This past week we had a painter starting a big project in our house which meant I needed to get Pebble out of the house for as long as I could! On Monday, I decided to check out Fort Smallwood Park in Pasadena. I hadn’t been to this park since Rainbow was a baby, but I remembered Stormy having fun here. Pebble helped me pack up a picnic lunch for us, making sure I had gummy bears for her.
It is $6 to enter the park, or, if you are a resident of the county, you can purchase an annual pass to all of the county parks for $30. I had purchased that pass a few weeks earlier on a trip to Kinder Farm Park with all 3 girls. The person manning the booth at Fort Smallwood waved my van through, and we found parking near the playground. There are bathrooms near the playground, but I didn’t check to see if they were open this of year. We also spotted a bunch of portable toilets scattered around the park. Just as an FYI, for the past year, the eastern edge of the park has been closed off for seawall repair. That meant the swimming beaches were off limits, as well as the historic gun battery and barracks. It is supposed to reopen this spring, and I am looking forward to trip here this summer with all 3 girls!
Pebble took off running down the short hill to the playground as soon as I let her out of her car seat. The playground isn’t huge, but it has a lot of fun elements! Pebble tried her hand at climbing the giant boulders that were strewn around one end of the playground, before asking me to push her on the swings. It was a beautiful sunny day, but be warned that there can be strong breezes coming off the water. While sweatshirts were great at home, we needed warmer gear at the playground. There are also no trees around the playground either, leaving it unshaded and open to all types of weather!
When Pebble tired of the swings, she checked out the main playground structure which consisted of ramps leading up to various levels, with activities on each level. There were also many different slides of differing heights. We raced down a set of double slides for younger kiddos, and Pebble couldn’t stop giggling when I nearly slid off the end of it!
Pebble’s favorite part of the playground, though, by far and away, was a series of obstacles that made up a mini obstacle course. She’d run up the ramp from the bottom of the playground to the first level, and then jump from colorful stump to colorful stump. One of the stumps was missing, a giant orange cone stood in its place, so I had to help airlift her over that part. After the stumps, there was this cool multi-partitioned “bench” to traverse, and the middle portions of it shifted left and right. I may have helped that shifting, too with a well placed foot. The more I made the “bench” move, the more giggles I got! After the stump jumpers and “bench,” there were a series of balance poles to clamber across. Pebble must have done this circle of obstacles half a dozen times! She needed help with the stumps and with the “bench,” but would tell me she didn’t need help when she reached the balance poles.
Near the obstacle course was a piece of equipment made for bouncing. The bar that one stood on to bounce was wide enough for two kids or a child and adult. I spent a lot of time on there with her bouncing up and down!
It was a wonderful morning! Pebble explored every inch of this playground, and played for over an hour straight! We stopped to do a picnic lunch, and then she was right back on the playground again. I asked her if she wanted to walk a bit to see more of the park, but she said no. So I asked if she wanted to go on a treasure hunt… That worked like a charm! Bucket in hand, we went wandering. We meandered past the historic Cedar Pavilion, and, before we reached the fishing pier, we took a path down to a small beach area. There was no swimming allowed, but there was plenty of debris for Pebble’s treasure hunt! In fact, Fort Smallwood Park is known for it’s sea glass!
We found green, brown, and white sea glass strewn among the shells and rocks. Pebble gathered so much her tiny bucket was overflowing! I had to empty a plastic baggie I kept bandaids in so she had an extra place to store her finds. The wind on the beach was even fiercer than on the playground, and Pebble lasted only a half hour or so before she told me she was cold and tired. We headed back to the car and breathed a sigh of relief when we got out of the wind. We both had cold hands and noses from the treasure hunt, and Pebble couldn’t wait to get home and show her dad her treasure. She loves holding pieces of it up to look through, especially the green shards, since it turns everything green.
We had an amazing adventures, and I definitely plan to come back with all 3 girls when the eastern area reopens. Stormy and Rainbow are both eager to check out the playground, to search for sea glass, and swim at the swimming beaches here. Out of all the county parks I have been in, this one has felt the calmest with the fewest people, and it is definitely worth checking out! Happy trails!
