The Beach, A Walk Downtown, The Pool, And Other Things

 

The following blog entry suggestion came from my friend Stephanie Harsin. So today would be a great time for me to talk about the things I love doing in Lawrence.

Okay, here’s the first thing that I wanna talk is the place I enjoy going to in my childhood days.

Bloomington Beach

I remember back in the day when my family and I got to go swimming at Bloomington Beach right here at Clinton Lake. We got together, got in the water to cool off, and enjoyed a great time there. It was really fun to enjoy in the state of Kansas every Summer. On our way, we sometimes stop at The Clinton Store and I grab myself some ice cream or something to drink. That was before we arrive at the beach. Duh!

When I come back to Lawrence once again, I might be able to invite my friends like Stephanie Harsin and David Ade to the beach and enjoy a fine day there. And who knows, maybe we can even have a fine picnic there too.

Other days I can also bring Eric and Jill along with the girls and Ridley and take them to the beach too. I wonder what kind of beach activities we might do together.

In case you’ll know, it’s a beach in Douglas County at Clinton State Park in Lawrence.

At Bloomington Beach not only we can go swimming, we can also fishing, play a little disc golf, go hiking, and maybe go camping too. I wish I could go camping again, cause it’s been years since I haven’t done that. And maybe in the future, I might even give it a try. And we could all have a good ol’ marshmallow roast. Won’t that be fun? Maybe roast some hot dogs too by the campfire and make some s’mores.

Whenever I see Bloomington Beach, I think of the times I remember spending together as a family. It also reminds me of summer camp, and the ocean too. And that’s always the way (uh huh) I like it! …always. Now, on to the next thing.

Let’s talk about walks around downtown Lawrence.

Here’s what I really love about walks around town. For me and all my friends from back home, it’s really fun to do whenever I’m going places because it’s really beautiful and sightseeing at the same time. Have you ever heard about checking out the Sidewalk Sale in downtown Lawrence? You should try it out sometime. It’s got plenty of things, like souvenirs, merchandise, and so much more. So maybe next time I’m here again, we can check out the sidewalk sale. I wonder what kind of stuff I wanna get for myself or for my friends on a daily basis… it depends.

If you haven’t heard of it yet, here’s what picture of what it looks like.

This is where it happens here in Lawrence every year, especially in the summertime.

To continue, every day or night when I go downtown, I take a walk around Lawrence and I get the blood pumping so I can get the exercise moving at any time. I also take the time to visit some shops and eateries someplace. I even walk around Cordley Elementary School just to come visit my favorite teacher. Afterwards when I get tired, I take the bus back home and just relax. Going for a walk downtown has been such a thrill to me and it makes me feel a lot good whenever I go places.

Sometimes I take a walk down to Americana Music Academy to visit and say hi to the good folks out there. These guys sure love to jam, and so do I.  I also take the time to walk around the Lawrence River by walking across the bridge where the levee is located. In case you already know, it’s also the place where I go watch the fireworks at the park during the 4th of July. The reason I wanna walk around town is that I can always get the heart pumping and the blood moving so I can get going.

At times, I also like to walk around KU and hang out at the Kansas Union. I also like to walk to the Spencer Art Museum and look at some artwork. Why? Because I love paintings and I love to paint. And maybe someday I can still find a way to sell paintings I made to someone I know around Lawrence and downtown. Many times, I also ride my bike around the neighborhood and all over town. Sometimes I ride my bike on the sidewalk, but people tell me to ride my bike on the right side of the street. It gets sometimes a little annoying, but I always ride in the right side of the road when it comes to bike safety. Whenever I get done with a walk or a bike ride somewhere, or whenever I’m clocked out from work. I take the “T” bus home. That also includes taking the bus somewhere in Lawrence too.

