Pea Gravel Perfection

The first sign of excitement came when my feet hit the pea gravel.  That feeling of comfort in knowing my next hour would be lived in the moment.  That small beach stone feeling as my body sank a few inches in with each step I took.  Towards the huge yellow masterpiece was always my first choice out of the three staples that made up the pea gravel ocean of fun. The tall yellow masterpiece was made of a hard plastic.  The added touch was a few man-made carvings at the bottom.  Done by teenage rebels.  Jan + Jake with a heart around it.  I love Mary.  And a few vulgarities thrown in the carving mix. But that didn’t make the massive yellow masterpiece any less unbelievably great.  Who knew it could be so much fun for a child. Had a ladder around the back.  I tended to take the path less travelled.  I would climb up the slightly twisted smooth surface, as opposed to going down it on my butt. Sometimes I would take my shoes off because my feet had more grip.  I was the king of the castle when I reached the top.  I could see everything!

The next stop took place on the two rubber seats; the ones that were the perfect height.  My legs could swoop from front to back effortlessly, without grazing any pea gravel through the transitions.  Seriously, it was THE perfect height.   The wind blowing from front to back as I got higher and higher.  That upside-down stomach feeling when I would tilt my head back gave me the giggles.  Some days I would feel risky and would see how far I could jump.  I would propel forward by the rubber seat.   What a great feeling when I landed right-side-up.

Last was the tire, wood and ramp section.  The best for climbing.  The rubber ramp was like a bridge.  My childhood friends and I would put small beach stone in the middle and jump around it.  We would count how many jumps it took to bounce all the stones off.  There were also hidden metal bars that were my hiding place specialty for playing grounders.

Grounders was the best game to play in this pea gravel ocean.  One person would be ‘it’ and would have to keep their eyes closed while trying to tag the other players.  The other players would try to quietly move around and hide from ‘it’.  They were allowed to climb on all three staples but if ‘it’ heard them on the pea gravel then “it” would yell ‘GROUNDERS!’.  If a person was tagged or called grounders on, then the game was over.  The neighborhood kids always played that game.

Upon leaving I distinctly remember the feeling of my feet transitioning from the small soft beach stone to hard pavement.  It was always a bittersweet feeling. Knowing that my hour of fun was up and that it was time to head home.  Nonetheless I always knew I would be back the next day ready for another exhilarating adventure.