Golden Gardens in February

Continuing our travels through the beaches of Seattle, today we visited Golden Gardens. It's an amazing place, with some perfect views of the Olympics, and the kids really enjoy it. It's nearly intolerable in the summer, due to the explosion of hippies and other ne'er do wells that hang around. A drum circle is always happening, general mayhem and nastiness ensues. But in the fall and winter, it's perfect.

Today was another nice day, nearing sixty, and Viri was too tempted to just run into the water and get wet. His feet did get a little wet, and he was not happy about that. I get odd looks from other parents here in Seattle when I deal with Viri and his antics. I let him do a lot, and have high expectations of him. Part of the totality of enjoying these things, to me, is the process of learning to be social. The park is fun, and playing in the water is fun, but one thing you learn is that sometimes that means wet feet and other problems. If Viri doesn't get really hurt, I want him to experience the water and learn that getting wet in February, even a warm one, isn't so nice. I feel like I get two reactions to this: One is the chiding, "Why did you let him get wet?" parent. The other is the "It's just wet feet, don't make him feel bad" parent. Once again I have the impression I am in the middle of two extremes. I'm fine with his wet feet, but I'm going to explain it to him. He doesn't need to turn in a report or anything, but why not learn the lesson in front of him? I expect a lot of Taviri, and I know that. I also love him a lot, and he knows both of these things well, at the age of three.

This is another reason for the beach in winter: I can be alone with the kids, and work on these lessons before the extreme factions get their two cents in. They'll have plenty of time for that during his education. This is the time to build that foundation, so the education doesn't undo him.

Arkaedi enjoyed the beach, but she is mad that she gets stuck in Papa's arms all morning. I let her down, and she gets upset because it's dirty. I pick her up, and she wants to walk. For a one year old, it's a no win. She did get to ride in the swings, so that was fun. Another nice thing about Golden Gardens, the playground is right on the beach, so the kids can go back and forth. Assuming, of course, that the gaggle of hippies are in Lodi, or wherever the hippies around here go in the winter. Maybe they just dig into the ground and cover themselves in leaves. I'm really not up on the habits of hippies.

I'm not sure where I rank Golden Gardens in the scheme of Seattle parks. Definitely one of the nicer ones, but the crowds and traffic are distracting. Maybe somewhere in the top ten. I need to sit down and really work out a clear picture of my favorites. For one, it'd make choosing a place to go with the kids easier.

More fun photos here!