Okay now, here's another one I wanna talk about. That my dear friends is the pool. There are two ways to go swimming and not just in the summertime, but anytime. During summer hours, I go to the outdoor aquatic center to go swimming in the pool. I remember the good times I had swimming outside at the pool with my family. Back in the day when I was a kid, I swam here and had a really great time. Back then in the 90s, the outdoor pool used to have a little kiddie pool for toddlers and little kids, but nowadays it's got a couple of waterslides, diving boards, the lily pads, and plenty of fountains to cool off with. It's really fun to check out during the summertime, especially when it comes to swimming laps. Speaking of which, I remember that summer and during the school year on Wednesdays, I did some swimming lessons here, and that time when I did swimming lessons too here at the indoor pool at Days Inn. Brendy was really pleased to teach me how to swim every Wednesday and in the summer. Now I know how to swim for a living, and I'm really really really good at it. 

Now let's talk about the indoor aquatics center located at Free State High School where I used to go there.

During the summer and the school year, I went there to go swimming in here too. At the indoor aquatics center it's got a concessions bar at the entrance, and they have the waterslide along with the water activities to play around with.

At the other side of the indoor pool, there's also a school pool for swimming lessons too. During the school year, I went there for swimming laps also. Sometimes whenever I get in the water of the indoor pool, I kindly think of Camp Lazlo. Sometimes it can distract me when I'm trying to focus here, but at most time I can always do better. Hanging out at the pool means a lot to me in my Kansas years. It really reminds me of the beach made of nostalgia in the air. And sometimes whenever there's something special here or outdoors, they put in some music and bring together a DJ to play the songs of my favorite choice.

Here at the outdoor pool, there's also a Pooch Plunge here so that dogs can swim in it too. They say that the Pooch Plunge will now give pups their chance to enjoy the water from 4 to 7 p.m. every August.

Lisa C. Hughes once said, once the Outdoor Aquatic Center closes for the season, the chemicals in the water are neutralized to make it safe for dogs, according to the city. The event is popular, drawing hundreds of dogs annually.

Now here's my next suggestion for when I come back again. When summer comes, I wanna plan on going to the outdoor pool in downtown Lawrence and talk to people whose in charge here and tell them about the huge pool party here. It needs some music, activities, snacks, soda, and DJing. In fact, I'd make a great pool party DJ. Maybe I can control the music for this next pool party. And who knows, maybe we can also bring out a special custom character mascot for a special occasion.

And now for the next thing to talk about. Let's talk about the Levee trail.

There comes a time when my friend Stephanie and I both got together on our bikes and rode down the Levee Trail near the Lawrence River. According to the web, Lawrence, the “free state fortress” was eventually located on relatively level ground between the two valleys of the Kansas and Wakarusa rivers.

The 10-mile walking and biking trail follows the Kansas River atop the levee on the north side of the Kansas River with convenient parking. Located along the north bank of the Kansas River, the Lawrence Levee Trail runs along the top of the flood-control levee on the outskirts of Lawrence.

Now here’s the 411 on the Levee Trail. When we first rode both our bikes here, we were going on a nature hike on wheels. We rode on dirt and stayed away from poison ivy that’s been in there. One time, I was struggling to pedal my way up to a tall hill or when I was extremely nervous of riding my bike down the hill really really fast. I thought I was gonna crash with my helmet on, but turns out I did anyway. And Stephanie was proud of me for doing that. Due to the fact hat I had to be brave and not give up.

The Levee Trail is about 10 miles long and I love going there as an adventure. This trip really made feel like my own alter ego, ‘AJ the Adventurer’. Another word for that is also the “Lawrence Riverfront Park Mountain Bike Trail”.

(Maintained by the Lawrence Mountain Bike Club)

Located along the north bank of the Kansas River, the Lawrence Levee Trail runs along the top of the flood-control levee on the outskirts of Lawrence. The trail offers views of nearby farmland and the river as well as the downtown area of Lawrence, on the opposite bank.

In the north, the trail provides access to Riverfront Park, which features a disc golf course, off-leash dog park and a wildlife and native grass preserve. At the southeastern end of the trail, various hiking and mountain biking spur trails provide a diverse range of experiences closer to the Kansas River.

When I come back again, I wanna do the Levee Trail once again. Why? Because I haven’t rode the trail for years, and it’s been awhile since I’ve done it back then.

Another idea I’ve been thinking about lately is maybe going down to the Lawrence River to skip stones, hang out, go fishing, and maybe just settle down and relax. What’s the word, you may ask? It’s also Riverfront Park. That’s the place where they can also watch the fireworks every 4th of July. It’s even a place to go bird watching and hiking too.

