French Park

French Park is Plymouth’s best Park. And it has Plymouth’s best playground. All you really need to know is they have the nets, aka the spider webs, aka the ropes, it’s fun for everyone. I included a few pictures to get you excited. But seriously not much has to be said, your right by a beach for swimming, there’s an indoor facility with taxidermied animals and ice cream treats and it’s the funnest playground equipment you’ve ever played on.  It’s the old kind of playground that’s not completely safe and made out of wood, therefore its more fun. So come play on it or bring your kids because they don’t make them like this anymore.

Part of it was under construction at this time, but as of last time I was there (5/8/15) all construction was complete.

Its free! and its located at: 12605 Rockford Rd  Plymouth, MN 55441
(763) 694-7750

Go There

Plymouth's Best Burger: Five Guys

When they finally shut down the old Blockbuster Video, I felt pretty sad, like a piece of my childhood had died, all the friday nights poring over all the VHS tapes and settling on raiders of the lost ark again. But then they put a Five Guys Burger Joint in where the Blockbuster store used to be and suddenly I wasn't too worried about all the videos I would not be renting anymore.

Five Guys is an excellent Burger and Fries fast food restaurant which originated in the Washington DC area. Since all my inlaws are from DC I'd known about Five Guys for several years, and I love it. There are tons of options for your burger, every kind of topping under the sun, but the menu is simple.

One thing thats funny at Five Guys is there are free peanuts all over the place, its pretty awesome, also they tell you exactly where their potatoes are coming from that day. (almost always Idaho). Every thing is super delicious and fresh. The standard burger comes with 2 beef patties, so you gotta specify if you only want one.

So go try one you wont regret it, perfect for a saturday lunch.

 4105 Vinewood Ln N - Where Blockbuster once was, right next to Target.

It's the best burger in town!! (till we get our In-n-Out burger, but that just wouldn't fly, would it Eric Fernelious of Simi Valley, California?)

Summer Time Activities for Kids in and around Plymouth 2013

Here are some Cool Community events that can be fun for the whole family, many are free! The list is created by Minnesota ECFE


June
13 - 16 - Brooklyn Park Tater Daze, Noble Sports Park 4701 Oak Grove Pkwy
14 - 15 - Missoula Children's Theater - Plymouth Creek Center
15 - 16 - Art in the Park 10am til 5pm Basset Creek Park, Crystal
15, 29 - Little Splashers Pool Time 10:30am - 12:30pm Crystal Cove Pool $3
17 - Three Rivers Naturalist 6:45pm Snakes and Turtles, Hilde Small Stage
21 - Water Day, 12:30-2:15 Sheid Park
27 - 29 - Earle Brown Days, Centennial Park, Brooklyn Center
28 - Happy Birthday America Parade, 10am Plymouth Hilde Center
28 - Annette Fragele, Magician, 11am Hilde Center, Plymouth

July
2 - Music in Plymouth - 5pm Hilde Amphitheater
9 - Kid Power with Rachael 7pm Music with live animals, Parkers Lake
11-14 - Whiz Bang Days Robbinsdale
12 - Water Day 12:30- 2:15 Scheid Park
12, 13 - Prairie Fire Theater (12th at 7pm, 13th at 2pm) Robin Hood
13, 20 - Little Splashers Pool Time 10:30am - 12:30pm Crystal Cove Pool $3
15 - Ice Cream Social 7pm Brookview Park
17 - Water Ski Show, 7pm Parkers Lake
18, 25 - New Hope Summer Theater, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, 8pm, NH City Center
19-21 - Duk Duk Daze New Hope
23 - Brooklyn Center Puppet Playhouse, 7pm Centennial Park
24 - Concert, "the Zinghoppers"  11am Parkers Lake
25 - 28 - Crystal Frolics
26 - Penny Carnival, 10:30am- 12:30pm  Brookview Park
27 - Splash Bash 11:15am-12:45pm Crystal Cove Pool $4

August
1 - Pet and Wheel Parade, 6:15pm Robbinsdale
2 - Wet and Wild Fun Day, 12:30-3pm Lions Valley Place Park, Crystal $4
3, 10 - Little Splashers Pool Time, 10:30am - 12:30pm Crystal Cove Pool $3
4 - Concert, "Miss Catherine", 11am Parkers Lake
5 - Zoo Mobile, 6:45pm Cool Animals of the North, Hilde Small Stage.
7 - Picnic and Music 11:15am-12pm Brookview Park
7 - Water Ski Show 7pm Parkers Lake
10 - Antique Car Run 2pm Crystal Community Center

Have a great day in Plymouth!

Go to Music in Plymouth

This years Music in Plymouth is  Tuesday, July 1, 2014. BE THERE!

When your talking about your "MUST-DO" things to be done in Plymouth, #1 on the list has got to be Music in Plymouth. If the state fair is the Great-Minnesota-Get-Together, this is the Great-Northwest-Suburbs-Get-Together. Its an all-day outdoor event at the Hilde Amphitheater focused on live music. There are performances from several musicians all day. Its all a big build up to when the sun goes down, and the Minnesota Orchestra plays the classics and the crowd goes wild, and of course the fireworks show.  They always finish the night with a righteous fireworks show and I'm proud to be an american is usually pumping in the background and the crowd goes wild when Lee Greewood sings the line: "From the Lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennesee."

