142. Edmonds Community Centre, Burnaby

On an unseasonably warm afternoon, Charlotte and I set out to find "Edmonds Evergreens".  We found the cache and we also found a very awesome playground a few steps away.  It was a big one and a challenging one - there was a climbing mountain that Charlotte wasn't completely confident on at first - and it's been a long time since she asked for help with a climbing mountain. The playground was packed with kids, which is usually a great thing, but in this case, there was a pretty unfriendly vibe.  Charlotte came running back to me in tears to tell me that one of the other girls had told her that she couldn't play there and though I tried to talk her through how to handle it, she wasn't into it.  We went to another part of the playground where Charlotte crossed the rope bridge with some trepidation, only to be unable to get off when a boy at the other end of it blocked her way and refused to let her go past.  I'm not a fan of parents intervening in playground squabbles, but I had to step in in this case.  The helicopters were going beserk in their condemnation of the parents who were completely ignoring their kids' bad behaviour.  Strangely enough, we were talking to our friends who had been there too and they had a similarly bad experience.  It's so disappointing as the playground itself is amazing and not too far from our place.  We will give it another try and hopefully get a better mix of people next time.  The playground is located at N 49.12.916 W 122.55.976 and is point no. 142 on the map at the bottom of home page.

109. Mill Lake Park, Abbotsford

We came out to Abbotsford today to do a little geocaching for our 122 Degree Challenge.  Charlotte absolutely refused to allow me to take her picture, so I pulled up this old one taken when we were last at this park for a geocaching event in September 2013.  She has changed so much since then!

There were lots of kids there when we first arrived in the late afternoon and Charlotte ran off to join them, periodically returning to me to joyfully tell me that she had "made a new friend" or to report something funny that one of them had said.  She scaled the climbing mountain like a monkey and generally had the time of her life.

I perched on the curb around the edge of the playground and watched her run and play and make friends.  It was all exactly as it should be and I was happy to see her having so much fun.  So I was more than a little surprised when one of the other mums fixed me with an evil eye, staring at me so intently, and with no reason that I could think of, that I turned around to see if there was someone behind me.  She asked "Is that your daughter?" so coldly that I was taken by surprise.  When I simply said "yes", she turned away unsmilingly with a grunt of disapproval.  How can two mums at a playground see a situation so differently?  I truly don't know what her problem was!  Whatever to her because Charlotte had the time of her life.  The playground is located at N 49.02.549 W122.18.605 and is point no. 109 on the map at the bottom of home page.

108. Kensington Park, Delta

Charlotte and I found ourselves in Delta this morning after attending a "Geocachers Breakfast" at the Skyhawk Restaurant at the Boundary Bay airport.  I've been to this playground before in search of the nearby geocache, "Jiminy 'What'?".  It was such a warm sunny day today; I can hardly believe it's only February.  Charlotte raced up the climbing mountain over and over again, climbed up the slide and slid down on her tummy and generally had the time of her life.  The playground is located at N 49.05.294 W 123.02.651 and is point no. 108 on the map at the bottom of home page.

104. Cannon Beach Playground, Cannon Beach, Oregon

We have all been so sick lately that playground visits have been in short supply.  We have re-visited one or two favourites lately, but mostly we have been languishing at home, trying to shake our sniffles and coughs while watching "Paw Patrol".  This week though, we are on vacation in Cannon Beach and though the sniffles have followed us down to Oregon, the weather was beautiful and just perfect for a visit to the local playground in between our beach explorations.  The playground was just a couple of blocks from our motel and it was a decent playground with a high climbing mountain - which Charlotte scaled with no problem whatsoever!  It's amazing how quickly she can go from needing help with something to being completely independent.  After we had finished working up an appetite at the playground, we set off to find the nearby geocache, "Cannonfloria plasticus" and then for lunch at the Lumberyard.  After that, it was back to the motel for more sniffle-nursing, at least for me!  The playground is located at N 45.53.942 W 123.57.579 and is point no. 104 on the map at the bottom of home page.

78. Burns Park, Coquitlam

The weather this weekend was supposed to be terrible, so when the sun came out late this morning, Charlotte and I seized the opportunity to go out to play. We chose this playground because it's not too far from the Superstore, which we can save for when it starts to rain again! Everything at the playground was wet, but the damp weather was keeping other people away and Theo was able to roam while Charlotte played. She took on the “climbing mountain” repeatedly – up and down, with her shoes squeaking on the wet plastic with every step she took! We played on the balance steps and then we just sat on a dry patch of wood beneath a tree to watch the crows and squirrels playing on the grass. Charlotte was thrilled that if we were quiet, they would come closer to us and before we left, she left a little nut in a place where the squirrels would find it. The playground is located at N 49.14.539 W 122.52.561 and is point #78 on the map at the bottom of home page.

75. Myrtle Park, North Vancouver

We headed over to North Van today to see nana and grandad, but first we decided to check out a playground on this lovely fall day. Before we went to the playground, we tried to find the nearest geocache, Yertle the Myrtle Turtle, but our geo-senses were not sharp today and we couldn't come up with the goods. There are a couple of other caches in this large park, but Charlotte was ready to go to the playground by the time we gave up on Yertle. She had a good time here and managed a couple of new things. There was a curved ladder shaped like a roller coaster that she began to tackle and a “climbing mountain” that she managed to get up all by herself, using the little ledges for her hands and feet as she pulled herself up. She wanted me behind her because she climbed pretty high, but I was just there for reassurance and she didn't need my help at all. She also did a great job of balancing along a sort of net made out of chains – repeatedly!  Then she got her hands on my camera and she lost all interest in the playground - she seems to be quite the budding photographer these days!  We were having so much fun at the playground that I forgot to take a waypoint, but it's point no. 75 on the map at the bottom of home page.