Park Visit #1....

I completely took (read: stole) an idea from a good friend of mine.  I suggested to Luke & Kate that one of our summer goals should be to visit ALL 18 parks that our fine little town has to offer -- ALL 18 that are listed on the city's website.

Luke thought it would be fun.  Kate, being only almost 3, has no other choice to go with us, AND Kate absolutely loves to do things (especially outside).  Part of the visits are to include Luke taking a few pics of his own (with this Mama's constant taking of pics).  Then, we'll print out a couple of pics that Luke (or Mama) takes, and we'll make a poster.

We're currently having the "anti-summer" weather, but seeing how today is the first day officially of our summer break, we decided to "take the plunge" and do a park visit.

Since we knew quite a few of our parks would be muddy and/or wet AND the fact that it's cold (we wouldn't want to spend hours at a park playing today), we decided to go to "Railroad Park".  This park isn't a true "park" by most of our standards in that it's just a concrete area on the bike path with a few benches.  Nevertheless, it's a "park" funded by taxpayer dollars and maintained by the city.  It's on the list.  We went.

If one was a railroad enthusiast (likes to watch trains), this would be the park for you!  We just ate our lunch in the cold on a blanket, and the kids ran around for a bit.

As I posted on "Facebook," NO park visit would be complete without Kate crying, with or without a valid reason.  Today, the reason was valid.  For unexplainable reasons, she fell on the concrete.  Fortunately, she was ok, but snuggles with Mama were a must.  (I must admit truthfully that I probably will someday miss this.  Right now, though, the seemingly constant crying gets annoying).

You locals know how it seems like there are ALWAYS trains to stop traffic.  Today, we wanted to see a train while we were at the park, and not one came until we were loading up into the car.  Luke asked if he could get back out, and I said, "Of course -- this is what we've been waiting on".

After we left (and I told Luke we'd do this after each park visit), Luke & I talked about the good things and not-so-good things about the park.  He was great about coming up with lists with me.

Good:

**Can watch trains easily

**Concrete area when there's a lot of mud

**Nice benches to sit on

**Trashcans available

**Plenty of parking

Not-So-Good:

**No playground equipment

**No restrooms

**No trees -- will be hot when summer finally does appear