Different Park

Cedar Park is a fairly by the books suburb, which can be both boring and an opportunity. Some of it is decades old and some is new, but most was laid down in the 1980s and 1990s when the suburbs had a very consistent plan of every neighborhood having a park which means there are probably 40+ city parks between Cedar Park and Leander. As noted in this blog back in 2018 I went to many of these parks with Luna trying to find a good shade path to walk on, but now that Finn is of the age to enjoy a slide I have had a new mission this year to explore as many of these parks with him as possible. And so for the last three months (except for three weeks around my conference) I have taken Finn to a new park every weekend to give him good time outside and to explore the free resources of my community. 

Prior to getting into this mission I would always go to the same parks with Finn: either the new park with the pond or the old Williamson County park where I got him walking early this year. But eventually the new park outside of the dog area became a liability because he would see the splash part and only want to do that, and the Williamson County park doesn't even have swings to use. One day this Spring with Luna riding along on the way from the big dog park we stopped at a park we never went to before and had a blast just running around, and in a post-Luna world I am seeking more of those bonding experiences. 

Most of the community parks are very similar with a few variations: some have a swing set and some don't, almost all have a jungle gym with a slide, some have other play areas like volleyball courts or if we are lucky a walking trail. Some have tables that make it easy for Finn to sit and eat, others have shade to make the whole experience more pleasant.  With some the equipment is old and falling apart some, obviously not upgraded since the 1990s when the park was made. Other parks have new equipment or arrangements that make them fun to explore. As we go to each we try to explore what they have, and I take notes which ones will have more for him when he is older and which ones are safe for him to play on with less supervision today. A few have stood out, including one with a hidden path that took you to a gazebo with horseshoes, or another with a cool bridge that Finn had fun yelling off of. But for the most part they are all very similar to the shade park I found with Luna back in 2018, just older. 

What has stood out in our adventures is how empty the parks has been when we find them, almost like living in a post-apocalyptic movie. Usually Finn has the whole jungle gym to himself, sometimes there is a single other kid sharing the space. At one particular park a few weeks ago a nice woman was there with her daughter and Finn really liked her. He grabbed her finger and walked her around the small park talking to her the entire time. She was a great sport about it and even got her daughter to help him go down the larger slide. But except for that one time usually its Finn and myself alone the whole time, which is both cool because its good bonding time but also kinda freaky how peaceful each park is.

Last week Finn helped me get a new hard to get iPhone and on the way I went to an Austin park that I have seen on the map before right below Lakeline to try what the other side is like. This park certainly had more people, and a more diverse group of people, than we see at the Cedar Park parks. But the layout was terrible and the equipment was very run down, reminding me of the park in New Orleans I would often visit as a kid. It made me realize how good we had it, and inspired me to eventually get to the point where we have seen everything Cedar Park has to offer before he turns three. 

Even with a new park a weekend I feel like we have months of weekends left, which means a lot of good bonding time for us as we search for yet another different park.