Century Park-Greer, SC

In our latest outing my wife Meredith and I coaxed Liv into the car (with promises of swings and bouncing) and we headed out to Century Park in Greer.  It's not too far from our house, about a 15 minute drive, which Liv will tolerate as long as we sing to her and keep her supplied with juice and snacks. I had never been and am always interested in adding another park to the rotation. 

When you pull in to Century Park the first thing that you notice is the absolute crap-load of playground equipment. I know that may not be the most eloquent way to describe it, but when we pulled up I actually said "Man that's a crap-load of equipment," so there you go.  There are two parts to the playground area, as well as baseball fields and a disc golf course.  The first part that you walk into has some of the coolest playground toys around, including an 8-foot xylophone, giant sand pit, and train the size of a school bus. We got there earlier than most people, but it wasn't long before we realized that this was a very popular park. Church groups and home school co-ops seemed to pour in pretty quickly, which is understandable because there seems to be something for everyone to do.

Small portion of the playground equipment

So, with all of these amazing things, where did Liv go first? The spring rider in the shape of a turtle, of course. In fact, she spent 20 minutes just rocking back and forth with a huge smile on her face. Naturally I tried to show her some of the other things, but every time she came back with a "no Dada." The only time she willingly got off the spring turtle was to get onto a spring motorcycle that another little girl had recently vacated. (She is a 2 year old who knows what she likes and has been know to spend entire park trips being pushed on the swings.)


We did eventually convince her that there was more to the park and we made our way over to the second part.  Here is where the park loses some points in my mind.  The area is dominated by giant wooden structures- giant castles, boats, and more. This is cool, but the equipment is just too crowded for my liking.  There is not a great line of sight and losing track of your little ones seems really easy, judging by all the names being called out by parents. It's not really a problem for us because you would have to first get Liv's hand out of Meredith's or mine before we could lose track of her (people who know her know what I am talking about).  All of this clutter didn't stop Liv from finding something to do there - she walked back and forth on a rope bridge until lunch time. But if you go just be aware that the close quarters can make it a little claustrophobic and difficult to track the little ones. (Sometimes I have to remind myself that busy is good, it means that kids are outside playing instead of inside watching TV.) I don't mean to discourage people from going, I just want you to know what you can expect when you do go there.  It was built to be accessible by wheelchair most everywhere that the kids can go and put together by volunteers, which is unique.  Century Park is a large, greatly equipped park that has a multitude of things for all children (and adults) to do.  I hope that you go, bring your little ones, and set them loose on the park. Maybe I'll see you there.

Hatcher Gardens-Spartanburg, SC

Gazebo in Garden of Hope and Healing

Hatcher Gardens holds a very special place in my heart. It's where I proposed to my wife, and 3 years later, it's where my very pregnant wife and I walked for hours on end in order to jump start her labor (it worked). Now I visit almost daily due to the demands of a particularly opinionated 2 year old girl named Olivia.  I will admit that the frequency has a lot to do with the fact that it's less than 2 miles from my front door, but that doesn't mean this place isn't amazing. The short drive just really helps when Olivia is done with her car seat approximately 2.5 seconds after being strapped in. When you pull in to the small 8 car parking lot you are not exactly overwhelmed by this place, which may tempt you to put it in reverse, but that would be a mistake I assure you.  All you need to do is walk 20 feet down the first concrete path to lose all the sounds of the (cough) sprawling metropolis (cough cough). All you hear is the splashing of a fountain and the running of a small pebbled stream. Once over the first wooden bridge you come to the first fork in the path. I am not really sure why, but we always take the path to the right. First it was out of habit I guess, but now, should I even begin to form the thought of going left, a proper fit is thrown on the part of Olivia. Hatcher Gardens is not particularly large and though you can most likely walk the paths in about 10 minutes, you won't. You can't resist stopping to look at the amazing assortment of plants and wildlife, and conveniently enough every time you find yourself wondering what type of plant you are looking at, you have only to look at the base where there is almost always a marker that will tell you. 


Bridge over looking a must-see waterfall

When you take that first right and walk past the bald cypress pond you are suddenly aware that all you hear is nature, water running and what seems like every bird song observed in nature.  My daughter always looks over the edge of the pathway to see all the fish swimming in the pond and the occasional turtle poking out his head only to be terrified at the company. We continue down the path and come to a small pavilion with arbors and stone benches. There is also a sand pit that I believe was originally meant as a zen garden, but through the visits of many children (Olivia not exempt), it is now used as an area to dig and build and bury. Recently this is where we spend all of our time, as apparently there is nothing more fun to a 2 year old girl then running in circles around the pavilion, broken up by periods of yelling at bugs (of course).  If, however, you are lucky enough to keep walking, I suggest you make your way around to the observation deck overlooking the lower pond.  On the deck there is plenty of seating as well as a picnic table. And, as always, nothing but the sound of nature. 

Observation Deck

Hatcher Gardens has become a staple in my life and if I should not make it there one week I find myself actually missing it.  With plenty of out of the way benches and gazebos it can be a truly romantic place (like one where you might propose to your girlfriend, for instance), while also being a great place to bring your entire family.  I firmly believe that we need to get today's children outdoors, and Hatcher Gardens is a great, safe place to do that while still offering learning and teaching opportunities for you and your family.


http://hatchergarden.org/