Vancouver, WA

I thought it was too late in the afternoon to take our weekly trip to anywhere after having coffee with a friend, when Layla and I saw a small, but well developed park on our way home. It is located off Mill Plain on SE 160^th Avenue and SE 18^th Street. I could find no name around the park, but a little research showed that it is called Homestead Park.

This may be a small park but it is packed with amenities. There are two playgrounds, one a small wooden affair more suitable for toddlers, located at the north end, and the other a modern structure situated closer to the south end of the park. It was Memorial Day, and the park was bustling with activity.

People were walking dogs of every shape and size on the wide, flat, sidewalk. I tend to get a little nervous when Mistie, our Yorkie, is with us because not all the dogs we meet are friendly, and she is not always willing to back down: I have had to grab her up on more than one occasion. With the large number of dogs in the park, it was nice to find the park has a “doggie doo” receptacle near the larger play area and if you have forgotten a plastic bag there might be a few available there as well.

This is also the only park I have seen with special exercise areas for walkers and joggers. Not all of the signs are still up, but the one that was gave some ideas for the types of exercises that could be done in that area; a small, oval, sand filled space. I saw some walkers using one of these areas with unique pieces of equipment for warm up or cool down stretches, but I have no idea what the other was for. Can you tell I’m not into jogging?

Everybody was enjoying the break in the weather by strolling around the park, lots of couples, young children, a family practicing for a baseball game, and an elderly couple enjoying a respite on one of the benches. There are also two picnic tables in a small grove of trees (nice for a hot day), with BBQ’s ready for use (bring along your briquettes).

Since we had a severe thunderstorm over the weekend, there was still plenty of water on the play equipment when we reached the southern part of the park. Layla and the other kids were avoiding the slides, but the rest of it was quite popular.

It was sitting in this quiet spot with families all around that a slam to the heart hit. Layla wasn’t on any of the playground equipment and a quick glance around didn’t reveal her whereabouts. Someone had been interested in Mistie and in that short period Layla had left the play area. She wasn’t really gone, she had found another dog and was playing with it. It lasted only a couple of seconds, but as I’m sure anyone can tell you, it felt like forever and conjured up all the horror stories I’ve heard about missing children and how quickly it can happen.

We finished the walk after my heart was back to normal, and left shortly because of lack of restrooms and too many fluids. But in the back of my mind I think about the vulnerability of dog-crazy kids.