Picnic at the Park

One benefit of not having any firm schedule is that we can take advantage of a beautiful day when it comes. Today was one such day, high of 65 and sunny, so we packed a picnic lunch got on our bikes and rode to Henri Dunant Park, which is less than 3 miles away and has a lot to offer.First of all, it is home of the Speelpark the Splinter, amazing collection of play areas, I wish every kid had access to. There is something for everybody and enough to keep everybody busy. I think it stimulates kids any age to be active, engages all muscles and promotes coordination and balance development and more. We spent most of the day there today, and still did not visit all the areas (that is why some pictures are from another day:-).

Right by the entrance, there are giant checker boards on the ground as well as smaller boards on tables. There are ping-pong tables, soccer field and a big climbing tower with a slide. There is even a little workout area for the kids to enjoy.And yes, all the accessories such as balls, checkers, ping pong paddles are available to borrow.

Then there is a an area for younger kids with merry-go-rounds, swings, slides and various climbing structures. Walk a little further and you get into a large picnic area, surrounded by more play options: giant castle, giant lego bricks,  teater-totters, swings and more climbing structures. There is also a hammock to rest while the kids play, Sylvia and I enjoyed the sun in it for a while.

On the other side is a rope course, pretty challenging even for older kids, Timmy and Phillip love to climb there,  Sylvia prefers the  tall climbing hill and structure with spider net ladder right next to it.

And of course you cannot forget the zipline!

But that is not even close to all. There is also a petting farm, with goats, pigs, lamas, donkeys and more, including free ranging chickens, peacocks and ducks.

Next there is an area where kids younger than 6 need a parent to enter. At first you are not sure why, as there is a giant climbing ship, fun, but nothing dangerous. Well, if you continue a little behind the ship, you come to the reason.

There is an obstacle course, but with an added fun feature: water hazard:-) The kids love it, Timmy calls it the ninja warrior course. Timmy is too short to stand on the lower rope and hold on to the higher one, so he just hangs on the tall one shimmies across.

Today we found the spinning area, there are several spinning structures, including a giant saucer on its side. You can walk on it to spin it, you can also hang on the side as somebody else walks to spin it. It is great for balance and coordination and of course a lot of fun. I am in love with this park and wish is was everywhere and accessible to all kids. There is also a big splash pool, the kids really hope it will be filled before we leave.

The Henri Dunant Park has more though, we still have not see it all. It is great for a nice walk wit a lot to keep the kids busy along the way. There is another zipline, giant spiderweb, with a smaller twin next to it for less adventurous kids, more playgrounds, interesting rockets-like sculpture and plenty more. I am sure this was not the last time we visited.