There's a big playground with swings and all sorts of things to climb on, which A really loves. But the special thing is the skate park section.
Check out C's red and sweaty face - that photo is from our first visit. It's a small half pipe type of structure, where kids like to race from side to side and bounce off the walls.
There's also an area with what looks like a series of dry wading pools, set in a circle with shallow trenches to connect. The cement is smooth and it's a great place to practice skating.
On Friday night we went on the late side - we didn't get there till almost 8 pm - and the place was full but not crowded. We met a really nice 9 year old kid from Lebanon whose English was amazing although he protested that assessment and was shocked that we don't know Arabic. We swapped stories about home and played around. J and C brought their skateboards. Their goal is to get good enough to tackle the half pipe, but they have a long way to go.
On Saturday we got smart and picked up a bucket of chicken at KFC as soon as the restaurants opened and had a picnic dinner there. That gave us plenty of time to eat and play before bedtime. It was almost empty - school night - but the cats certainly noticed us. Stray cats are everywhere here, and as soon as we pulled out the chicken a kitten found us. It was very friendly though (the older ones are quite shy) and it hung out with us for most of the evening.
Relax, mom. J put on his helmet right after I took the photo. See all those pads? These are the ONLY two kids in the park with any padding or safety gear whatsoever (good American kids who live in a protective bubble) but they don't complain. They're just so psyched they get to skateboard. C, of course, has tested every piece of padding.
The family park also has a dirt bike track with jumps and lumps to go over on bikes, which hopefully we'll try out another time. There's a reasonable chance we'll end a trip to the family park with a trip to the ER, but that's just life with boys. I figure the stitches are inevitable even with the standard American helmet and full body pad precautions; you may as well pick the venue.
