Finding Our Fun, Part 2

As I mentioned in my last post, I was a little bummed that my two days off after the 4th were a little uneventful.  The pool time was nice but I had really hoped for something more.  Jacob had basketball practice on Tuesday night so it was just Carter and me again.  He was asking about going to a playground, but I was bored by all the ones that were coming to mind.  Then I remembered that there was one near the Seabreeze Amusement Park that I saw a friend post pictures of, and it looked cool.  I figured we could go there, benefit from the lake breeze on a warm evening, and maybe even walk out to the pier nearby.  It was in the same area that Craig and I did our anniversary date many years ago.  I think this playground is relatively new, though.  It's actually a great playground for all ages--they had some great little kid equipment, but the big kid stuff was downright awesome!

First up were these spinning cattails...

Carter had a harder time than I did getting them to spin--I think the higher center of gravity helped--but eventually he was getting me to spin him, which caused my phone to fling out of my pocket every time!

The next thing was perhaps the coolest thing I've ever seen on a playground.  It was like a manual version of the swings you find at an amusement park (which, ironically, we could see spinning across the street at Seabreeze).  They had little discs you sat on, and then an adult would run while holding on to one and get it spinning.  We saw one dad who really had them flying outward.  Initially I was hesitant to get on (until I saw a bunch of other adults riding and felt confident it would hold me), but in the meantime I got better at really getting it moving!

Carter was slowing down quite a bit by the time I took this video, but I wanted to include it just to show what it did.  

It was a really nice night despite the hard rain earlier in the day.  I could tell it might be shaping up to be an interesting sunset with how pretty the clouds and sun were.

The playground had a lot of fun, different features.  I liked the front of the "boat" here.  I think we were so enchanted by the setup and wheel we forgot to climb this part!

There was a little rock wall section that Carter enjoyed (especially since his climbing experience at Dick's a few weeks back), and the area below it had a dial you'd spin until you heard a chime, and then you'd hit one of four buttons to hear a "water" sound--either rain, a creek, a waterfall, or a splash.  I wonder if the turning of the dial "charges" a battery inside just enough to play your selection.  It was neat!
 

The fish to climb was cool (and extra hard if you climbed underneath against the slope), and the best part was that at the top you could see over the brush nearby and into Irondequoit Bay!

The cargo net frog was fun, too.  You can see the main equipment from here--the slides were among the best I've found for big people and there was plenty to climb.

They also had a see-saw, and Carter loved going up and down with me!

He also took pride in making me dizzy on a spinning pedestal seat!

When it became clear that the sun was getting closer to setting, I dragged Carter off on a walk to go watch it from the beach.  As we were walking, I captured this shot of the very pinkish-red sun.

And that's about where my phone died!  Thank goodness I had my camera.  As we walked to the beach I showed Carter the bridge that swings into place in the winter.  It swings to open the waterway in the summer, then closes to connect Irondequoit to Webster much more easily in the winter.  You can see the track used to move it down below.
 

It was a pretty view over the bay opposite the sunset.

I had originally wanted to do the pier, but then got confused on which path went where since they both looked sandy, so we eventually ended up on the beach.  I decided to take off my sneakers, and eventually Carter followed suit.  We walked down toward the water as the sun started disappearing behind clouds.

We stuck our feet into the water, and then into the sand.  The water was cool but tolerable, and the squishy sand felt good!  After a few minutes, the sun peeked back out of the cloud as it set further.

Eventually I realized I could ease my feet all the way into the sand.  Carter thought it was like quicksand, and I guess in many ways it was.  The sand in that spot was so easily infiltrated by the water that everything just sunk.  We have a book about quicksand and it definitely brought it to life a bit.  Carter eagerly sunk his feet in, too, when I showed him how.

After the sun set for good and we'd had our fill of sand, we had to take a few minutes to sit on a rock and brush the sand off our feet so we could put our shoes back on.  It was a bit of a process, and admittedly I ended up with some sort of blistery spot on my toe by the time we got home, probably from a small piece of sand (or more likely zebra mussel shell) getting caught between my toes and rubbing as I walked.  Small price to pay for a fun night, though.

Next we walked all the way down a very long pier.

