it’s an art piece instead.