The SWING Playground in St. Augustine

My awesome brother, Mike, has been trying to convince us to go to Disney World, Universal Studios or one of the other theme parks in Florida.  "You are so close right now, and it's hard for you to fly to them when you are in Hawaii."  He has offered to buy our tickets.  "Thanksgiving is the best time to go.  It's not as crowded because everyone is eating turkey, watching football, and shopping," he said.

We are so appreciative of Mike's offer and encouragement.  We loved our visit to Disney World a couple of years ago.  It was super fun because we went with Mike, my mom, my two sisters and their families.

I'm sure we would also love it if we went to one of the big parks this week, but I know it would not be as enjoyable on our own.  We would have to split up so that the older girls and the younger girls could be on age-appropriate rides.   The long lines just wouldn't be as much fun as it was last time when we had everyone else to goof around with while we waited.

"What the girls love more than anything else right now," I told my brother, "is a good playground."

We found one of the best playgrounds we have ever been to yesterday. We went to it again today, and no doubt will go play on it every day that we are in St. Augustine.  The S.W.I.N.G. in the park's name, Project SWING, stands for St. Augustine's Wish for Its Next Generation.  It is 23,000 square feet worth of extremely high quality playground that was built in 1997 by 5,000 volunteers in one week!

We love this playground.  Honestly, I think it is better than Disney World.  No lines, lots of ways for the girls (and mom and dad) to move their bodies and interact with each other (playing hide and seek, playing "marathon" -- a game where they move around the playground without touching the "alligator water," coaching each other with gymnastics, playing family, dance party, etc.), and it's all free!

Beam practice

Sisters are the best training partners

Happiness

There is a large, central pavilion with benches and picnic tables.  The pavilion provides a nice division between the playground for the older kids and the one for the younger kids. 

Sage helping Skye on the monkey bars

Bar practice

Dance party!

We were trying to do some syncrhonized upside down swinging

Phoenix loves being upside down

GETTING THERE:  The walk to the SWING Park is about 1-3/4 miles each way from the marina.  Skye walked nearly the whole way there once!  We love that the girls were so motivated to go to the park that they didn't mind the walk.  The route that we preferred to take to get to the playground was via St. George St. in Old St. Augustine.  Tons of restaurants and shops line this pedestrian-only street.  We got to know the street well and had a few favorites including the family-owned Spanish Bakery for loaves of freshly baked fluffy white bread ($2.50 for a loaf; they also have yummy empanadas and other treats) and Gerald's Gourmet Popcorn (I am so easily roped in by the free samples).   The playground is also close to St. Augustine's Visitor Center where restrooms are available.  The Visitor Center had a cool exhibit titled The New World in the Eyes of the Explorers with some drawings, paintings and maps representing "some of the most fascinating documents of this cultural collision and exchange" between the 'New World and its indigenous peoples and animals".  

THE WEATHER:  The low pressure system that has been building up in the Gulf arrived in St. Augustine today.  It was supposed to rain and thunderstorm for much of the day.  We decided we would rather go to the park and get wet than stay on the boat and remain dry.  It ended up not raining on us at all! 

Rainbow popcorn. "Your popcorn matches your outfit," remarked one lady passing by Sage.

The girls liked the interactive shoot-the-ships-with-cannons touch screen game at the Visitor Center.