All winter long I’ve been taking my dog for play dates at various parks ranging from LaSalle to Front. A couple of our excursions led us to the Outer Harbor to romp around the snowy hills at Wilkeson Pointe (the wind sculpture park).
Earlier today one of my friends met up with us there, and brought her kid along. The boy happened to have a sled in tow, which he had brought to other parks on various occasions (only to be disappointed that there were no hills). This day was different. It turns out the the biggest hill at Wilkeson Pointe is a pretty darn good sledding hill. With a slight push we had the boy zooming down the hill, across the lawn, and under the foot bridge that was a short distance away (score!).
Watching the young boy sledding down the hill and then racing back up again (he must have gone 20 times) made me think about how simple it is to enjoy winter if the amenities are available to us. How hard was it to build this man made hill? How much bigger, and longer, could one be built at the Outer Harbor (over where the concerts are held – the hills would also be great vantage points for shows)? I believe that sometimes we tend to over think this stuff. Today was the perfect example of a young person who had the time of his life sledding on what turned out to be the perfect hill (for him).
On the way back to the car he must have asked his mom ten times, “When can we go back?” To tell you the truth, I had just as much fun watching him, as he had sledding. Not to mention all of the other snow covered obstacles that Wilkeson Pointe offers kids and adults of all ages.