Tuesday, June 19, 2018

snail lake regional park

The first park on our birthday-scouting trip was a flop. Luckily for us, Snail Lake Regional Park (4191 Snail Lake Boulevard, Shoreview) was just a few minutes away.

While I hadn't planned on stopping to this place out, we could see the playground as we drove by and the kids just had to play on it (you know how it goes).


Here's what you need to know:
Parking: Lot
Age range (playground): 1+
Sidewalks: Paved to and around play area
Seating: Benches around play area
Bathrooms: In warming house
Picnic tables: In nearby picnic shelter
Grills: In nearby pavilion
Sports field: Sand volleyball court, trails, and fishing (both shore and off-shore)


The picnic shelter (which is huge) and play area are located in the same direction right off the parking lot (a personal preference). The lake is on one side of the shelter and the sand volleyball court between the shelter and playground.

Although the play area itself isn't shaded, there's ample shading surrounding it. You can pick from sitting on a bench to lounging around in the grass.


Part of the playground has turf flooring while the other part has mulch. The turf is well-worn, but still more ideal than mulch (again, a personal preference).

The playground itself is big. On one end, little tots can peruse without help while big kids can keep themselves entertained on the other. The entire play structure is connected and, if able, your kiddos can navigate the entire thing continuously.


Zoey (17 months) enjoyed the ramps, tunnels, slides, and stairs on her end, as well as the bridges and bigger slides on the other. She's even trying to find her way up curved and rope ladders.

Titus (3) and Madeline (4.5) enjoyed the monkey bars, fireman pole, slides, and variety of climbing challenges on the big-kid half of the playground.


All three kiddos also took time to relax on the swing set, which sits on the far end of the play area. It has a baby swing and regular swings.

Another swing set sits on the opposite side of the play area with a high back and regular swings. Near this swing set is also a pair of spring riders, one double and the other single.


We visited in the morning. Considering school was out and this is a regional park (which means bigger park and, more often than not, more traffic), it had a reasonable amount of traffic (not overwhelming like at Sitzer).


Aside from park traffic, Snail Lake Regional Park is a clean, well-kept, and engrossing park. If you're looking for somewhere to throw a big outdoor party, maybe complete with water-front activities or playground entertainment, it's a worthy contender.

Saturday, June 9, 2018

hamline and hague park

We'd just picked up a shelf for the kids' play room and were looking for a playground pit-stop when we [finally] pulled up to Hamline and Hague Park (1328 Hague Avenue, Saint Paul).

It'd taken us at least two wrong turns and u-turns before we arrived. If anything, this park is accessible but not necessarily easy to find. I suppose you could argue that it's secluded and quiet for that reason.

Or, if you're like me, you'd wonder who in the world makes a park so darn hard to find.


Here's what you need to know:
Parking:  Off-street
Age range (playground): 1+
Sidewalks: Paved to and around play area
Seating: Benches around play area
Bathrooms: None
Picnic tables: None
Grills: None
Sports field: None


As great as Google Maps is (and it really is great!), it's only as helpful as its users are. We drove to Hamline and Hague Park with high hopes it would be loads of fun. It was, after all, a "tot lot," according to its Google description.


Unfortunately for me, there were very few pictures of it available, so I was mainly banking on my past experiences with other tot lots. It would be well-suited for my kiddos' developmental abilities.

Or, as I found out, not.


We parked off-street on the shady side of the park. There's fancy fencing that surrounds most of the street-side play area and regular chain-link fencing on the far end of the park. I appreciated this aspect, as Zo (17 months) is a pro escapist and I'm slower by the day as baby grows.

There are several parts to Hamline and Hague: a sand pit, little kid playground, big kid playground, and swing set.


The sand pit is every parent's dream: it has sand play equipment and sand toys! As in someone left a myriad of trucks, shovels, and other sand toys for park guests to use.

Whoever that was: Thank you! You kept my kiddos entertained, and I am so grateful for that.


The little kid playground is the perfect size for walkers looking for a challenge. Zoey could navigate almost every way up the playground (she needed help on the curved ladder) and did that over and over and over (and over).

This playground also has a couple slides to go down, a raised bridge to traverse, and bells to ring.


The big kid playground is just that: for big kids. Madeline (4.5), our ever clever and able kiddo, had trouble crossing a lot of this play area. Titus (3) didn't even try. It's sized for kids who are at least 5 years or older, as it's pretty much exclusively climbing-oriented.

Features of this playground are netting, raised steps, climbing hoops, and monkey bars.


As is the rest of the park (turf floors included), the swing set is in well-used condition. It features a high back swing, baby swing, and some regular swings. Most of the equipment is worn (except for those tricky climbing obstacles on the big kid playground!).


My kiddos spent most of their time in the sand pit (again: Why do kids love sand so much?!). For that reason, I wouldn't be interested in coming back to Hamline and Hague, since I can find a sand box much closer to home (and much more easily!).

Tot lot doesn't describe this park well, but it's a great stop if you've got experienced spider monkeys.

palace park

Towards the end of May I had a week-long, on-campus residency. Not surprisingly, we were all thrown off-kilter when Friday rolled around the corner.

What was surprising was that it took us almost a week to get back into our venturing groove (I had to recover from adult-life withdrawal!).

