If I couldn’t be on the beach sipping margaritas with my old gang from Georgetown for spring break this week, there is no place I would have rather been than at dear old Maymont. They hosted a fun-filled spring break week of chock full of kid-centered activities this week. You name it, they had it - a moonwalk, an inflatable caterpillar, a HUGE tractor giving hay wagon rides, a petting and feeding zoo, tattoos, tram rides, as well as snacks and ice cream. Plus there were special activities each day of the week, including Maymont Mansion tours. Oh, and did I neglect to mention the great bands playing?

When we arrived there late Friday morning, the weather was nothing short of glorious—sunny, warm, and breezy. Maymont was radiantly in bloom and spanned as far as the eye could see, making it unfathomable that we were smack in the middle of a city, the capital of Virginia no less. As I stood there mesmerized by the rolling hills and the stately old trees below the Children’s Farm, Sam began to ask his usual question pertaining to Maymont. And that question is, “Where is the park?” What in the world?At least now I have figured out what he means. To me Maymont is Nirvana-come-to-Richmond. However, to him it doesn’t even make the cut as a “park” because there is no playground per se. Sam’s mathematical understanding of a park is this: Park = Swings, Sandbox, and Slide. Ah, the expression “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” comes to mind. However, he definitely perked up once he saw the humungous tractor crawling along with hay wagon in tow. Before you could say “jelly bean,” we had gotten our tickets and were climbing aboard the “Hey Wagon.” I don’t know who enjoyed it more.

After a few runs through the inflatable caterpillar and knocking heads with friends in the bouncy house without incident, we sat down for a group picnic while enjoying the breeze and the band playing. Just when you thought it couldn’t get better than that, it was ice cream time! And before I knew it, my almost-four-year-old wanted to be carried down the street to the car. Ah, Maymont!

LibbY