Searching For Summer Fun in Eagle Rock?

My kids and I have a little garden out on the patio that they help maintain. It’s nothing fancy—a few tomatoes, green beans, some basil and Swiss chard. They love inviting guests to eat the beans and chard raw, straight out of the garden. 

Each child also picks a couple of flowers to accent the food crops. Along with the usual marigolds, cosmos and zinnias, my son has insisted on planting a few pots with grass burs. I tried to explain that most folks consider grass burs to be a weed, but he is undeterred. 

I watched him painstakingly gather a good crop of seeds of bur from a neighbor’s yard and carefully plant them into their little pots, now lined up along the patio. Even more incredulously, I find myself watering these little experiments, wondering if they will actually sprout.

As school comes to its annual finale, parents everywhere begin to scramble for summer activities for their kids. Being on a budget, I am creating my own Tom Sawyer camp, which will consist of grass bur gardening and car washing.

Oh yes, car washing. Our favorite is the Chevron station at the corner of Colorado and Figueroa. I’ve told my kids it’s called HollyWashLand and they think it is an amusement park. Here’s how it works:

• Make sure you talk it up so the kids are giddy with excitement when you arrive.

• As you pull into line for the car wash, announce in a clear voice, “ Seat belts off everyone!” The kids will go wild upon being released from their restraining devices.

• Crank up the classic rock, and I mean loud. Everyone in the vehicle must dance until the ride is complete.

• Pull forward and begin the car wash. Somehow, the water and the suds and the music and the seatbelt-less-ness makes for an exhilarating time and only costs $5. 

So there you go—four minutes down and only 129,300 to go until school starts in the fall.

There is another approach to the car wash. Enter my children’s godfather—we call him The Godfather. He’s old school, none of these automatic suds for him. The Godfather pulls his car right up on his lawn, gets some old towels and bucket and a hose and puts the kids to work.  (After a bit of nagging from me, he did refrain during times of drought, but that is another story).

“Mom, The Godfather let me stand on top of his car with the hose! It was awesome!” says my sweet boy. 
“Yeah!” My girl exclaims, “we were both up there! Next time he’s going to let us use the hedge trimmers!”

Always on the look out for safer family activities, we attended the Relay for Life at Eagle Rock High School last weekend. The event raised more than $24,000 for cancer research (aimed at finding that ever-elusive cure for the disease). People from all over the community were on the track for 24 hours. For our evening shift, we showed up with a couple of dozen families and teachers from . Dutifully, we walked our laps—and then the fun really began. 

The kids took advantage of the face painting and the cupcake sales (all proceeds going to fight cancer) and soon they were just playing in a big pack, the way kids should. The adults took turns walking laps and chatting, watching the kids and swatting mosquitoes off of each other. The event was reminiscent of the good ol’ days when that sort of thing happened spontaneously on every neighborhood block. 

I hope to include more of those kinds of enjoyable summer evenings in my own personal Tom Sawyer Camp.

Here’s a great tip: If you are looking for free and fun activities, come to the Yosemite Recreation Center Friday, June 17 starting at 4 p.m. There will be booths set up, where volunteers will be spreading the word about summer camps and other activities available for families. 

There will also be music, crafts, face painting and to top it off a free performance of An Enchanted Fairy Tale at the amphitheater at 6:30 p.m. What better excuse to grab your picnic baskets and hang out with your neighbors. There’s a brand new play structure being build at the Yosemite Rec Center, too, which will be ready to play on that evening. So much to do. 

If any Eagle Rockers would like to participate in this little festival, by bringing information on their business, school, day care, church, camp, sports, the arts, vacation bible school, health care, counseling, tutoring, etc., they are most welcome to join us!

For more information, email caroleemayne@gmail.com or call (626) 485-9184.

So come, bring a blanket, and a bucket of chicken, swat some mosquitoes, throw a Frisbee—and start your summer off right. My son and I will have a booth there, selling organic grass burs. We hope to see you then.