Sunday, January 3, 2021

Lexington Parks - Whitney Young Park




Whitney Young Park (1033 St. Martins Ave)
Location -  off Georgetown Rd, tucked back in a neighborhood
Playground? yes (small)
Trails? yes (paved, but short)

This is a small park, but the boys loved it. No one else was there, so we got to play on the playground. The little boys could go down the curly slide with little assistance (just a stand-alone slide with handles on both sides on the way up).




There was also a dinosaur climber that we've never seen at any other parks in town.



The big boys liked making "courses" for each other on the climbing area.


This was one of the strangest slides I've seen. I'm actually not sure it was a slide -- maybe just something to climb up.


(Note: We have visited 40+ parks in Lexington since the beginning of Covid. These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here) 

Lexington Parks - Dogwood Park


Dogwood Park (2393 Dogwood Trace Blvd.)
Location -  off Harrodsburg Rd, near the Jessamine County line
Playground? yes
Trails? yes (paved and unpaved)


Another great park! There are so many! This one is tucked back in the Dogwood Trace neighborhood. We went on a chilly, wet January day, which meant the playground was unoccupied and ready for some boys to play! 

We try to have towels in the van for wet slides and playground equipment.




He went back and forth on this a dozen times.


After playing for awhile, we walked on the paved loop trail. I love the puddle reflection in this picture...

There was a sign explaining some of the karst topography in this area, resulting in springs. This one wasn't as dramatic as McConnell Springs, but it led us to explore, which led us to an unpaved trail along the creek that we had never noticed before. There's also a geocache right around here.


I love trees along streams of water! Reminds me of Psalm 1. 

"Mom-Mom, what is that?"
"Umm...just like some fabric or something"
"Oh. I thought it looked like an anaconda."

Calvin found a little waterfall. Another benefit of going to a park right after a big rain.

All tuckered out...

(Note: We have visited 40+ parks in Lexington since the beginning of Covid. These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here) 

Saturday, January 2, 2021

Lexington Parks - Valley Park


(I usually get all the boys in the picture, but we forgot to take the picture until we were leaving and Calvin reminded me. Everyone was already buckled in, so the little boys are in the picture indirectly by being in the van)

Valley Park (2077 Cambridge Dr)
Location -  near Preston's Springs Park, off Versailles Rd 
Playground? Yes
Trails? yes (paved and unpaved)

We love this park! We came here often a couple summers ago when there was a free lunch program. Our protocol now is to only play on a playground if no other kids are around. We had driven by this park a week ago and didn't stop since there were a bunch of kids playing. Next time, we may stop anyway because there are other things to do.

Five years ago, there was a wooden playground here, but it's been completely replaced. A lot of the parks in Lexington have these tandem swings:

This is a fun merry-go-round/climbing structure:


One reason I like this park is because the boys can play without me needing to be hands-on all the time. There is a tall slide, but the little boys aren't able to climb the ladder. I remember two summers ago being able to nurse Colson while one-year-old Cooper played. Now they're both playing together!


Carter loves the monkey bars -- using the rungs underneath and climbing on top.

They incorporated some new art features since the last time we were here. I imagine there was a painting day when kids got to contribute their talents. There are 4 long mosaic benches that add color and whimsy.

This day was the first day we explored beyond the playground. Many local parks have creeks, but this one (Wolf Run, I believe) was quite wide.



We were about to turn around and go back when a family pulled into the side parking lot and began walking down a trail in the woods. So, we followed them! (at a safe distance, of course!)

I thought this rocky bank was particularly cool although it was a little slippery.

We saw many ducks on this warm December day.

The path itself wasn't too impressive. There was a pile of about five shopping carts at one point. When the other family emerged, I realized that their intentionality with going straight to the trail was because they were searching for a geocache. Lucas and I used to do this all the time but have fallen out of the habit. They ended up not being able to access it from that angle but found it later at Preston's Springs Park, which connects to this park and follows the same creek and nature area. 

On our way back, we stopped at the small skate park. Colson, whom I had carried for the end of the trail, perked up and ran up and down the ramps.


It was a little windy, and Cooper kept his hand on top of his head to hold his hood in place.

The blue skies and beautiful clouds were so invigorating at the tail end of a gray December. Thank you, God, for the wonders of Your creation! The heavens declare Your glory, and the skies proclaim Your works! (Psalm 19:1)



(Note: We have visited 40+ parks in Lexington since the beginning of Covid. These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here) 

Friday, January 1, 2021

Lexington Parks - Preston’s Springs


Preston's Springs Park (1937 Dunkirk Dr.)
Location -  near Valley Park and McConnell Springs, between Versailles Rd and Old Frankfort Pike
Playground? No
Trails? yes, unpaved

This park is kind of random -- there's a historical marker and a grassy area between a church and a house that leads to the park. There's a bit of trash around, especially at the beginning, but we enjoyed romping around the trails for awhile. We had been at Valley Park, which kind of connects to this one. We had met a family geocaching in Valley Park, but they turned back when they realized that they couldn't access the geocache from where they were.  We later saw them at this park, too.

Here's where the spring comes out of the cave:

Heading down to the creek area...

Lots of vines to climb and swing on...


This is where Cooper became a monkey swinging on the vine. When we got home, I told my husband that Cooper stayed at the park and we brought a monkey home with us. The "ooh-ooh aah-aah" continued all afternoon.

I was mesmerized with this bright green! Isn't it beautiful? It almost doesn't look real. Everything was so brown and dead, but man, that green was vibrant!


Exploring some pathways...

Colson loves picking up rocks to throw in the creek.

Picnic at the end!

I will say that there was a situation that made me uncomfortable, but it may have just been a fluke. While in the middle of our hike, we heard some dogs barking and then realized that they were coming toward us. It's pretty rare around here to see dogs off their leash (except in the enclosed dog parks). There was no owner in sight. I'm not a dog person, and these seemed like especially mean dogs -- a German shepherd and a bulldog. Carter was on a different part of the trail with Calvin (who is terrified of dogs but later said that if he saw them again, he'd fight them with his hands). I was holding Cooper and holding Colson's hand. They got closer but stopped before being in "striking distance." The song that came to mind as I was praying and praising was "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name..."  Soon after that, they turned around and went back the way they came. It took awhile for my heart to return to a normal pattern.  With all that said, we will probably go back because we didn't make it all the way to the end of the park, and I'd like to explore more.


(Note: We have visited 40+ parks in Lexington since the beginning of Covid. These are not meant to be extensive reviews but more a record of our experiences. Eventually I will add hyperlinks to all the blog entries here) 

Tokyo: Out and About

We only had 2 full days in Tokyo. We knew we couldn't see everything, so we did't even try. We got a good taste of the city with Ame...