And We are DONE!

April 11 marked the one year anniversary of our Park Quest. After reading some inspirational outdoor articles, we decided to venture to visit as many parks in the area as possible, the first goal was 50 between April and August. This goal quickly evolved to as many as we could over the course of a year.

Crescent Lake 

This is what we learned:

1. There was no way to get 50 parks in 4 months unless both of us would have been unemployed and wanted to do nothing else but go to parks. We covered 36 parks in one year which breaks down to about 3 parks a month. Even that was tough. Imagine there are 4 weekends in every month, if we only went on weekends, which we didn't but that could have been an activity planned for 75% of weekend time in one month.

   

   Albert Whitted Airport Park

2. Not all parks are created equal. Based on my experience I can say that the city of St. Petersburg seems to work hard on maintaining these community spaces, but if you have just one afternoon in the area there are several parks I would recommend over others. The definition of park is even different for each consumer. As a young family a park usually has a playground, but for a hiker, runner or biker a park has a host of trails to explore, or perhaps for a tourist may just want to sit and see the water. I can provide lists for each of these. 

   

   Myrtle Beach City Park

3. Sand sucks unless on a beach. 

   

   Northshore Park 

4. Fenced in playgrounds are great for parents who want to zone out. 

   

   North Straub Park for Tree Lighting

5. Always take water or a drink with you. I can't remember if all the parks have water fountains but I don't recommend using the ones I do remember. Creatures live in these parts.

   

   Philippe Park in Safety Harbor

6. Don't be afraid to drive a little longer to see something new. We live such rushed lives that if we carve in time to go to a park, we tend to go to the closest because it's easiest when in fact there may be something new to do just minutes a way. 

   

   Hammock Park in Dunedin

7. There is a ton more to see!

   

   Boyd Hill in St. Petersburg

We are so lucky to live in a truly gorgeous part of the country. The weather, of course, is typically amazing, so even on the coldest of days it is great to be outside and we have a ton of options to chose from in the Tampa Bay area. Even though the Park Quest itself is complete, I will continue to share new parks when we get to them, one at a time.