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Pools

It's hot and I don't have a pool.

Glendale has wading pools at Brand, Palmer, Glenoaks, Dunsmore and Fremont parks as well as swim classes and family recreational swimming on Sundays.

The Rose Bowl Aquatic Center in Pasadena has parent/infant swim classes and recreational swimming in the afternoons.

The City of LA has all kinds of pools and classes. For those of us living on the East Side, the Griffith Park pool on Riverside is open starting this weekend.

And, if you just want to stay at home, Toys R Us on Los Feliz Blvd. has a nice selection of plastic wading pools.

Huntington Library and Gardens

On the first Thursday of the month, the Huntington Library and Gardens in San Marino is free. You and thousands of your closest friends can wander through the gardens and check out the books and manuscripts on display. There are herb, cactus, Japanese and jungle gardens but the one that minis love is the appropriately named Children's Garden. The main attractions in the Children's Garden are the water features: foutains, a fog mister, and small sculptures that periodically shoot up streams of water to the delight of kids standing nearby. There's also a tunnel with rainbows, a large sandbox and vine covered 'rooms' for minis to wander through. This is a great place on a hot day but don't forget the essentials: water shoes, a towel, and a change of clothes. Your mini will be completely drenched by the time you leave and, though they'll probably dry off eventually, it's always nice to look like you have your act together around other moms. Once you're done with the Children's Garden, you can explore the nearby conservatory which has a great water lily pond and bog plants - what kid isn't up for those? If that wasn't enough, there are ducks, turtles, and koi fish in some of the ponds that your mini will love to watch.

Eaton Canyon

Freeway close in Pasadena, Eaton Canyon is a county run nature area at the base of Mt. Wilson. Perfect for families with toddlers or baby carriers, there are several easy paths and a wide, shallow stream full of tadpoles to watch and rocks to collect. As an added bonus, every Saturday morning at 9, there's a family nature hike.

Eaton Canyon Nature Center is located at 1750 N. Altadena Drive in Pasadena. Besides the visitor center, there are picnic areas and volunteer led walks (call the visitor center for details).

Find A Beach

Bright, sunny, breezy days make me want to go to the beach. The last time we went to the beach though, we looked like some kind of Beat couple that staggered onto the beach accidently - my old man with his coffee and me in black pants, slathered with sunscreen. Now that we have a mini, we're gonna figure out how to do this without looking like total freaks. Our first step: find something to wear that's a little more beachy. Step two: avoid going to Santa Monica with the endless stream of rollerbladers, bikers, surfers, women in much better shape than me wearing very small bikinis and tourists. To that end, both the State of California and County of LA have helpful sites about the beaches they manage. You can research beaches, look at photos, choose one that suits your fancy and then get directions that hopefully don't involve getting to PCH via the 10.

Crystal Springs

The soothing sounds of freeway traffic are everpresent at the Crystal Springs playground, picnic area and baseball diamond. Located between the pony rides and ranger station in Griffith Park, this area has the bad luck to be right next to the 5. By this I mean, you can literally watch cars speeding southbound on this major interstate while enjoying your picnic. It's too bad because otherwise it's a really nice area filled with sycamores and (looking away from the 5) hills covered in chaparral. There are lots of picnic tables, ample open lawn areas and a decent playground, though Shane's Inspiration, a better playground in terms of equipment but with crowds to match, is just two minutes up the road.

Pacific Community Center & Park

More than the usual park and rec center, the Pacific Community Center and Park in Glendale has it all. There's a playground, basketball courts, a softball field, gym, rec room (with ping pong tables), and a branch of the Glendale Public Library. The playground has a small jungle gym as well as swings and three little child-sized huts where kids can play. There's also a water feature for hot days. On top of all that, on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10am - noon, there's a free, unsupervised, open play for kids under 5 in the gym.

Pacific Community Center is located at 501 S. Pacific Ave. in Glendale.

Silver Lake Rec Center

The City of LA hates to situate parks near quiet streets and the Silver Lake Rec Center is no exception. Just south of the reservoir and next to the dog park along Silver Lake Blvd., the rec center has the usual playground equipment, a basketball court and a large open grassy area. They also offer classes for kids like ballet and gymnastics and host seasonal events like this weekend's Spring/Easter party with an egg hunt and coloring contest. Though the park isn't as lush or inviting as it could be (trees would be nice), the playground always has some kids climbing or playing in the sandbox and it's close to the walking trail around the west side of the reservoir.

Silver Lake Rec Center is located at 1850 West Silver Lake Drive.

Parks: Brand Park

Brand Park is a quiet park in the foothills of northwestern Glendale. There's a children's playground, a soccer/softball field, hiking trails and Japanese garden as well as the Brand Library. The playground is missing toddler swings but otherwise features all the standard playground equipment: jungle gym, sandbox, regular swings, and slides. The Japanese Garden (which I haven't been to) is supposed to be great but unfortunately only open during the week. The park's a little out of the way but that's one of the nice things about it - unlike many of the parks in the City of LA, Brand Park isn't next to a freeway or busy street. Another great thing about Glendale parks is that, with a few exceptions, none of them require reservations or deposits to have parties in picnic areas - just show up and claim a table.

Brand Park is located at 1601 West Mountain Street in Glendale.

Keepin' Up with the LA Parks Dept.

You can find a park or rec center through the LA Parks website but that's about it. Wanna know about special events or the ins-and-outs of Prop K funding? If so, check out their blog.

Parks: Shane's Inspiration

Nestled between the Merry Go Round and the golf course in Griffith Park is Shane's Inspiration. This is a large playground with swings, slides, sandboxes and three primary jungle gym structures for different age ranges. There's a paved bike/tricycle/things-with-wheels area painted like streets that's always full of kids emulating their parents' traffic congested commutes. For toddlers, there are a couple of baby swings, two short slides and different things to peek through and pull at.

Be warned, if you're looking for a quiet Saturday at the park, this is probably not the place to go. If you want to do some people watchin' then you won't find a better park for miles - every subset of Angeleno and their kid is here.