New tire swing in Rio Nido!

While enjoying an evening barbecue with our neighbors – whose deck overlooks the Rio Nido Playground, Dog Park, and Community Garden – we noticed that our daughter, her friend, and other neighborhood kids were gleefully gathered around the park’s newest feature. A fabulous new tire swing had suddenly appeared out of nowhere!

In the dappled, golden sunlight of this warm summer evening alongside the grassy banks of the dry seasonal creek, the kids took turns on the swing – sometimes in pairs – while the others pushed. Their laughter echoed through the canyons as their toes brushed over soft, green grass, purple irises, and then pointed towards the canopy of redwood branches lacing over the pale, blue summer evening sky.

My neighbor, Karyn, stood amongst the children (including her slender, pretty tween-aged daughter and her twin three-year-old sons) with an air of immense satisfaction, because she had been planning the installation of this new tire swing for some time. She obtained the tire and rolled it over from her home on the other side of Rio Nido, while her husband pushed the stroller with the twins. Then, she tied a rock to a length of rope and threw it over the tree branch, and looped it through. They somehow managed to tie the tire securely, and … voila! Instant fun!

The playground is mainly set up for younger children, and “I wanted there to be something for the older kids,” Karyn explained. Sure enough, after the younger crowd had dispersed, a group of teenagers passed by, instantly gravitated to the swing, and enjoyed an hour of good, clean, fun.

Times like these are what make me love living in Rio Nido.