Surviving a Park

Parks are a favorite place here to hang out, have graduation parties, lay out picnics, let your kids run and play, celebrate birthday parties, etc. 

There are three nice parks here, and they are all very large, but this is the largest.

stock photo

Apparently, this city was more like a town until a couple of decades ago.

I've even heard that there were no buildings over three stories high in the entire city about 20 years ago, so this place has grown at quite a fast rate.

Thankfully, they marked off some land for parks because, there is hardly any green in the city apart from these three locations.

However, up close, the care and maintenance of the parks is a bit lacking.

Just last Spring, this climbing wall was put up in a new area for small kids.  Keira loved it.

It was painted as an outer space scene with different super heroes pictures at the top.  Kids could climb up to different ones:  Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman, etc.

And now...

This hop scotch board was painted and cute with grass at both ends.

And now...

This spaceship slide had a great red, twisty slide coming out of this top hole before it had wire barring the way down.

And now...

Keira's favorite slide used to not scratch your legs and rip your pants on the way down.

And now...

The park used to be an all-walk park.  They didn't allow bikes, skateboards, etc.  I will say it would have been nice to drive your car in to your picnic location so you didn't have to carry all of your belongings for what seemed like miles.

And now...

They are apparently renting out golf carts.

We live in a country where road laws are either not taught, or they are just not observed, or maybe it's a combination of both.  Drivers straddle the dotted lines in the middle of the road instead of picking a lane.  Drivers do not yield or stop at intersections.  They barrel out and expect you to be looking for them instead of the other way around.  I could go on and on.

Anyway, this park used to be a safe place, but bringing certain driving skills inside the park may be cause to find a new place to hang out.

Or, I can be like Keira and just stay off the paths.  When all of her favorite places looked destroyed or broken, she simply said, "Let's go lay in the grass.  The grass is why I like to come here anyway."







































And there you have it, folks.