Skate Park

I mentioned last week that Caleb and Seth's new friends Matt and Tim had discovered before they moved here three weeks ago that the largest skate park in the world is in Shanghai. It's called SMP, and we understand that it was built for the X-Games last year. It's size is really quite impressive, compared to the few skate parks that I've visited in the US. (You know what a skateboarding fiend I am~ ha, ha!)

Saturday we made our way to SMP, even though the boys' skateboards are still on their way to us in the sea shipment. They decided it would be worth it to experience the park in their newly purchased roller blades. It was a fair distance away, made longer by the fact that we gave Mr. Wu three sets of directions that we later realized were conflicting. We finally made it there around noon. Why were there so few people in this immense place? There was certainly plenty of room. Ahhh, the heat, that's it. Who wants to exert themselves in a concrete desert in this type of steamy heat, the kind that causes sweat to trickle continuously down your back and bead up on your upper lip the moment you step from your air conditioned vehicle?

Well, Matt and Tim and Caleb and Seth did. There were certainly moments when they did not appear to be enjoying themselves, but they were not so miserable that they wanted to leave. Finally, after three hours and more drinks consumed among us than we could count, Dad said it was time to leave. It might be my imagination, but I think I may have heard sighs of relief escape from the boys' lips. Of course none of them would have themselves said they were ready to go!

Seth and Tim "drop in" (that's skating lingo, if you didn't know) on the ramp, with Madelyn looking on.
Caleb takes a little breather, while Gwen watches Matt come up out of the bowl.
Tim and Seth contemplate how to get out of the deep bowl they are in.
Tim made it out, but Seth seems to have slipped back. If the boys made several unsuccessful attempts at getting out of a bowl like this, they would have someone throw their shoes down to them so they could change out of their skates and climb out.

In the background you can see the stands and lights for part of the competition area.
These kids hung around us the whole time we were at the park. They did not appear to be with any adult. Literally the second any of us finished the last swallow of a bottle of some drink, they would snatch the empty bottle from our hands. Often three or four of them would be reaching for it above our faces as we tipped it up. They had collected a couple of plastic grocery bags of bottles, and we thought perhaps they were able to get some bit of money back for turning them it. During the last hour we were there, they found another way to amuse themselves, by sliding down the ramps with a plastic bottle cap under each shoe. They were actually pretty good at it, and Scott and I enjoyed watching them.