I've been going to this event since I was a youngster, and it has remained largely unchanged. You gotta get there early if you want good seats. The adults hold down the blankets and lawn chairs to save good seats, while the middle school and high school kids hang out back by the Port-a-Pot's mixing and mingling and trying to figure out who they're going to cuddle up with during the fireworks show, and the young kids go down in front to dance to the music. A Few nice changes have occured though, such as the addition of a nice fountain and steps in the back of the audience area, and the chopping down of that huge tree in the middle of the grass which was doing some serious fire work viewing blockage.

The sea of people staking their claims at the Hilde Amphiteater for Music in Plymouth.

A sweet Fireworks show caps off the night at Music in Plymouth

The only 3 things that can make music in plymouth a little tough are high heat, mosquitos and parking.  So be sure to bring a cooler of beverages on ice and bugspray.  But if you dont its really no big deal because odds are if you forgot someone else will get you covered. But as far as parking goes, I've ridden a scooter and bikes before and that worked awesome to weave through traffic.

Soaking it up

Well, Music in Plymouth only occurs once a year on the week of the Fourth of July so put it on your calander and don't miss it!

Plymouth Skate Park

Classic Ramp at the Plymouth Skatepark.

The New Plymouth skatepark is awesome. For many years the skaters of plymouth have suffering at the old plymouth skatepark which was stuffed in the back corner of the industrial part of town and it was all made of lame portable metal ramps. In 2012 they tore up an old hockey rink at Plymouth Creek Park and put in a really nice skatepark. Its all concrete pour and really well made. They call it the skate plaza, and mostly everything there is 3 feet or less. The one thing about it that really blew my mind was the ramp they put in which is in the shape of the city of Plymouth logo.  I’ve skated here a few times and the vibe is pretty good, not too many crazies. Its a great thing to do in plymouth.

There’s a great website here of the company who made the park packed with photos of the park under construction all the way to completion. http://actionsportdesign.com/project/plymouth-mn-wheel-plaza/

The park is totally free and open to the public 24/4 its located just south of Rockford Road(aka county road 9) on Fernbrook.

All in all I give a major thumbs up to Plymouth parks and rec for getting this park put in a family friendly park/playground in the neighborhoods, easy access and a well-made and creative skate park, perfect for a summers afternoon.

Sweet front boardslide at plymouth skate park. Photo Credit to ASD

Ride the Merry Go Round!

A true rarity! a legitimate Merry-Go-Round! (Known in some circles as the big spinner or the roundabout) When I first came to Timber Shores Park I couldn't believe my eyes.  I thought for sure that "The Man" had washed playgrounds free from all the fun play equipment in the name of safety.  But no! This park actually has a full fledged merry go round with no restrictions, no safety precautions. So come on down with your friends spin it as fast as you can and try to the last one to stay on, and the first one to toss his cookies!!

Location is Timber Shores Park: Just west of Zachary Ln N & 53rd Ave N
Plymouth, MN
55442

My favorite story of Merry-Go-Rounds is about my Dad who is one of 8 kids. When he was a youngster, they went down to their local park to play king of the mountain on the Merry-Go-Round. Well, him and his siblings got their Merry-Go-Round really cranking to the point where the centrifugal forces made it so my dad was just hanging on with his hands for dear life and the rest of his body was completely horizontal, spinning round and round and round. So his brother started peeling his fingers off one by one until he flew off the Merry-Go-Round, but only far enough that his face was still in contact with the metal bars as they spun past him, each time smacking him in the face rapid fire.  Needless to say his nose was broken, but it’s that kind of thing that you can tell you’re kids one day and they’ll think you’re the man. Because you are!

Elm Creek Park



After tying the knot, getting to elm creek park has got to be first priority! (Photo Credit John Sharpe)

 Elm Creek Park is a lot of fun for all seasons. It’s just about 5 miles north of us in Plymouth, and it’s on James Deane parkway (I’m assuming not named after the rebel without a cause).

 In summertime there is a lot of great space for playing with kids and running around.  They have a stellar Frisbee Golf (Disc Golf) Course. They have camping areas, swimming areas, mountain biking trails, the whole nine yards! I actually helped make one of the trails myself.  Last summer a good friend of mine had his wedding reception at the park, it was a beautiful Minnesota night and they got some great pics.

One of the most absurd things about Elm creek park is that they have a man-made, chlorinated, filtered swimming hole with a nice sandy beach. This strikes me as hilarious but hey if you hate lake weeds, fish, and other lake monsters this is your place. We’ve got 10,000 lakes, we might as well chlorinate a few of ‘em.

But I think my favorite activities at elm creek park are the winter activities. They have a great snowboarding hill. Its small, only a rope tow to take you from top to bottom, but its PACKED with ramps and rails. Check out the video to see what it’s all about.

They also have top notch cross-country skiing, with several miles of trails.  And you can’t leave out the classic snow tubing hill! If you like to sled but don’t like to walk back up the hill this is the place for you. Ride down on their groomed trails and ride back up on the conveyer belt. Pretty awesome.