Summer Park Tour: Sea View Park

Our Summer Park Tour started last week with a stop at Sea View Park.

It was just Franklin, Coco and I, as Vincent was at school with Patrick for Daddy’s Pizza Night. I have driven past this park countless times when schlepping V to school so it worked out well to take the little one there for a quick picnic and play before doing the car/child switch-a-roo with Patrick so that I could help clean up after the event.

Here’s a tip mom’s: when there is an evening event at your children’s school, volunteer for clean up. You get to hang out with a bunch of other moms who are equally exhausted, there is no timeline or pressure to make anything perfect, your husband is doing all the before bed duties, and the kids are asleep by the time you get home. It is almost like a mini vacation.

Back to the park.

This is a tiny park, tucked into a neighborhood, with one tall play structure.

The boys love rock walls. There are two here. Vincent would be so bummed if he knew what he was missing.

I’m lucky that Coco has Vincent’s sweet temperament. She is patient and kind and cautious. Until she hits the playground....then she is fearless...like Franklin. Lord help me.

The spiral slide was at least 8 feet tall. Franklin caught Coco at the bottom, while I helped her at the top. Have I told you I am not a fan of heights?

And here is the view from the park.

Despite the outrageous taxes, high cost of living, horrific traffic and incompetent state government, California has a few redeeming qualities.

Franklin and Colette are developing quite a nice little relationship.

I have decided to keep them.

Back to the park.

Pros

• Two rock climbing walls.
• Rubber playground surface.
• Far enough off the street.
• Slide that can be climbed from the bottom (this is big for Frank)
• Easy parking.
• Quiet.
• Empty!
• Ocean view

Cons

• Really high slide.
• Really high everything. (Coco could not go up by herself.)
• No bathroom.

I have debated how to rate the parks on the SPT...because that is what I debate about now...the merits of one park compared to the next. Sometimes I miss criminal law.

I thought about a star system. But that seems so expected. I thought about using the system I use for new recipes- Excellent, Very Good, or into the trash...because if it isn’t very good or excellent, why bother making it again? This could work for parks. What about letter grades? In the words of Franklin, "Nah."

I settled on a ranking system, based on the park as a whole.

So...Congratulations Sea View Park. You are NUMBER ONE!!!! It doesn’t matter that it is because you are the first park on the SPT. Bask in your glory.