70. Ross Park, Vancouver

We finally returned to Ross Park, the little park we discovered a few weeks ago but were swim diaper-less at the time. This time around, Charlotte was ready to go – but to our disappointment, the wading pool was bone dry. Still, there were tons of kids around as there were families having picnics, so it seemed like a fun place to go hang out for a while.  We got off to a slow start - all the kids were bigger and then Charlotte had a small meltdown when she wanted to play with the steering wheel but another kid was using it.  We had to have a discussion...  But eventually, she made some friends and ended up having a good time.  There was very little helicoptering going on here - the picnicking families seemed to be all related to each other and everything was very relaxed.  The really disappointing thing about this playground is how much garbage there was everywhere.  It was really quite disgusting - it was on the grass and it was on the sand around the playground itself.  I was thinking that if I ever organize a CITO, this is where it would be!  There are no geocaches in the park itself, but the "Entrance to Narnia" is just a few blocks to the north.  Sounds like an interesting one to go back for one day!  The playground is located at N 49.13.010 W 123.04.932 and is point no. 70 on the map at the bottom of home page.

54. Bobolink Park, Vancouver

Today we needed a playground not too far off our route from Richmond to North Van - and it had better be a waterpark, given this heat wave! Bobolink Park seemed to fit the bill, but when we got there, we were disappointed to find the wading pool empty. Perhaps it had been drained for the day, but maybe it hadn't been in use at all - it seemed pretty dry. This was disappointing, but Charlotte managed to get in a good play anyway, though I preferred to find a bit of shade on this scorching hot day. There weren't too many other kids playing here, but Charlotte tried to make friends with a couple of crows that were hanging about. She kept asking them to come closer, holding her hands out to them, and was very disappointed each time they flew away! I believe there used to be a very tricky geocache in this park that I never did find. It's gone now though - I'm glad that now I will never have to find it! The park is located at N 49.12.931 W 123.03.376 and is point 54 on the map at the bottom of the home page.

37. Grimston Park, New Westminster

Charlotte had a bad morning.  A very bad morning.  And that meant a bad morning for mum too.  It was just one of those days when nothing went right in two-year-old Charlotte's mind - things just weren't going her way.  Mostly the problem had to do with a certain piece of cheese and it's a long story that doesn't deserve a mention in a playground blog except that it led to mum deciding that a trip to the playground was in order before things got worse.  A little fresh air and a lot of running around would do wonders!

 

If ever you have taken the Skytrain through New West, you will most likely have noticed sloping Grimston Park with its "Welcome to New West" sign.  I have ridden my bike past here a million times and I used to bring Theo here when he was a puppy to wear him out by throwing his ball down the hill.  That's not as cruel as it sounds, it was necessary!  Today, Theo took it easy in the shade - it was Charlotte who needed wearing out.  Someone was exhorting her child not to run (at the playground?!?), but I was encouraging Charlotte to exhaust herself!  Luckily there were lots of things to climb on - and then she discovered the water pump...  This kept her amused for ages as she pumped water, then tried to run around to the front in time to drink some of it as it fell.  She soaked her shirt in no time and so she was soon topless and I was soon making futile attempts to keep her sunscreened up.  She had a great time and the offending cheese was a thing of the past.  We didn't get around to finding the park's geocache, "Pleasant Park, Dirty Deed".  This cache has been in the park for almost nine years and it hadn't been there long when I found it, so I couldn't remember exactly where to look and I didn't have it in my GPS.  We'll have to come back for it in a month or so - by then the wading pool will have opened!  The park is located at N 49.12.118 W 122.56.640:  https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=z7IAXiVD2wGY.ke14vi-3MYtI&pli=1