Archive for the 'Fun' Category
My Friend’s Place Playground, South Windsor
What a nice day yesterday! With temperatures in the 50s on the first day of February, Ellen and I decided to find a new playground to explore. We ended up at My Friend’s Place in South Windsor at the Parks & Recreation Department.
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 slides
Location: 150 Nevers Road, South Windsor; there is onsite parking.
Hours: Dawn to Dusk
My Friend’s Place is an expansive play area with multiple playscapes, numerous other features, and more rubber chips than I have ever seen in my life. Lots of opportunity for fun, but adults need to keep a close eye on their youngsters as the perimeter is open and the largest playscape is set on a lower level than the rest of the equipment.
Playscapes: There are two primary playscapes at the playground. A smaller piece seems perfect for the 2 – 4 year old set, while a larger one is clearly designed for older children.
Swings: Two sets of swings provide plenty of opportunities. The first has the three infant swings and an oversized safety swing. The second has four traditional swings, a tire swing, and another oversized safety swing.
Other Stuff: There are lots of interesting play stations spread throughout the playground. There is a music area with oversized xylophones to bang with mallets. There are what appear to be sensory tables that can be filled with sand or other materials. There are two teeter-totters of different styles, and there is a covered picnic area with garden seating area.
Facilities: I did not see any outdoor facilities, and must confess that we did not go exploring in either the Parks & Rec building or baseball field Press Box building. My bad – anyone know if there are bathrooms at this place?
Social Opportunities: High. We saw lots of other kids and parents on our visit and everyone seemed quite friendly. Since it’s a primary park in town, and is easily accessible with its own parking lot, I would expect it to be a popular destination.
Potential for Escape: Medium/High, since it’s completely unfenced. The good news is that the road is very far away, and even the parking lot is a good distance. My main concern with the setup was that the large playscape at the lower level is separated from the rest of the playground by a four foot retaining wall with a metal fence on top (to keep kids from falling). Ellen was on the upper level to (supposedly) go down the slide that feeds down to the lower level. She chose to run in the other direction, so I had to choose between going 100 feet in either direction to go around the fence or climb up the slide to chase her. Fortunately nobody was on the slide and I was able to take the shortcut up.
Related Posts:
Bushnell Park Playground, Hartford
Mikey’s Place Playground, Wethersfield
South Quaker & Flatbush Playground, West Hartford
Playground Review: Elizabeth Park, Hartford
Sledding in Hartford: Elizabeth Park
Elizabeth Park has a popular sliding hill just to the east of Prospect Avenue, and just south of Asylum Avenue in Hartford.
Though not very long, the steep embankment always draws a crowd in fresh snow and makes for an exciting run. There is even an opportunity for a jump at the bottom of the hill when crossing over the gravel path that circles this portion of the park.
Hidden Houses
Down this nondescript, unpaved driveway are three hidden houses. Other than the small sign to the right of the driveway, you would never know it from the road.
All three of the hidden homes were built in the early 1900s, which makes them a little newer than the properties along the road. The visible homes almost all date back to the 1800s.
These hidden homes all have a very secluded feel even though they’re quite central in Greater Hartford. We’ve been back there a few times and have been impressed by how quickly you forget that you’re in the middle of a City. Part of it is the lot sizes, giving the homes nice spacing from each other, but it’s also due to the large park that is adjacent to the two homes in the rear.
Related Posts
A Hidden House
Parks and Rec
This morning I was at a local town hall visiting the Assessor and Building departments when I saw the sign below. Unfortunately I did not see Ron Swanson or Leslie Knope. This saddened me. And now I feel like I need to eat some breakfast meat.
A Hidden House
Ever since we lived in the Boston area, I have been interested in homes that were set back off the road on a lot that doesn’t have any real street frontage. I like to call them hidden houses. Take a look at this picture, can you see the house tucked between and behind the two on the street?
What I find interesting about hidden houses is that they each have an interesting story. How did they get there? Are they newer or older than the houses that surround them? If they’re newer, when did they get built and how was the building lot created?
There are many hidden houses in Greater Hartford if you know where to look. Our first example, in the above picture, is in the northern part of West Hartford. It was built in 2002, and is much newer than the 1950s vintage homes that surround it. The lot is just over an acre, large for West Hartford, and is set in the middle of an oversized block just off Main Street. Two other homeowners control an additional 2.1 acres (combined) of undeveloped land adjacent to this property.
It looks like this home is a very private set-up, yet still in a convenient location within town. The lot has its own driveway, which appears to be an easement over the home on the left’s property. And the undeveloped land behind the home probably gives it a really different feel from your typical West Hartford property.