We learned a lot about our boys, the county and playgrounds on this tour.

At each stop, we read up on the neighborhood history, checked out the real estate market, sampled local taco options when we were hungry. We learned to identify the decade the playground was built based on the features. On the way to each playground, we got to know the neighborhoods of our county.

Here are our top ten take-aways:

1. Davidson County has great playgrounds – all across the city.
2. The playgrounds are in pretty good shape!
3. Davidson County is a big place with a lot of different neighborhoods.
4. Every part of Davidson County is experiencing construction and growth – including the playgrounds.
5. Playgrounds are more diverse meeting places than many other spaces in our city.
6. The best playgrounds are the really new ones and the cool really-old ones.
7. Our kids love monkey bars. Our arms fall off when we try monkey bars.
8. Many playgrounds do not have bathrooms or port-a-potties.
9. On the weekends, traffic isn’t that bad!
10. There are many huge parks tucked away in corners of the county we never knew about.

Our favorite part of the tour was meeting so many great people. It is easy to strike up conversations with other parents on a playground or suddenly find yourself in a game of the floor is lava with strangers. This kind of connection is fun and the stuff of great community.