Lakewood: Madison Park

This was my first time at Madison Park and it was awesome! It was very new and some of the rides you haven't experienced before. There were some things that really didn't even have a name. Like there was a lumpy, teeter-totter thing that bounced up and down. One side went up and the other side went down. It felt good on my back when someone else was bouncing it up and down. There was also a twirly, tire swing thing. You just sit down and someone pushes you around in circles. When I went on, my dad pushed me around in circles. It made me feel dizzy!

There were three good slides. An orange one, a green one and a blue one. They were big and they would go twisty turvey. They had climbing ropes and then there was another thing that was a big tube with squares that you could climb up to the top on. I loved the zip line. All you had to do was push forward and hang on and it made me go side to side.

The ground is made out of melted rubber, so if you fall, you really won't get hurt. Madison park is also right next to the library. There's also a pool and a concession stand. There's a soccer field and tennis courts. They're also growing a garden right in the middle of the park! There were a lot of kids there, since it was a new park. I give this park three out of three swings.



Here I am on the zip line. Tony is behind me on the twirly, tire swing thing.

(Dad's note: there were some rowdy early-teens that were rough housing on the equipment, and I had to ask them to settle down. There are also a LOT of police video cameras around the park and playground, so interpret that how you will.)

Memorial Day: Lakewood Park

I used to go to school by Lakewood Park at a place called Holy Family. Sometimes, after snack and if it was warm outside, we would go to Lakewood Park. We visited Lakewood Park on Memorial Day. There are lots of things to do. My favorite things to do at Lakewood Park are the jumping off the tire swing and swinging on a rope across the big tires. I love the orange slide and climbing the tires. The park is on Lake Erie and you can walk right down to the water!

Lakewood Park is huge compared to other parks. The playground equipment was pretty big. You could probably get lost in that if it was really busy! The equipment was also unique, which means different from other parks. Most of the park was clean, except the corners had wrappers there, like gum and candy wrappers. There was a water fountain and bathrooms close by, but the water fountain had wood chips in it and water couldn't drain. There are pavilions with tables for places to eat. There's also a pool nearby and a concessions stand if you want hot dogs, candy or chips and sometimes ice cream.

I was sad because they took down the tire swing and another tire ride that bounces. Those were some of my favorite rides. My brother, Tony, said the park was in disrepair, which I think means they took stuff down over the winter and didn't put it back up. I remember the first time I went to this park, and it was fun, but now there is too much broken. Lakewood Park gets two out of three swings.