Sundays Are For Scootering

Dawson’s only had his scooter since Christmas, but it has already had its fair share of adventures. It made its way to the bottom of a lake. It was rescued from said lake, and it has been Dawson’s trusted companion at every park and playdate. It stays in the back of our car in case we ever go somewhere that has a sidewalk. Or a parking lot. Or any flat surface.

Today we decided to get out of the house and try something new. Dawson’s been begging to go to a skatepark, so we researched a few, found him a bike helmet in the garage, and settled on Fletcher Park in Lakeland. When we put the address into our GPS, we were surprised that it was an hour away. But we were already committed, so we popped a movie in so we could drive in (almost) peace and were on our way.

We arrived at Fletcher Park at 10:15 am and quickly found a parking spot. We saw the skatepark right away, and practically had to activate the child lock to keep Dawson from jumping out. The park had just opened at 10, and there were only 2 or 3 other skateboarders there. 

Dawson is a cautious kid by nature, so we weren’t surprised when he started scooting along the perimeter, checking it all out. He carefully eyed each ramp, wall, ledge, each section to get an idea for what he wanted to do. I watched from a distance and saw him inch up to a medium-size ramp, stop, think, and turn around and do something else. I also checked the place out, and it was about as “skate park” as you can get. There were bowls as deep as a swimming pool, maybe even deeper, with what felt like straight drops down into the center. We stayed away from those. There were launch ramps and quarter pipes (I googled the names of these, I am not current on skateboard lingo.) 

Dawson was the youngest scooter-er there by far. Scooter-er? Is that the technical term?) and the only one wearing flip flops. Enter the “I told you so eye roll” here. He did end up scootering so hard that he broke the flip flop, but he just kept on going. In minutes, he was sailing down the medium-size ramps and flying down some of the bigger ones.

While Dawson continued to conquer bigger and bigger ramps, Sawyer and I explored the rest of the park. There was a gorgeous playground under massive oak trees, complete with swings, climbing equipment, see saws, and spinny equipment. All of the equipment was in excellent condition. The play area was mulched, there were benches for parents, and it was completely fenced in. It was close to bathrooms (which were clean!) and what looked like a concession stand for the surrounding baseball fields. Across from the park is a pond where we spotted birds and turtles, and looked for the alligators mentioned on the sign, but didn’t see any. 

There was a whole other side of the park we didn’t see, but from where we were, I could see multiple sports fields and walking paths where families were riding their bikes.

We left the park around noon, which is right when it started to get busy. There were older kids, teens, and adults who were serious about skateboarding and put on quite a show with their tricks and skills. If you’ve got a first-time skater, we’d suggest getting there close to opening time to give them the space they need to get used to the course.

It was noon when we left, and we were hungry — especially the sweaty-haired boy who had been racing his scooter for two hours. On our way to the skatepark, we passed Yard on Mass, a big brick building on the corner of Massachusetts Ave and Bartow Ave. It looked like our type of place, with a large outdoor dining area, yard games, and food trucks, so we decided to stop by on our way home.  And we’re glad we did! Stay tuned for our review of The Yard on Mass (and what you MUST order from the Uncle B’s BBQ food truck!)

When I asked Dawson what he would rate the skate park, he gave it an enthusiastic “ten out of ten!” If you’ve got a skater or scooter-er, we would highly recommend making the drive to Fletcher Park on Lake Bonny. And then stopping at The Yard on Mass on your way home.