I’m really getting into the Santa Clara County Parks “Parks for Life Challenge” and Erica Goss is a good sport and willing to go along with my nutty schemes. Our first adventures were so fun, we went out and did it again.

We met at Vasona Lake Park, where we captured Carrie Grisenti, Parks for Life Game Coordinator. Erica and I want to develop some poetry activities to be included in the game, and Carrie was showing us the ropes.

Carrie and Erica by the pier at Vasona Lake. Parks for Life Challenge Adventure #7 “Capture a Ranger”

Suddenly, Erica saw a gorgeous, huge white egret lift off the lake and fly into the air. We tried to get a photo, for Adventure #29 “Bird Watching” but Carrie reminded us that we actually had to have a photo of a real bird, not just a story about a bird sighting and a picture of Erica pointing. So, here are the photos of the no-longer-there-egret, Erica, and the still-there pigeon and other small brown bird.

Erica points where there once had flown a lovely egret.

There are the birds we actually caught on camera — Erica with a pigeon and something else bird-like-enough. “There’s a pigeon! There’s a pigeon!” Really not a great capture, but good enough for points! Parks for Life Challenge Adventure # 29, Bird Watching

Next we wandered over to the administrative offices for our Adventure # 177 (Park Trivia – Four). Here’s the question:

We went inside the office, read through many brochures, and finally had to get help from the lovely office staff. The “funding source” is the Parks Charter Fund! Here is our photographic proof. (And thanks to the Parks Charter Fund for supporting this really great game.)

Parks for Life Adventure # 177 (if you zoom in on the photo you can see that the paper says “Parks Charter Fund!” with a heart)

Next we wandered over toward the Juan Maria Hernandez Adobe Historic Landmark near the entrance to the park. The historical marker was placed in the park in 2014, and Erica wrote a poem to read at the unveiling. (Check out this story about that event). The Parks for Life Adventure #4 is a challenge to “take a goofy picture of yourself at a historic landmark” — well, we decided that we’d replicate the photo of “Juan Hernandez with one of his nine sons” — so here we are. I’m posing like the old man Juan (very stuff and self important) and Erica is sticking her tongue out in the way we imagine “one of his nine sons” might have felt like doing after he was done posing for the camera.

Erica imagining how “one of his nine sons” might really have felt —

Jennifer Swanton Brown pretending to be Juan Maria Hernandez (the hat and the posturing are not exactly right, but it was fun!)

(I hope this is “hysterical” enough to get credit!)

Last but not least, Erica and I tried to “Frolic in the Park” Adventure #21. We were certainly having a great time. It’s hard to take a selfie of two people, frolicking, with their feet and their sign — so the photo at the top of this post is us in a tree with the flag, and here we are with our feet, after having frolicked all afternoon.

Hope to see you sometime soon, with poetry, in the park!