Updates coming!

Winter is here and we don't go to as many playgrounds as we use to. BUT I should be working on getting those updated playgrounds into a print format for those people who have purchased Playgrounds of the North Shore.

Well, I have finally started working on them and my editor (wife) is currently going over them and I should have them posted this weekend I hope.

First up will be those five playgrounds I missed in Gloucester:

Babson Playground

Brown's Field

Edward "Gint" Middleton Playground

Ganine Nancy Doucette Playground

Joseph Palazola Playground

Next up will be Action Cove in Newbury and the ONE playground I missed in my own hometown of Salem, Mary Jane Lee Playground.

Science Museum of Minnesota

Way back in the summer we went to Minneapolis. We stopped off at the Science Museum and explored this great new museum along the Mississippi River.

In their temporary-under-construction exhibit area was a Geometry exhibit. In there, was this:



This is one of the new structures put out by Landscape Structures (also based in Minneapolis). Pretty cool as it is, but put it into a building where you don't expect it and WAY COOL!!

Hmm. . . putting something in a playground that you wouldn't expect to be there and it makes it that much better. That's an idea.

Another Missing one

AND THIS ONE IN MY HOMEBASE of Salem!!


Mary Jane Playground
This playground is located in the Point Neighborhood on the corner of Prince St. and Palmer St. It's a medium to large. modular playground that has some fun stuff. The only problem is it has a lot of trash strewn about, and some of it glass. There's also vandalism and graffiti on some of the equipment.

There are a lot of nice picnic tables, most of them in the shade, a blacktop, and basketball court. Best of all, a drinking fountain.

The community has been doing a great job with keeping this park in the best condition they can, but it still can use some more help.

Rating: TWO STARS (out of five)

Playground Injury

Last May, a child at Center School Elementary, Peabody, fell from a playground slide and severely broke his arm. This has spurred an increase in playground training in the Peabody school system.

A good thing, and one that is suppose to be in place at all schools anyways.

Salem Common

Okay. So it has been awhile since I have posted anything. But here is sometehing.

I've mentioned this committee before. It is one that formed to help create a new playground at the Salem Common. Here's the present tot lot:


Simple and clean, old wooden structure with what looks like- appropriately although maybe not be appropriate - a gallow, a slide and some swings. There used to be some wooden benches around that MASSIVE, shady maple tree but they were falling apart and had to take them away. They just recently put in the wood chips. It used to be small stones . . . not the best for mouthy tots.

Anywhoo, the committee is having a raffle on October 30th, with all proceeds to benefit the new playground that they hope to have installed sometime in Spring 2008.

Details:
Ticket cost $20, Drawing will take place at 6 p.m. on October 30 at
the Common. You do not need to be present to win.

First prize: 32" LCD high-def. wall-mountable television
Second prize: 2 nights at the Salem Inn
Third Prize: one year membership to BJ's

Contact Katya for tickets: katyusha@comcast.net

What are the plans for the new playground? I don't know yet but will try and find out.

Pratt School in Minneapolis

Here's another one. This is at Pratt School, also in Southeast Minneapolis. The manufacturer is my favorite, Kompan. They have such unique structures. We've been to this one before and it used to have this giant web strung between the two structures. Unfortunately, it is now gone. Oh oh.

The other notable thing about this playground is the ground cover. They have layed down a layer of that fancy chopped-up-rubber-tire stuff. Very cool.


Rating: Three stars

Luxton Park in Minneapolis

We took a trip to Minneapolis last week to visit Obaachan (grandma). We stopped off at a non-descript playground in Luxton Park in SE Minneapolis. They still loved it since it was a playground. Just old, and the playground wasn't that clean. They do have a small, public wading pool with a spouting water fountain.

Rating: Three stars

Hershey Park, PA

Okay, this isn't really an official playground, but this water park was just so outrageously insanely cool!

This is the water park that opened this year at Hershey Park, PA.

The structure must go up 10 stories and there are a couple of water slides that start from up there! Of course, we never did any of them because it was a 20-minute wait to go down it. . . lines were everywhere.

Anyway, it was really neat and water was spraying everywhere including a GIAGANTOUS bucket at the top of the structure that literally DUMPS hundreds of gallons of water on to the people below!!! There were hoses all over the structure where you could maliciously spray other water park goers with. . . it was an invitation to be mean and annoying. That was fun.

Franklin Lakes, New Jersey

Last week we went on a family vacation to Hershey, PA. Didn't get to see a lot of playgrounds because of the tight schedule (why do we have to have such a tight schedule?), but we did stop at one that was uneventful other than the cool ground cover. Ripped apart tires. It's the same stuff they use at fancy horse runs at some stables. Cushy stuff! Much softer than anything around. Of course it's really expensive.

Anyway, the playground was at Blessed Sacrament Elementary School in Franklin Lakes, NJ.

Parents and Kids Magazine

I just received an August copy of Parents and Kids Magazine from their editor, Heather Kempskie, with a nice handwritten note on the cover saying "enjoy Pg. 3!"

Hey! That's my book!

They were generous enough to include Playgrounds of the North Shore, 2e, in their August PK Picks book recommendation section.

Yeah. The first publicity for the second edition.