Twins on the trail
Jacksonville has a park named Castaway Island Preserve. It is a small park, long and narrow in shape. It stretches between two housing subdivisions from San Pablo Road to the Intercoastal Waterway. If you blink as you drive by the entrance on San Pablo Road, you will miss it. It is a largely undiscovered gem.
Once again Kati had the care of the twins for three days. Katelyn and Kasandra are now almost four years old. Katelyn wears braces on both legs and walks with difficulty. Both girls were tired from a largely sleepless night. Difficulties notwithstanding, Kati and I decided to take the girls to Castaway Island Preserve to walk the nature trail.
This is not just a path winding through the woods. This nature trail is paved. Down the middle of the paved trail are painted the footprints of one of the animals that inhabit the area. Every so often there is a checkpoint where a placard identifies the animal whose footprints you have been following. The sign has pictures of the animal and tells briefly about it. After the sign, the footprints change to a different animal or bird. Even adults have been known to become very intrigued by trying to identify each new set of footprints. But we weren’t sure two tired four-year-olds would have any interest.
Were we ever wrong! Katelyn, who usually lags behind in her braces, raced ahead of the group. Kasandra wasn’t far behind. As far as their identification skills, at times they were amazingly in the ballpark. "Cat," shouted Kasandra when she saw the racoon tracks. "Dinosaur!" yelled Katelyn when she saw the alligator tracks. (Definitely in the ballpark, although we don’t have them anymore.) "Chicken!" they both yelled every time they saw water bird tracks. At times they were amazingly out of the ballpark. A few small mammals were identified as polar bears. (Sorry, girls, not in Florida!) It didn’t really matter whether they were right or wrong. They just enjoyed shouting out each new animal or bird. There were probably some real life inhabitants cowering in the woods and marsh, wondering about what new evil was about to attack them. The trail still held it’s magic as we followed the walkway back out naming the tracks in reverse. Only when we left the footprints did the girls show any signs of tiredness.
I don't know who designed Castaway Island Preserve, but they did a wonderful job for old and young alike. Forget soccer fields and elaborate play areas. Jacksonville definitely needs more parks like this one!
Once again Kati had the care of the twins for three days. Katelyn and Kasandra are now almost four years old. Katelyn wears braces on both legs and walks with difficulty. Both girls were tired from a largely sleepless night. Difficulties notwithstanding, Kati and I decided to take the girls to Castaway Island Preserve to walk the nature trail.
This is not just a path winding through the woods. This nature trail is paved. Down the middle of the paved trail are painted the footprints of one of the animals that inhabit the area. Every so often there is a checkpoint where a placard identifies the animal whose footprints you have been following. The sign has pictures of the animal and tells briefly about it. After the sign, the footprints change to a different animal or bird. Even adults have been known to become very intrigued by trying to identify each new set of footprints. But we weren’t sure two tired four-year-olds would have any interest.
Were we ever wrong! Katelyn, who usually lags behind in her braces, raced ahead of the group. Kasandra wasn’t far behind. As far as their identification skills, at times they were amazingly in the ballpark. "Cat," shouted Kasandra when she saw the racoon tracks. "Dinosaur!" yelled Katelyn when she saw the alligator tracks. (Definitely in the ballpark, although we don’t have them anymore.) "Chicken!" they both yelled every time they saw water bird tracks. At times they were amazingly out of the ballpark. A few small mammals were identified as polar bears. (Sorry, girls, not in Florida!) It didn’t really matter whether they were right or wrong. They just enjoyed shouting out each new animal or bird. There were probably some real life inhabitants cowering in the woods and marsh, wondering about what new evil was about to attack them. The trail still held it’s magic as we followed the walkway back out naming the tracks in reverse. Only when we left the footprints did the girls show any signs of tiredness.
I don't know who designed Castaway Island Preserve, but they did a wonderful job for old and young alike. Forget soccer fields and elaborate play areas. Jacksonville definitely needs more parks like this one!