There is a conspiracy going on in Redondo Beach, and that conspiracy is Lilenthal Park. Google Maps was wrong. My GPS led me astray. My own sense of direction is laughable. After two days of attempting to find said park, I have determined it does not exist.
The only logical explanation is that there is a serious Platform 9 3/4 situation happening here. Redondo Beach, what magical fairy dust do I need in order to find this park? That, or it is the tiniest park in existence, undetectable by the human eye.
One park I mistook (again) briefly for Lilenthal was Fulton Play Field. It's a lovely baseball field that is, amazingly enough, shaded. There is some surprisingly pleasing vegetation and landscaping surrounding the field as well.
Find out what's happening in Redondo Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Upon trying to find Lilenthal again, I ran into my next destination by accident:
Anderson Park: There are amenities aplenty at Anderson including two lighted tennis courts (park's open 'til 10p.m.) and the biggest playground I've seen yet in Redondo. Kids will love this one. Scratch that, they were loving it. The picnic tables are bountiful and spread out through a large open grassy area. A nice walking path winds throughout the park as well. The entire park is shaded by a forest of huge trees--one of which was curiously being held up by two metal poles.
Find out what's happening in Redondo Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Odd find: Redondo is also all about random amphitheaters in their parks. Anderson is no exception. Check out its uncomfortable looking concrete theater.
Andrews Park: This park was the hardest to find parking near. In truth, I failed at it. One side of the street in a many block radius is No Parking Anytime while the other side of the street is no parking on Monday mornings. Guess when I was there. It's helpful that this park is on a corner and not very big, so I was able to circle a few times and get the lay of the land. It's also a good thing that the senior apartments, Heritage Pointe, next door have a large parking lot. Otherwise these poor people would have to make a serious trek on Mondays.
Andrews, being right next to the senior apartments, is the perfect playground for bored grandchildren. It's convenient, has a small playground, a small walking path and sitting areas.
Aviation Park: Home of everything cool.
I am definitely the last person in Redondo to be let in on the not-so-secret that is Aviation Park. So this is where the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center resides. Huh.
Aviation Park has a track! It's very exciting, mostly because this track is nice. So I did a lap with a bunch of people who were presumably on their lunch breaks (even though it was 10:30a.m.). This place is popular, and has more than enough parking for you to join the cool crowd. Not only is this track quality, it comes with the best looking AstroTurf in history! Who doesn't love AstroTurf?
While you go for a run, your children could play on the tiny playground next to the track that almost seems like it was built as an afterthought. However, fun nonetheless. Let's not get picky.
There was one peculiar door I came across on the building Aviation Gym. It appears this gym is not open to the public. However, it displays a sign on an inconspicuous door that reads "Aviation Dance Room." There is nothing that intrigues me more than the combination of dance and flight. Sadly, the door was locked.
Evidently, this day is all about the A-named parks, all of which coincidentally, earn an A.
Park Lessons:
1. One thing that has become clear in this whole park escapade is that my drug of choice is parks. I'm a fiend for parks.
2. I also realized that I have a unique form of OCD. Whenever I see a hopscotch course drawn on the ground, I have to hop it out. Every time.
3. Redondo has an incredible variety of parks that can fill pretty much all of your park needs. There has been some impressive planning in terms of parks here and I hope you all take advantage of the city's resources.
