Playground

Belle and I attended a playground construction in Richmond today.  Volunteers worked tirelessly to erect a sandbox, slides, swings and everything else found in a playground.  Belle and I dressed for both Autumn weather (a sweater and jeans for me and a dress with leggings for Belle) and safety in a construction zone (socks and Converse for me and Mary Janes for Belle).  We didn't count on the weather warming up considerably, especially not once we got lost. We certainly didn't count on getting lost either.

The building site would have been a very simple fifteen minute walk from Richmond BART had we been given the correct address.  First Google Maps prompted us to take a bus which led us to a similar address south of what we expected.  That took thirty minutes on foot (and another quick bus ride) with a squirming toddler to resolve.  We were soon very lost again, yet hovering in the general area, of where we were meant to be after we took another bus.  It took another hour to straighten it all out.  The actual site turned out to be two miles away from the address listed in the official emails for the event.

We were led down a road marked "No Foot Traffic" by a skinny prostitute, and into a series of scary and sketchy neighborhoods reminiscent of South Los Angeles, while on the hunt for the address.  No one had any knowledge of this construction zone or this prospective park.  I had to navigate myself and Belle to a foreign address using the limited information given.  We eventually found our way, but the catered lunch was gone by that point.  Belle played in the sandbox while I chatted up an old friend who'd flown up from L.A. to help build the playground.  Community service and old friends aside, I'd never been more happy to come home.