Once we were back in the swing of things, we visited Palace Park at Palace Community Center (781 Palace Avenue) in Saint Paul.


Here's what you need to know:
Parking:  Lot
Age range (playground): 1+
Sidewalks: Paved to play area and around facility grounds
Seating: Benches around play area
Bathrooms: Inside community center
Picnic tables: A couple by the building
Grills: None
Sports field: Several on facility grounds


Palace Park sits right behind the community center on synthetic flooring. It spans the length of the building and matches it in quality. From the swings to the seesaw, the playground equipment is in excellent condition.

There is a wide assortment of play equipment: a play area for little kids (1+) and another for big kids (4+). The play areas are stocked with climbing walls, monkey bars, ladders, stairs, and slides.


In the middle of the playground is a wheel that turns. Madi and Titus had the most fun on this play piece.

Next to the big kid playground is a swing set with a hammock swing (always a huge hit with my kiddos), high back swing, and regular swings, and a spinner.


Next to the little kid playground is a swing set with baby swings, a mini seesaw, and a seesaw shaped like a boat. If you forgot to pack water bottles, there's also a couple of water fountains beside the building on the little kid side of the play area.

I was excited at how well-kept the play equipment is (the sports fields also look well-groomed). Even in a highly residential neighborhood, the playgrounds are in great condition.


There were a couple school groups and local guests there during our visit. We even got to see what looked like a middle-school marching band practice in one of the baseball fields!

I have two, in my opinion, minor qualms with Palace Park. The first is that there is absolutely no shade for whoever's in the play area. You'll find plenty of resting space in the shade if you hang out by the building; but if you're playing in the play space, you'd better have plenty of water and sunscreen.


The second is that the synthetic flooring isn't all "stuck." If we touched the flooring with anything sticky (i.e. our arms and legs), we found ourselves covered in little black flecks. While I brushed off these flecks with no issue, my kiddos freaked out because they thought bugs were stuck to them.

If you're looking for a post-modern playground design with an engineering feel, Palace Park definitely fits the bill. You'll appreciate its unique aura and the variety of equipment it provides for your littles.

Monday, June 4, 2018

rondo community library

We did it: We finally checked out the library by the oriental grocer we frequent.

We've been driving by it for six years and all this time I've wondered what it looked like on the inside. It seemed huge: The building in which it sits is a few stories high and there's underground parking for library guests.

That's pretty impressive, if you ask me. This past week we ventured into Rondo Community Library (461 Dale Street North, Saint Paul) to see if it lived up to its looks.


Here's what you need to know:
Parking:  Ramp
Seating: Benches around children's area
Bathrooms: None in children's area
Separate play room: None
Toys: Puppets, trucks, foam blocks, and construction costumes (a jacket and hard hat)

The Rondo Community Library is located right in the hub of Saint Paul. Naturally, we circled the block several times looking for parking.


The first time I parked we were in the back of the library. Unfortunately, it wasn't until we got out of the car that I saw the sign which read that parking lot wasn't for library visitors. Back in the car, another round around the block, and five minutes later we were finally in the library's parking ramp.

Even my kids thought that took ridiculously long.

So here's my first bit of insight if you're going to visit Rondo: Get on Dale Street and turn onto Aurora avenue. Drive behind the library, turn right on Saint Albans Street, and right again onto University Avenue. This'll help you avoid u-turns due to the light rail and bring you right to the parking ramp entrance.


The parking ramp entrance is tricky in itself. An "open" sign is lit beside closed garage doors. The first time I drove by I didn't know if it was really open or not.

The second time I drove by I was lucky enough to be behind someone who knew what they were doing. They drove right up to the closed door which automatically opened for them. I followed and quietly thanked the Lord for sending me some direction.


The ramp is small with narrow parking spots. At the very least, it's free and there's a huge set of windows from the bottom floor of the library letting in light and confirming you're in the right place.

Once inside the building, there's an elevator or flight of stairs you can take to the main floor. We had our wagon with us and opted for the elevator.

After returning our books (at an incredibly slow machine), we found our way to the children's section. It's tiny. There are several rows of fiction picture books and a couple rows of Easy Readers. All non-fiction (including dinosaur books [they had about 9 total]) materials are kept in one area.


There are benches on the enclosed side of the children's area. A shelf sits in another corner, housing trucks, dress up items, and foam blocks. Off by the picture books are a puppet theater and some puppets.

Considering where the library is, I imagine plenty of people come through the library on a regular basis. The books were in the right areas (i.e. Easy Readers were in the same area) but not necessarily organized properly (i.e. the box marked "Disney" had non-Disney books and etcetera).


Right next to the children's area is a well-furnished homework help room. There were several tables, chairs, computers, and staff inside.

As we were browsing, a staff member approached us and informed us about their summer programming. He also helped us find those evasive dinosaur books.


Rondo Community Library is definitely an important resource for its neighbors. I can imagine how central their programs are, especially for kids in the summer who rely on a safe place to be and snacks to get them through their day. This is probably their forte: providing such resources.

We're probably not going to go back considering the lack of play area and unorganized reading materials. Nonetheless, I'm grateful for their work with their surrounding community.