Picture Perfect Forest Park
Saturday was one of those rare St Louis days, where the heat and humidity are gone and only the blue skys, green trees and cool breezes remain.
My lovely wife and I decided to seize the day and take our two kids, a daughter 4.5 and a son about to turn three, to Forest Park for some bike riding and a picnic. We loaded up the family truckster and headed out. My daughter just started riding her first “big girl bike” back in July, it was a gift for her half-birthday, I know half-birthday… Her real birthday is on Christmas Eve, and a bike at the end of December is really a mean trick to play on a 4-year-old. We got her bike at the Alpine Shop, a Torker Wild Cherry. She loves that it’s pink, she loves the cherries on the seat and she loves the streamers on the grips.
I love the fact that it’s a “real” bike, with quality parts that you can actually work with if you need to. She’s already on to her second helmet, a Bell Trigger; what can I say, I have a big head. Again it’s pink, and it has flowers on it and she loves it. I’m always amazed how easy it is to get my kids to wear helmets. Since they’ve always worn them, and they see their parents wear helmets, it’s no big deal.
The boy is still on a tricycle, but he wants to wear a helmet too. He also always wears his sunglasses, he has bright blue eyes and watching him squint makes my eyes hurt. He’s got a pair of Mountain Shades Enigma’s, they’re one of the few pairs of kids sunglasses that dark enough lenses for his light eyes. I have to say, they both did great. We found a flat spot and they rode about half a mile to a spot by a pond for our picnic.
We had our blanket and a Mountainsmith Delux Cooler Cube.The best part of the cooler cube is that with a padded shoulder strap it is really easy and comfortable to carry. We ate, packed up and the kids rode back to the car.
To finish up the day we put their bikes away and pulled ours down off the roof, hooked up the trailer and went for a ride around the park, kids in tow. Forest Park really is one of the gems of St Louis. Where else can you go with golf, boat rides, an art museum, a science center, a world class zoo, greenhouses, trails, ponds, fountains, fields, playgrounds, tennis and racquetball courts, and I even think there is an archery range somewhere in the park? I know it can be crowded, but if we get another day like last Saturday, promise me you’ll go, and just sample a taste of what this great park has to offer. Oh yeah, and take a kid outside and share it with someone who’ll remember it forever.
