141. Central Park, Merritt

On our way home from visiting Uncle Andrew and Auntie Lannie in Edson, we stopped in Merritt for some lunch and a chance for Charlotte to run around and stretch her legs.  Although the park had a traditional playground, Charlotte was much more taken with the giant tires, which were big enough that she could hide in them.  They were so huge that when she crawled back inside them, she was completely hidden from view.  Owlie was also able to hide very effectively, but we found him eventually!  Even though we were there in late September, it was still hot like summer in Merritt.  It was a great place for a play before we began the last leg of our journey home.  The playground is located at N 50.07.146 W 120.46.966 and is point no. 141 on the map at the bottom of home page.

138. Mt. Robson Visitor Centre

Heading a little further north and east, we came to the visitor centre at Mount Robson.  We found a playground here too, one to get future mountain climbers in the mood!  Pete had fun climbing on it, though it was a bit big for Charlotte.  Still, she had fun making a house for herself underneath it!  I was disappointed that there were no geocaches very close by - we didn't have much time to go for a walk to find the one further along the trail.  The playground is located at N 53.02.143 W 119.13.765 and is point no 138 on the map at the bottom of home page.

127. Riverside Adventure Park, New Westminster

Although today was daddy and Charlotte day, I had Charlotte in the evening as Pete was going out.  He dropped her off to me at work, but it took us a very long time to get back to New Westminster due to the traffic.  It really seemed that Charlotte deserved a chance to stretch her legs, so we stopped off at the awesomely-named Riverside Adventure Park, not too far from Blackford Island.  I found one of my very first geocaches here way back in 2006; it was called "Delusions of Grandeur", named by a CO who was as amused by the name as I am.  I don't know where the "adventure" part of the name comes from and as for the "riverside" part, well, the river is in sight, way down the hill, with a highway and a busy rail yard to cross before you get to it.  The park is a lot different now than it was in early 2006 when I found my seventh geocache.  The dodgy playground equipment has long since been removed and replaced with a sanitized version that offers little challenge to anyone.  But Charlotte did have fun giving Owlie a ride on the loop.  "Delusions of Grandeur" is long gone too, but "Illusions of Grandeur" has been in its place for some years now; Charlotte and I have both logged a find on this cache!  The playground is located at N 49.12.300 W 122.56.022 and is point no. 127 on the map at the bottom of home page.

115. Train Station Playground, Stanley Park, Vancouver

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Charlotte's third birthday!  It was Pete's day off and I took the afternoon off too so that we could take Charlotte to the aquarium.  After we left, we stopped by the playground to play for just a little while before we were off for a birthday dinner at White Spot.  This is a nice little playground, so we'll have to come back after another aquarium visit and check it out further!  The playground is located at N 49.18.109 W 123.07.953 point no. 115 on the map at the bottom of home page.

49. Granville Loop Park, Vancouver

What better way to kick off summer than with two playgrounds in one day?!? We headed down to the south end of the Granville Street bridge to meet Pete after work, but we went early so that Charlotte had time to play. I used to come here once a week back in the day to pick Pete up after work, but that was long before the playground was of any interest to me! We all piled out of the car and headed towards the playground - Charlotte held my left hand, I had Theo's leash in my right and somehow the stroller rolled along between them. A guy and his dog came towards us and the dog started barking excitedly, hoping to play with Theo. Theo was just as excited and though I was the one juggling three things with two hands, the guy snarled, "Manage your dog!" as he went by. Seriously buddy, yours got going first, they're both just happy to see each other, and in case you hadn't noticed, I kind of have my hands full! So I snapped back "Control yours," and we were off to a great start. The park is a bit of a crossroads for people coming and going and given the area, there are all kinds of people going by. The entire time Charlotte was playing, some guy muttered to himself from his spot on the grass across from us. There were no other kids to play with, but Charlotte had fun anyway, driving mum around in the Jeep. Eventually Pete arrived on his bus and left it to another driver. We had a little bit more fun on the playground - then we were off to Memphis Blues for dinner! There were no geocaches in the park - but it's probably the type of park where a cache wouldn't last for long anyway. The playground is located at N 49.16.028 W 123.08.255:  https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=z7IAXiVD2wGY.ke14vi-3MYtI&pli=1

30. Stevens Mini-Park, Ladner

Today was both Pete’s birthday and Mother’s Day – of course we had to go out to celebrate! After a lovely day at the Reifel bird sanctuary, we stopped to pat some horses and then stopped at a small playground we have driven by many times before, Stevens Mini-Park. It is indeed a mini-park, just a fenced off area with a few pieces of equipment in it, but when you’re two, you don’t really need much! The slide here was pretty good – it had steps that were easy enough to climb, but it was quite a tall slide – tall enough that it took Charlotte a while to build up her courage to go down it. She also loved going on the seesaw with dad, and of course, no trip to the playground is complete without a go on the swings. Robins, mourning doves and chickadees all flitted through the park as we played. Some of the houses around here are amazing; check out the gigantic one behind Charlotte on the seesaw!  There is no geocache near the park, but there is a great power trail along the dyke just to the south. The park is located at N 49.05.207 W 123.06.020: https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=z7IAXiVD2wGY.ke14vi-3MYtI&pli=1