Here’s the info about Riverfront Park.

Riverfront Park sits alongside the Kansas River. The park’s entrance boasts rows of limestone boulders that line the road descending to the park. The Lawrence Parks and Recreation park department move each individual boulder by hand, spacing them apart to create an aesthetically-pleasing park entrance. The park hosts approximately 120 acres of native grasses, including big bluestem, little bluestem, Indian grass, switch grass, sideoats grama and western wheatgrass. These grasses provide an excellent nesting and winter cover for wildlife, and the grass seeds and foliage are a valuable food source for nearby quail and other species. The city also planted a variety of trees and shrubs in the area to supply cover and habitat diversity. Their berries and nuts also serve as an excellent source for food. Riverfront Park is a prominent nesting site for bluebirds, wood ducks, purple martins and other species of birds. Parks and Recreation installed houses, tubs and other artificial structures to help alleviate the natural shortage of nesting sites. The department routinely cleans and maintains the structures each year, restoring them with fresh nesting material like wood shavings and cedar wood chips. However, bluebirds and purple martins gather materials to build their own nests.

In 1986, the City released 40 Canada geese at the area with hopes of establishing a resident flock. The geese spend the day feeding on neighboring grain fields or pastures and return to the area at night to roost. They may fly south for several months of the year during the winter in search of warmer weather.

Did you know that In September 2005, Parks and Recreation installed an 18-hole disc golf course making it the City’s second course. Although Riverfront Park’s course is shorter than the other disc golf site in Centennial Park, users consider it to be more challenging because many of the holes navigate throughout wooded sections of the park. The disc golf course is accessible from the park entrance and is a popular place for disc golfers.

The area is also home to the City’s second off-leash dog park, which opened in May 2005. Parks and Recreation developed the dog park in response to public requests for additional off-leash areas in the City’s park system. Dog owners can enjoy an afternoon in the shade with their favorite pooch.

The amenities of the park include: 

• 18-hole disc golf
• 10 miles of hike/bike trails
• Off-leash dog park
• 3 one-lane boat ramps
• Picnic Areas
• River overlook areas

In Riverfront Park, it doesn’t have any shelters located. At… all!

So the next time I wanna visit Riverfront Park, I wanna invite my friends and meet them over for a picnic. Won’t that be fun?

Spoiler alert: it’s also the place for rowing too.

Here’s a picture of Burcham Park. I can also check out this location too.

Now here’s yet another attraction that would be fun to check out too.

The 50-Foot Tall Concrete Tee Pee

"The Tee Pee" is a relic from an earlier time, when Indians were evidently giants who built their homes to last. The main teepee building design was actually patented by its creator, Frank W. McDonald, in 1930, so the structure likely went up in the late 1920s, well ahead of later Wigwam Villages. It's 50-feet tall, 33-ft. in diameter, and was the centerpiece of a US 40 roadside complex "Indian Village" that included a gas station, restaurant and motor court of smaller teepee cabins.

Did you also know that The 14 teepee cabins are long demolished. Today what remains is a one-floor building with a teepee on either end, and the main teepee. The pole rigged to a sail-like flange gracing the original design is also gone. Marks on the side of this age-stained structure indicate the high water marks from Kansas River floods in 1951 and 1935.

The teepee has been more recently refurbished and repainted. It was reported open as a restaurant in 2009, and then a party venue.

I wonder what it would be like if I checked it out for the very first time.

If you like my blog entry on all the things I wanna check out once again, let me know on the comments.

Coming real soon, I’ll give you a new idea of the my own local version of Billy Joel’s song “We Didn’t Start The Fire”. So here’s what I’ll do when I get a chance. I will film myself singing the song entirely in blue screen, then I’ll compile the footage of all the things here in Lawrence Kansas. That will be my next new parody version of his song in time for my time back in Lawrence once again.

But anyway, that’s all for this blog entry. Check back later for some more suggestions on the next Lawrence Kansas Monthly Blog.

P.S.  Hope you enjoy the trip.

Have a nice day!