Thursday, June 4, 2009

Shorebird Park @ Berkeley Marina 6/10

Last weekend on a whim we decided to head over to the playground in Shorebird Park @ Berkeley Marina. Holly had been sleeping in the car and just woke up and wanted to get out and play around.The park is located next to the Adventure Playground, a play where you can build forts and other cool things for older kids. We had driven by before and figured we should check it out.I love this picture... It is totally true, Holly was too little for this park, well I don't suspect she will need to be 5 before playing and having fun here, she already had a lot of fun, but perhaps if she was 2-3 she would get a little more out of it.There were two large play structures one with very high twisty slides, and another with a tub slide. Holly may be able to go down the tube slide soon, but not on her own yet. We are trying to teach her to not dig in her heels and keep her feet up as she slides.There was a cool bridge that she crawled across, and it was fun for her to try and keep her balance and climb to her Daddy. She enjoyed climbing and even tried to go up the wall.It was a very windy day and we had Holly bundled up, at least for California standards, she didn't even try to take her hood off once. I think it was so cold and windy because we were right on the water.After climbing around she headed over to the swings. She always loves a good swing especially when she has her Daddy, he makes funny faces at her and tickles her and she loves that.It's so fun going to the park with Daddy because it give me a little break and he gets to run around after her and entertain her. I get to take lots of fun pictures too without worrying about her safety.The other good thing about it is that we can tag team her. While she crawls one way, I can follow her, and Joel can spot her and catch her when needed, this works great when we are at parks that have good slides for her.After Holly finished swinging, she swung in Daddy's lap, which was so adorable and cuddly, he was keeping her warm, and they enjoyed swinging. We were there a very short time, but it was fun.Slides - 1/2 - There were three great slides, but none that Holly could do on her own.

Swings - 1 - Yes

Surface - 1/2 - It was sand, so that wasn't too bad, but it wasn't my favorite surface.

Shade - 1/2 - It was windy, so some sunshine would have been nice, I think there was some shade, but we had no problem trying to get out of the sun.

Climbing - 1/2 - She did have some fun stuff to climb on, and the bridge was cool.

Parking - 1/2 - Just across the way from the park, not the closest, but not too far.

Bathrooms - 1 - Yes, near by, there is also a nature center, but it was closed at the time.

Distance - 1 - Less then ten minutes from home at the Berkeley Marina.

Friends - 0 - There were no other kids, perhaps on a warmer day there would be more people.

Fun - 1/2- We had fun, more fun will be had when she is older.

http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=12876


2 comments:

joeld42 said...

I really liked this park. It had a cool nautical theme (one of the climbers looked like a boat) and great views of the bay.

The play structures were pretty self-contained so Holly could do a lot of exploring independently.

It would be a great place to come back for a picnic.

CarolineThomas said...

Hmm a picnic sounds lovely! It looks like a very pretty park with very nice views but it doesn't look like a Californian day weather wise at all! It looks cold and windy. Holly is the only baby I have ever seen in my life that will keep a hood up! She rocks!

I love a park that has a theme. Nautical sounds fun. I still like the look of the fairy castle park the best so far though. Looked like you had a lot of fun.