Exploring the World with Pokémon Go: Reiter Park
I am all settled in in Longwood, Florida. There are plenty of parks nearby and a specific one caught my eye. Let’s see what I found at Reiter Park.
Longwood Florida is a beautiful area filled with plenty of parks. And with Reiters Park, I think I found something special. I didn’t realize just how much was crammed into this smaller space. Not that its tiny by any amount of imagination. Its just that the last park I visited was larger, but I feel like this one has more to offer.
Immediately, one is greeted with a nice gate and plenty of shaded spots to sit and relax. Many of these places were in use when I arrived and so I picked with care what I took pictures of. After all, I don’t like having strangers in my pictures. I’m sure its a mutual feeling too.
Past the entrance, the park features a large open field with plenty of room for multiple people to use the space how they wish. The grass looks like it is well maintained too. Not too short. But not too long either.
Plenty to See:
Reiter Park is consistently green and serene all around. That became clearer and clearer as I traveled deeper into the park. Different corners hosted unique gardens and trees. I am not versed in biology enough to recognize different plants, but even I could tell that each spot had different wildlife to appreciate.
There are houses that back up to the park property. How fortunate that people can live right by this beautiful park. I wonder how expensive it is to have that privilege?
Don’t let the overwhelming greenery fool you though. There is plenty more to do here. Take a look at that basketball court. While you will find those at many parks, I wanted to draw attention to the one here for a specific reason. Between that area, the pathways, and the different and unique green spots, Reiter Park makes incredible use of its space.
Gardens and Trees:
But wait! Reiter Park has even more to offer than what I already mentioned. Following the path farther around the park lead me to gardens. And not just like the gardens before. Actual exhibits with unique flora and fauna complete with spots to read about what is there.
Not only do these places talk about plants. But there were also additional plaques talking about the different birds that make use of these unique spaces. I was amazed with the attention to detail at this park from beginning to end.
I have explored other parks with large trees. One of those places is right down the street from this park. But Reiter Park has a large tree too. Don’t worry, I took pictures of that too.
It seems that different types of birds like to check out different areas of the parks. Or at least he descriptions of these birds are spread out enough that you get to learn about them as you travel about.
Different Features:
Moving along to the next section of Reiter Park took me away from smaller gardens and onto a larger walkway. There was a small building nearby that had restrooms and a few others features. But I don’t go inside normally on these adventures so I left that part of the park unexplored.
This section of the park had almost no one. You wouldn’t be able to tell since I carefully take photos and time them well, but that was not true for the earlier areas. There were many visitors all over the park. And they didn’t congregate in one spot. I wasn’t the only one taking pictures even. Or playing Pokémon Go.
The next section of Reiter Park took me around a lake. As many of you know by now, I love taking pictures of water. Naturally, I spent some time looking around here. I like boardwalks across the water. You get to look at nature from a perspective normally reserved for boats. But with the added benefit that you are not disturbing the water.
I also found a side entrance to the park. I always am interested in locations with multiple ways in and out. Personally, I feel like it is foolish to only have one way in or out of anything. I’m looking at you gated communities.
Artwork:
The final segment of Reiter Park has a bunch of art to look at. This part of the park was near the front and had lots of people sitting around and doing their thing. I didn’t want to interrupt that and so took my final photos with care.
There was one final plaque talking about birds. Seems you can learn a lot about them by reading these things while taking the tour. Not sure how much of it I retained though since that wasn’t the purpose of my visit.
I saw a splash pond for the little ones as I reached the end of my journey. It was closed when I visited though. I’m sure the hours are impacted by Covid 19. Just like everything else the last few years.
Pokémon Go:
Reiter Park has a whole lot to offer in the real world. How does it measure up in Pokémon Go? Sadly, not as well. Normally parks with tons of landmarks are also goldmines in the game. Not so this time. The spawns are decent. And there are plenty of Pokestops. However, there are better parks nearby. Not to mention downtown Longwood is a block away.
Downtown areas are fantastic places to play the game since they have stops, gyms, and lots of spawns. That doesn’t mean its not worth playin the game here. Just know that the scenery is the real reason to come here. With Pokémon Go being secondary.
I’m taking this Timbur with me on my travels. They had a lot of fun. This spunky little Pokémon even carries that block of wood around with it when it checks parks out. I wish I shared that level of enthusiasm.
Here I am looking at the sun once more at Reiter Park. Don’t let that scowl fool you. I loved this place. I’ll come back here soon. After all, I live nearby. I can come here on foot.
Wrap Up:
I’m going somewhere neat this week. I’ll be showcasing parks far away from Central Florida. You will have to check out my next post where I will reveal where I went. Look forward to that very soon.