Pirate Cove

This week we had a playdate scheduled in Union City at a place called pirate Cove Park. As you can see the little park is shaped like a Pirate Ship. What was nice about this park was that the ground was that soft rubbery stuff rather then sand, dirt, or wood chips.

It was a pretty warm day here in Berkeley and Holly was wearing one of her new Spring /Easter Dresses. But by the time we got to the park, even though it was very sunny the wind was blowing strong, so i put some tights and a sweater on her. Also I had to make sure she had her sun hat, because even though it felt chilly by now, the sun was high in the sky and I didn't want her little noggin to get burned.

We left home around 10:30 for a Noon plat date because I was planning on stopping at two different locations to pick up Craigslist items down near there. We found the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Superstar stage, which she loves for only 15$ an it normally retails for about 45$ She has played with this at Chloe's and loves the little mirror, will play the music and then kiss herself. Some might find it annoying but it continues to play songs sporadically for several minutes which she really likes and also re-engages her if she has wondered away from the toy.

The other item we picked up was a "Learning Computer" I haven't really busted it out yet, but found it at target for 41$ and we got it for 104 What is neat about it is it is a little Baby KeyBoard with shapes and some large Letter Buttons that fits on top of a normal grown-up keyboard. it domes with a CD with games on it, but mostly I wanted it for the keyboard. using it, Joel can figure out how it activates the keys below and then he can write his own computer games for Holly. So While it might be fun in its own right, in a little bit when she is old enough for it, it can be a prototype for Daddy games too.

We ended up arriving at the park a little late, it was about 12:20. Holly was supposed to nap in the car on the way up from 10:30-12:00 but she woke up late, around 9:00 and she refused to fall asleep. She also didn't want to drink her bottle with Motrin. Each time i stopped at a different location I would give it to her and she would drink a few sips or maybe an ounce and then push it away. For the most part she was content in the carseat and "rested" but never fell asleep.

The park had some neat climbing structures and a slide that I was able to put her on and hold her as she slide down, and that she tried to climb back up.

It also had a large area for her to crawl around and a few places where she could pull up, but overall it was not super "baby" friendly. the ship itself has a lot of openings on the platform, so while I followed her and let her climb up, there were gaping wholes she could have leaned back and fell through, so I didn't really let her stay up there and she couldn't really explore or wander on her own.

Then back on the floor there were a few non safe items like the end of a broken balloon which she picked up and I was able to take from her just before she put it in her mouth, so I had to watch her like a hawk and be at her side every second, which isn't her favorite thing. She likes the freedom to explore.

But I think for me the worst part of the day is that non of the other mom's showed up. 3 other's RSVP'd yes and then there were 3 maybe's In the post we talked about sitting in the grass on a blanket with the other babies and letting the older kids play. I think with the distraction of other kids she would have had more fun and not been so intent on exploring in ways that was not safe. But I was there from 12:20 - 1:10 and then left. Maybe they arrived earlier and left because it was so windy, or maybe they were all really late. But I was the only one in the park.

I got some cute pictures, but having to be just around the corner anyway to pick up the craigslist items made it worth it, it wouldn't have been worth the drive for just this park. Though I imagine when she is older things like the bars and peep hole and climbing wall and twisty slide will be a lot of fun.