Parks!

 

Court Park in Playa Vista (photo courtesy of the fabulous GoPlayinLA.com)

It has come to my attention that parks are awesome. Therefore, I must organize our park outings. (That's just how I roll.) I hereby declare Tuesday to be Park Day. We have two wonderful wonderful neighborhood parks in walking distance--El Marino in Culver City and Court Park in Playa Vista--but in addition to having a base in the community, I love to go further afield. Actually, I want to start building parking outings and nature walks into our system so that I can work our way up to hikes at Malibu Creek State Park, and then Inyo National Forest and Devil's Postpile National Monument (I have many memories of visiting Mammoth as a kid), and eventually an annual trip to a National Park, aka America's Best Idea. (My paternal grandparents were teachers; they alternated summers of teaching summer school and taking their kids out west to the National Parks, a tradition I'd love to incorporate with our family as well!)


Anyway, in the interests of eventually getting to Yellowstone, here's the tentative schedule I worked out:

* 10/11 - Culver City: Carlson Park
* 10/18 - Culver City: Lindberg Park
* 10/25 - Culver City: Blair Hills Park
* 11/1 - Culver City: Fox Hills Park
* 11/8 - Culver City: Syd Kronenthal Park
* 11/15 - Culver City: Culver West Alexander Park
* 11/29 - Marina del Rey: Glen Alla Park
* 12/6 - El Segundo: Recreation Park
* 12/13 - Manhattan Beach: Polliwog Park
* 12/20 - Palos Verdes: South Coast Botanical Gardens (FREE, third Tuesday of the month)
* 1/3 - Westwood: UCLA Sculpture Garden & Mildred Mathias Botanical Garden
* 1/10 - Westwood: Aiden's Place
* 1/17 - Beverly Hills: Coldwater Canyon Park
* 1/24 - Beverly Hills: Greystone Park
* 1/31 - North Marina del Rey: Del Rey Lagoon Park

Other parks of interest, dates and times, TBD: Mar Vista Rec Center, Franklin Canyon Park, Crestwood Hills Park, Palisades Park, Lake Balboa, Blanco Park, Culver City Park, Exposition Park Rose Garden, Watts Towers, Gateway Plaza Fanfare Fountain

Plus a list of suggestions from the Peachhead group:

• Ballona Wetlands, Lincoln Blvd. & Jefferson Blvd., LOS ANGELES 90094
• Brookside Park (Reese's Retreat), 360 N. Arroyo Blvd., PASADENA 91103
• Cal Tech Campus Gardens, 1200 E. California Blvd., PASADENA 91125
• Central Park at Playa Vista (Playground), 12045 Waterfront Dr., LOS ANGELES 90045
• Christine Emerson Reed Park,1133 7th St., SANTA MONICA 90407
• Debs Park (Audubon Center), 4700 North Griffin Ave. LOS ANGELES 90031
• Del Rey Lagoon Park, 6660 Esplanade Place, LOS ANGELES 90293
• Descanso Gardens, 1418 Descanso Dr., LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE 91011
• Douglas Park, 25th St. & Wilshire Blvd., SANTA MONICA 90403
• Exposition Park, 700 Exposition Park Dr., LOS ANGELES 90037
• F.E. Hopkins Wilderness Park, 1102 El Camino Real, REDONDO BEACH 90277
• Franklin Canyon Park, 2600 Franklin Canyon Dr., BEVERLY HILLS 90210
• Huntington Botanical Garden (Children's Garden), 1151 Oxford Rd., SAN MARINO 91108
• Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area, 4100 S. La Cienega Blvd., LOS ANGELES 90056
• Lacy Park, 1485 Virginia Rd., SAN MARINO 91108
• Live Oak Park (Tot Lot), 1601 Valley Dr., MANHATTAN BEACH 90266
• Orange County Great Park, Sand Canyon Ave & Marine Way, IRVINE 92618
• Polliwog Park, 1601 Manhattan Beach Blvd., MANHATTAN BEACH 90266
• Temescal Canyon Park, 15601 Sunset Blvd., LOS ANGELES 90272
• Valley Park, Valley Dr. & Gould Ave., HERMOSA BEACH 90254
• Vincent Lugo Park, S. Ramona St. & Wells St., SAN GABRIEL 91776
• West Bluffs Trail, 1 Westbluff, LOS ANGELES 90293
• Will Rogers State Park, 1501 Will Rogers State Park Rd., LOS ANGELES 90272