Seattle Roadtrip - Volunteer park Playground

I am sure some Seattle residents would throttle me for not giving this popular playground higher dues, so I guess it's a good things that I am a good arms length away (on a map).

Volunteer park is pretty much a Seattle institution and rightly so. It's a huge park sprawled across a hill with some lovely views, lots of grassy areas, wooden areas, picnic areas, a botanical gardens and an Asian Art Museum. And of course, there is the very popular playground too.

It's a weird one. For a start, the first thing I noticed about the climbing structure was that there was something oddly familiar about it and then I realized that the stairs were actually a spiral staircase. There are stone steps leading down into both the big kid area and the toddler area and in the middle of each set of steps there is a slide. It gave me an idea about implementing the same sort of slide system into office buildings for saving precious seconds at lunch time. The third unusual thing is a giant statue placed at the far end of the playground- the end that overlooks the enormous cemetery- which presumably is for climbing on.





Both the big kid structures and the toddler structures, which are on sand, have lots to do, but I didn't really feel that it was inspired. Then again, the sunlight coming down through the leafy trees was beautiful and the whole playground merges sympathetically with the surroundings. There are a total of five slides, a tunnel, lots to climb on, four swings (two big kid, one toddler, one therapeutic) and a couple of bouncy animals.

Seattle Roadtrip - W Queen Anne Playfield Playground - 10/10

The third of the four Seattle playgrounds that we visited is located in the corner of the W Queen Anne Playfield and is yet another gorgeous playground.

There are two main structures linked by a rope bridge which 'A' actually conquered fear to climb across, Man on Wire style (well, if holding your mum's hand counts). The whole playground is well thought out, well kept and the kids there loved it. There are four slides, a double plastic curved, a straight metal and a high bumpy curved plastic one too (big-time static!). There are tons of ways to climb up and lots of things to hang from and there is even a sort of built in bike that doesn't really do much. believe me I tried it with the brief hope that it might help take off the pizza from the night before but I don't think the two awkward turns that I managed will have done much good for me. Sigh.



The playground is on woodchips and has that large bouncy surface between the main climbing structure and the swings. There are lovely sculptured rocky walls to sit on under the shady tree and even a sandpit filled with good quality toys. There are the usual double double swing combinations (two toddler, two big kid) and lots of places to sit and play for those not wishing, or being too old to play on the apparatus. I didn't see washrooms but there are probably some at the bottom of the hill and even if there are not, I don't really see how they could improve this playground.

Seattle Roadtrip - Miller Playground

This is the second out of four 'guest' playgrounds to be featured from our trip to Seattle and if you draw lines between all four you can more or less pinpoint where we stayed.

The Miller Community Center is located on 19th Ave E and seems to be a hub of activity. It was a hot day when we visited and the water feature, a fabulous fountain-like design that shoots up blasts of water high into the air was far more popular than the playground next to it.

The playground itself is on a woodchip base and has a large climbing structure with lots to climb up, down, hang off and an assortment of slides: a short plastic curly slide, double metal slides and a higher plastic curly slide. There are several bouncy things, a short fixed zip slide and a tire swing. There are also six swings, two toddler, three big kid and one therapeutic.



There are good facilities there, washrooms, drinking fountain and lots of grass to play on. Then of course there is the water fountain feature which I was tempted to go in to cool down, but 'A' was a bit intimidated by the sheer bulk of the water flying around. Mind you, he is intimidated by a bit of drizzle too so that might not be a good measuring stick. This is a well-appointment, well kept playground that any child could enjoy.

Seattle Roadtrip - Bobby Morris Playground

We have been away from Victoria for a few days and we just can't stop the whole playground thing. Now we know that lots of Victoriaites?...Victorians?....residents of Victoria go to Seattle from time to time so here is the first of a few playgrounds that you might want to check out next time you're down there.

Bobby Morris Park Playground- 10/10



Bobby Morris Playfield is situated between Capital Hill and downtown. It's a lovely city playing field, with landscaping, fountains, playing courts, lots of grass and, a fantastic playground.

One of the interesting things about this playground is that the whole thing, including the separate swing sets, is set on a sprung spongy surface, like the spongy mats you've seen on this site, but all one large piece and bouncy. I LOVE this surface. It's definitely my new favourite surface and seeing as we live in a world that has moved a long way from the concrete and gravel surface that the playgrounds of my youth stood on, guilt free, I feel fantastic about my kids playing on flooring as cool as this.



The Bobby Morris Playground has two separate structures that stand in a specially designed, sculpted area that overlooks playing fields and is stroller and wheelchair accessible. The larger of the structures features lots of climbing options, wheels to turn, a curly slide, a double metal slide, lots of things to hang from and a wooden bridge. The smaller structure has a second curly slide, lots of climbing options and a really cool feature, a xylophone built into the bars.



There are six swings, two toddler, two big kid and two therapeutic swings. There is a very modern, aesthetically pleasing seesaw that promises excitement but does little else but bounce slightly. Being the US, there are also clear instructions for how to use the equipment correctly, which doubles as protection against potential parents suing after their firstborn scrapes a knee.



I didn't notice if there were washrooms, didn't notice if there was a drinking fountain and have no clue how easy it is to park there but this playground can do no wrong and I stand by my 10/10 score. If all big cities had lovely parks like this so near the city centre the world would be better place. And no, I haven't been drinking.