The turtle park

Continuing my review of the Downey parks...Brookshire Children's Park is a tiny little park in the south of Downey. Dedicated in 1971, it provides a small play area in a very densely populated part of Downey.

The most noticeable thing about this park is the giant turtle that challenges kids to climb on top. In fact, it's pretty unusual to pass by here, as I did today, and not see kids climbing the turtle.

The park is so small and out of my ordinary path that I forgot that Allison has actually posted about this turtle before. Click here for her childhood memories of this park.

Unfair advantage

If you've followed Downey Daily for any time at all now, you probably realize that we have a penchant for yard art of all types.

So when I saw this turtle, I had to stop. He's life-size and looks almost real. But what made me laugh were the two posts connected by the green tape in the background. They remind me of the setup for a game of limbo. The turtle looks ready to play, and I thought, What an unfair advantage he has!

A break from work

Of the 100 acres in Downey devoted to parks, boasting of golf courses, tennis courts, fishing ponds, and other recreational areas, this humble park barely gets a nod. The Brookshire Children's Park consists of a swing set, some rocks, a picnic table, a few things to climb on, a small field, and this guy; the turtle that will forever remind me of field trips in Junior High. Our teacher walked us from then South Middle School (now Sussman Middle School) a few blocks away and let us run around for a while in the middle of the school day.

I still go there and just sit in the shade for a while, just giving myself a break from the busy work week. At the corner of Brookshire and Imperial, it is amazing how actually calming it can be.