Boat Park

Note: I originally posted this review on July 22, 2011.
Boat Park? Boat Park!
It’s one of the few playgrounds in San Francisco that is still an original. OK, there may be new originals, but this is an original original. In fact, I wouldn’t hesitate to call it OG. Maybe it should be called OG Park?
Its name might technically be 45^th Avenue Playground, but that’s kind of misleading because as far as I know the street that runs past it isn’t named 45^th Avenue at the point at which it runs past it. Online maps are great, but unfortunately, they don’t label everything in Golden Gate Park, so you’ll have to do with an inexact address. Anyway, it’s Boat Park because that’s what my five-​year-​old nephew calls it, and how can he be wrong?
There’s all kinds of great equipment that hasn’t been tested for kids’ safety. It has surely been tested by generations of kids, just not for safety. Watch how the kids use the two bars as a makeshift slide. I never would have thought of that when I was their age. And instead of bouncy weird recycled-​water-​bottle surfacing, there’s old-​fashioned sand. And it’s not beach sand or clean sand; it’s playground sand. That’ll show you.
The highlight of the park, of course, is its namesake boat. It’s not a replica boat. It’s a real boat. The last time my brother and I (and my nephew) sat it in, we determined that it is, indeed, a real boat. We’re not sure whether it has ever been in the water. There’s a handy gangplank that allows you to climb in without having to climb. And the paintings on the sides are cool.
Boat Park is a great place for picnics and parties.