“A day inside, on a day like this, is a day wasted,” my mom always said. The hot summer sun was glaring through the window, taunting you to go out and enjoy the sun. Whether or not my friends wanted to do something, I knew I had to go enjoy the day, and I couldn’t think of anywhere better to spend it then my childhood spot, Pat’s Lake.
Pat’s Lake has been around my entire life and it’s located behind a small plaza about a block and a half away from my house. I’ve considered Pat’s Lake to be my happy place because for as long as I can remember that was always the place I was at. When I was younger, the plaza contained a library, a little store called “Pat’s Pantry”, a dry cleaners, and an art studio. I would often take walks over to the pantry to buy a loaf of bread and a soda. I’d take the loaf over to the dock and break slices of bread into little chunks for the ducks as I kept my feet in the water.
To relieve my childhood energy, after feeding the ducks I would go and play at one of the two parks around the lake. There was the red park and the yellow park, each one served a different purpose to me. The red park was an exercise park with a circuit-like obstacle course. The circuit took a lot of energy to climb up the fire pole, down the rock climbing wall, run across the park to the snakelike monkey bars, then finish by climbing the tower at the end. I’d often reward myself with a piece of bread for finishing then head home. On the other side, the yellow park was merely the opposite. The playground was more relaxing, it had eight swings and a jungle gym with a big swirly side. I went to the yellow park to relax, swing on the swings and enjoy the great view I had of the lake.