When the weather is warm and sunny in November, you take advantage of it! We visited Allen Pond Park twice in one week to make the most out of the abnormally high temps. On our second foray, two out of three of my girls were wearing shorts and tees, and happy as clams to not be wearing jackets! Allen Pond is located at 3330 Northview Dr., Bowie, MD 20716, and there is a large parking lot located next to the ice rink and near the main playground. There are bathrooms close to the playground, too, but, since it was November, I was not sure if they were still open… In a pinch, there is a porta-potty, too, next to the parking lot.
Once I parked the car, the girls came tumbling out, and took off for the first playground. It is so much fun to take the girls to playgrounds they’ve been to before, and see how much they’ve grown when the are able to use equipment they hadn’t been big enough to use during past visits. All three girls decided to climb like monkeys wherever they could, whether or not something was meant for climbing. Both Stormy and Pebble climbed up on top of the playhouse in the area for younger kiddos. Pebble didn’t want to be left out of the fun, but I convinced her to try climbing something else as I wasn’t sure how I’d get her down if she managed to get to the top of the set with her sisters and got stuck.
After the girls had climbed and explored for a bit, we went to the second playground, which is considered a tot lot. My girls love the double swing over there, and both Pebble and Rainbow piled onto it to see how high they could go. The double swing consists of a flat bar to sit or stand on, and a baby swing. Fortunately, Pebble still fit in the baby swing. There is another playhouse over here, but Stormy decided she didn’t need to climb that. Instead, she worked on trying to climb the poles supporting the swings. I was surprised how high she managed to get!
This park visit was a short after school visit, so we didn’t walk around the lake or check out the island, like we’ve done in visits past. We also had friends who’d joined us, so I was content to stand back and let the kids run amuck and get some of their post-school crazies out. At one point, all of the kids ran out onto the dock to get a better view of Allen Pond. The minute the geese and ducks saw us, they started swimming in to shore to see if we had anything for them. I, sadly, hadn’t remembered to bring anything for them. If you do come here and decide to feed these guys, please remember not to bring bread. Google what you can bring instead, as bread is hard on their tummies.
After watching the geese for a bit, the kids headed back to the main playground. There was a Hold-N-Spin spinner here, a piece of equipment that resembles an umbrella, that Rainbow and Stormy were finally getting good at using. Of course, I had to give Rainbow an air lift as she was too short to reach up and grab the bar. Both girls loved when I spun them, their legs flying through the air as they twirled in a circle. I was amazed how long Rainbow could hold on for! Rainbow was the first to nimbly climb up onto the bars so she could sit and spin, instead of holding on with her hands. Stormy was frustrated after failing to get herself up there as well, but practice makes perfect, and she, her friend, and Rainbow were soon being spun in circles until they were dizzy! Pebble was and is still too young for this spinner, but she was happy to run up and down the ramps of the playset, climbing between the levels, scaling the faux trees, and having me push her on the swings.
We only managed to squeeze in 90 minutes of playtime as it was after school, and the sun was setting fast, but a great time was had by all. Allen Pond is a great park, and there is so much for families to do here, I highly recommend it! Happy trails!
https://www.cityofbowie.org/facilities/facility/details/5
