Park Day: El Segundo Recreation Park

Park Day is back! After a looong holiday hiatus, we're back to our plan of visiting one new park every week. Yesterday was actually a bit of a debacle actually since the winds left me positively crippled with spring allergies and/or Jackson refused to wear a jacket and it was freezing. (Now that doesn't explain why I wasn't wearing a jacket, but anyway, it was cold and I was sick but Jackson had fun just the same.)

El Segundo Recreation Park is a great community park in just south of LAX. Generally speaking, I don't think we'll be back here much since El Segundo residential streets drive me batty. They tend to be very narrow and hilly, not to mention the housing stock is such a mixed bag that it stresses me out. You just can't have a dingbat next to a neo-Craftsman, people. It's crazy--crazy I tell you! That said, the residents of El Segundo are lucky to have this place. There's several rec buildings, lots of playfields and it's just a well-designed, healthy and hearty space. It's a little cramped, because they have jammed a lot of fields, viewer stands, buildings, play areas and walkways into an odd gully, but you do what you gotta do.

We also visited the El Segundo Public Library while we were in the area, and I have to say, the view from the El Segundo Library children's room is one of the most beautiful in the city. Seriously. You look out picture windows onto rolling hills covered with mature sycamores toward the amazing Richardsonian Romanesque El Segundo High School building. The library is clean and quiet and old-fashioned, and again, the residents are very lucky to have these resources!

Jackson loves park day! (That's what I think he's thinking, at least.)

Jackson at the wheel of the toddler playground firetruck.

I just like the light in this shot.

Here's a wide view of the toddler playground. There's a baseball field below (thus the high fence on the right), and on the other side is the El Segundo Co-op Nursery School building, plus some beautiful mature pepper trees and the playground for the older kids.