Nana Time: What to do with the grandkids in Martin County

When I moved here I had a picture in my head of what life would be like when I had grandchildren and they came to hang out with Nana.

I bought 2 fishing poles because the first place we would go would be the pier at Indian Riverside park. Then, I bought a kyack. I bought beach gear. It would be a summer much like my own in New England. Endless summer days at Revere Beach, Sebago Lakes with trips to Cape Cod. Summer was about endless adventures out doors.

I made arrangements for my grandson Ethan to come months ago. I wanted him to take formal swimming lessons. The week unfortunately coincided with the locks reopening. I live on the corner of the Indian River Lagoon and the St Lucie River. A magical place with centuries old history. I live on an ancient sand dune -a hill at the beginning of a peninsula on a bigger peninsula. Every where I go is green toxic algae filled water. I literally got sick standing near the water the week before for fifteen minutes.

So not water fun for us.

These are a few things we did.

The Rio Skate Park

Ethan brought his scooter over. Just riding up and down my hill was a fun experience for him but he really wanted to go to the skatepark.

The first day we discovered this:

We got a waver and returned on Tuesday. My best advice is ask for that one time waver and then if they like it you can get them a card for the year.

https://www.facebook.com/cyndilenz/videos/10216083951907997/

https://www.facebook.com/cyndilenz/videos/10216061266660880/

Langford Park

Langford Park is named after the famous entertainer, Frances Langford, who donated the 20 acres of land near her estate in Jensen Beach in 1948. The park is home to the Vince Bocchino Community Center that hosts summer camps and the J.A.S.E. Program (Jensen After School Experience) as well as the Log Cabin Senior Center that hosts many senior programs and activities. The park is located just south of the famous Stuart Welcome Arch.

There is a wonderful playground here and a it is located within a large circle so the kids can ride their bikes or scooters and stop at the playground.

This is my grandson’s favorite playground here. There is also loads of places to walk. I brought Kodi my dog and we followed Ethan around on his scooter. Great exercise for all of us.

The Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast

The mission of The Children’s Museum of the Treasure Coast is to offer children and families a place to explore and learn through hands on activities, educational programs and cultural experiences.

The kids seem to love this place. Ethan said his favorite activity was dressing up as a postman and delivering the mail. He also loved dressing up as a fireman but got a little testy when I told him he could not use the hose.

Here we are playing with bones and body organs.

Florida Oceanographic Society

Florida Oceanographic Society is a non-profit organization founded in 1964 with the mission to inspire environmental stewardship of Florida’s coastal ecosystems through education, research and advocacy.

It is a 57-acre marine life nature center located on Hutchinson Island in Stuart, FL situated between the Indian River and the Atlantic Ocean.

One of my favorite places to support due to the hard work and advocacy of Mark Perry and the countless others that work there.

Make sure you call for a schedule ahead of time. You go from the feeding to the rays, to the Turtle talk to feeding of the game fish.

At the turtle talk there was a large turtle skull. Ethan wanted to know where the rest of the turtle was. In his imagination someone had cut its head off and then removed the skin. He repeated this story to my son later on that night when we did our Facebook live.

All in all it was a terrific week. Ethan learned how to swim and I got to hang out with him.

I only hope we can fix the issues with the water. Instead of fighting about it or sweeping it under the rug lets have the will to fix it so next time we can go play in the water.

Nana i’m exhausted

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