We passed by a bunch of people fishing and Carter eagerly pointed out things in the rocks and shallow water--some real, some imagined!  He also asked why there was only a guard rail on one side of the pier--a very good question!  Maybe the lake side is too rough for one to stay in place?  Or that's the only side that would have waves to push you over to where you'd need the guardrail?

Looking all the way back toward shore

It was such a nice evening--warm and peaceful.  We were both getting tired and it was getting late, and since I didn't have a working phone I was also eager to get back to the car to charge it and call Craig (which didn't end up working anyway--my charger was acting funny).  But I had promised Carter one thing--that we would get one last ride on the swing thing, which had been heavily occupied for the rest of our time at the playground.  Despite it being nearly dark when we got back, there was still a big group at the playground and one family hogged it for a while.  Luckily it was bedtime for them at 9:20, so they headed out and we hopped on--me included this time!  It definitely took some careful coordination to run and spin it, then hop on without missing a beat.  Somehow I did it without hurting myself, and Carter probably could have spent all night spinning! 

I was actually pretty good with that spin, although on the way home I could feel the head fog I get from motion sickness--it was very similar to how I feel on the rare occasion I get carsick (usually after looking at a phone) or if I go on an amusement park ride that's just a little too spinny.  But it was worth it for Carter's joy.  It truly was the coolest playground equipment we'd ever seen!

The next day, after my first day back at work, Jacob had basketball practice again.  Rather than spend it on the same playground we got rained off of the previous week, we did a couple errands and then took the seven minute drive back to the playground we only got five minutes on, so I could fulfill my promise of getting him back there!

Big surprise, his first stop was on this spinning ride!  This one was a bit much for me, but I did what I could to spin him.

The playground was really cool.  There were lots of different things to climb, and even had challenges for me.  

The big set of ropes and cargo nets (to the right above) was a lot of fun.  It had a "tunnel" of ropes up, and then two different levels with spots to sit.  I absolutely love this shot looking down at Carter from my perch on the top level!

One piece of equipment had plastic bongos, and the thing next to it had two-color cylinders that you could turn to make patterns...or in my case, a secret message!

There was a zipline/tightrope combo, a cargo net to climb, and a bar that Carter did flips on, which you can see him doing below.
 

This was an interesting spot, with a twisting ladder and a curved cargo net.

This flexible surfboard was suspended on both ends and was very hard to balance on.  It took me at least a couple tries to stay on for more than a few seconds, and eventually Carter got it, too!

We had a solid half hour to make up for having to leave the last time, and had a lot of fun before we had to go back and get Jacob.

If that wasn't enough, we went to another playground on Saturday before dinner!  Well, two actually, but they were at the same park.  One looked cool but was busy and a little muddy due to the crazy rain we had this week (Saturday was the one good day in the middle of a lot of rain), so we moved to a smaller one that was empty (and closer to the basketball courts), which made it easier for us to play tag and me to climb.   

First playground, top of the rock climbing tower

Second playground--my crazy climber!

Of course, I wasn't as eager to run and climb this time because earlier in the day I ventured out on a bike ride and made it all the way to Spencerport.  It was a nearly 13.5 mile trip, which was pretty long for my first ride of the year.  But it felt good to be out and getting a workout in the process.  I decided to take the canal path because it was a pretty simple trip, no thinking involved.  It probably wasn't the best call after days of rain because there were a lot of puddles to dodge, but it was manageable.  The last time I went all the way to Spencerport, the bridge was under construction.  This time I crossed over and briefly checked out the main drag in the village.  But knowing my ride was long enough, I headed back pretty quickly.
 

It was a quiet day on the canal, perhaps because it was cloudy--the sun arrived just before I got home--but I did see some kayakers and one small motor boat.  I also saw an inhabitant of my bucket list, one of the rentable houseboats I discovered on our Sam Patch adventure.  I saw one sailing, and right ahead of it were three docked at Spencerport!  They come with bikes and everything, and I desperately want to take the trip up the canal and dock for meals and snacks (and bike rides) at all the little towns!

If you zoom in, you can see the docked boats right near the center of the picture, and the sailing one in the distance behind them.

So...we still haven't had tons of adventure, but I was happy we got out to enjoy some small ones this week.  Now it's back to a full week of work and trying to get into a good groove with summer school.  We dipped our toes in last week but need to get on a real schedule this week.  And, of course, I still need to try to squeak out some time to plan a real vacation, among all these family events and work commitments.  Time to do the impossible!