Pick-A-Park: Valencia Park

Smoke Bomb: "Mommy, can we pick a park today?"  SURE!!

Smoke Bomb reached into our jar and pulled out VALENCIA PARK (1710 S. Kilbourne Rd., Columbia, SC). The City of Columbia describes it as "Ball field, Playground" on their Park Amenities Directory. Vague, right? That's what makes it an adventure!

Smoke Bomb My boss loves picnics. So we took some food with us. Said food was eaten beneath two lovely, enormous Sweetgum trees. The Sweetgum seed pods make for an interesting childhood discovery and a moment for learning through investigation. Together we learned there is no seed inside the Sweetgum spiky ball thing, but instead the whole thing IS the seed. My bloody fingers are evidence of our investigation. 

Next up, the playground. The playground at this park brings into question what the City of Columbia considers a "playground." There was two swings and a spring rocking horse. Both swings were baby swings (which is fine for us); however, one was missing the safety chain, so a skilled swinger could use it. Now, my little man LOVES to swing, but he made do with the rocking horse while I cleaned up our picnic.

Smoke Bomb rocking out!

This is the entire playground

You can barely see the rocking horse in the background.

Despite the pitiful playground, Valencia Park has a great baseball field. It appears to be regularly maintained. The grass is flat and mostly green. There isn't any grass in the infield sand. There is a building for selling concessions, bathrooms, announcers booth, dugouts and bleachers. I'm interested to find out when a game might be held there. I bet it would be free to attend as well. Hmmm...

Baseball Field

Smoke Bomb at the plate

A multipurpose field!

This park was okay. It certainly was clean! Luckily, Smoke Bomb is really into baseball these days and appreciated the ball field. Hopefully, I will post about this park again, but from the viewpoint of seeing a free/cheap baseball game!

FULL DISCLOSURE: Smoke Bomb and I have been to this park before with Grandpa. There was an additional rocking car thing back then. It was not there today.

HAVE GOOD ADVENTURES! 

Pick-A-Park: Our Plan of Attack

Every good adventure starts with a plan!

Our goal is to tackle the parks of Columbia, SC. There will be no slide un-slid. No monkey bars un-monky-ed. No grass untrampled. For we will see them all!

First, I need to make it fun for a toddler.

Upcycle an old canister.

Add slips of paper with various parks.

Let toddler choose one.

ADVENTURE!

Now, let's pull in some math skills! *Did I mention my husband and I are teachers*  I've printed a map of the local parks for us to find and mark off as we visit them. 

We are set! Let the park picking begin!

Why am I blogging?

Columbia, SC is relatively small (est. pop. 129,000) compared to say New York, NY (est. pop. 8,175,000) or Tuscon, AZ (est. pop. 520,000). Still, I cannot say that I have seen it in its entirety. However, I find myself constantly asking the same question,

"What is there to do today?"

I am *mostly* a stay-at-home mom. My child boss keeps me busy. He is constantly seeking enjoyment out of life. I feel an obligation to fulfill his need. However, entertainment is hard to come by in a city like Columbia, SC. Our Riverbanks Zoo and SC State Museum memberships get old after a while - even to a toddler. However, I remain confident that these memberships are a family's must-haves.

This blog will detail our journey through Columbia, SC seeking adventure and new places - on the cheap. ;)

Let the fun begin!