Exploring the World with Pokémon Go: Lake Mary Central Park
After a few weeks off due to weather and other matters, I at long last went on an adventure to Lake Mary Central Park. The Farmers Market was back, but I decided it was time to not let that be a problem anymore. Let’s take a look at what I found.
Before I begin talking about my adventure at Lake Mary Central Park, I want to talk about the Farmers Market. I don’t like having people in my photos. The point of this blog is to look at nature and architecture. But Lake Mary has a farmers market at this park every single Saturday. Which happens to be the day I am available to go on adventures.
So a small section of the park is mostly going without photos for this post. It was the only way I could document what I found here without drastically changing my schedule. Still, I carefully took one picture above to showcase the area that I skipped. And it wouldn’t hurt if people reading this are interested in farmers markets decide to check this place out. I like checking these places out. just not when doing my travel blog.
The Park
Lake Mary Central Park is located right in the middle of its downtown. Its in the name after all. I have visited this place several times in the past and already knew what I would find here, but that didn’t take away from what I saw. Usually when I come here, I am rushing about, constantly doing raids and looking for Pokémon. And I’ll get to that in the Pokémon Go section, but let’s talk about the park itself.
The Central Park has a small pond on the south side, serving as a natural barrier between the green space and the busy road nearby. One can hear cars speeding down Lake Mary Boulevard, but it doesn’t take too much away from the scene. Instead, one can walk around the park thanks to a convenient path that circles the entire green space.
For those who wish to rest from their busy days, there are countless benches that dot the path. More than enough for the many visitors to have their own quiet spots without interfering with anyone else. A clock tower stands above the park, helping those who are pretending they are not in a hurry, but actual are, keep track of what they are doing. I explored the other half of the park which has a different feel, but there was something else that I visited first, since I was not pressed for time.
The Bridge
Before I explored the second half of Lake Mary Central Park, I wanted to check out the nearby pedestrian bridge. Like the park itself I have crossed this bridge before, but always in a hurry. Never with a chance to stand and look at what I might see up there. And with plenty of time and a need to be outside after being inside so much over the last several months, I took that chance.
The bridge is similar to another one that was built nearby in Lake Mary for the Cross Seminole Trail. It actually crosses this same street and feels like part of a matching pair to me. Lake Mary Boulevard, the street below is a major route that connects Lake Mary and Heathrow, Florida with Daytona Beach. Its a heavily trafficked street that I have passed by in several different adventures now. In an area with as much foot traffic as Lake Mary, I am glad that this bridge is here to make it seamless for pedestrians to travel around.
I have to commend the engineers that built it with designing it in such a way that its wheel chair accessible and that the incline and decline are not too steep at any point. The fact that it doesn’t take up too much space either is part of the appeal to me. And as I stood at the top of the bridge for a time and watched traffic go through on the busy street below, I was reminded at even on a day with nothing planned that I move around too much. I should have stayed up there longer than I did. Oh well. Its not like I can’t go back to that bridge another time.
The Second Half
Once I left the bridge and returned to the ground I checked out the other half of Lake Mary Central Park. This area is not just a green space, but also is the location of City Hall for Lake Mary itself. Its a logical central location for everything. In fact I was surprised that more of the government buildings were not here too. Well, the green space would have been smaller as a consequence, so whatever the reason I’m glad that whoever made that choice did.
Though it was the middle of the morning when I visited, I have come here at night before and know that the lights dotting the path are not just for show. This is a safe place both during the day and at night. As greenspaces open to the public are supposed to be. Too many locations in the United States demand money just for you to have the privilege of existing there. Parks are one of the few places left where we as humans can just be without it being wrong or illegal.
Lake Mary Central Park clearly spent some money to make this space look nice. And I commend them for it. There are fountains in several places and the park benches did not disappear either. Off the path, there was plenty of room to run around and enjoy being outside. Even with the farmers market taking up a fair amount of space itself.
I also took a picture of a local map to showcase how well designed downtown Lake Mary, Florida is. Its very walkable and even has a nearby train station for Sunrail. Sidewalks along the streets give people several options to get around. And as mentioned earlier the bridge gets pedestrians safely across the busy Lake Mary Boulevard. I hope more US Cities can copy this design in their downtowns, especially the non urban ones that are all too common around the country.
Pokémon Go
I have talked at length about Lake Mary Central Park in reality, now lets focus on Pokémon Go. As I have visited this park for Raid Hour many times, that should tell you that it is a worthwhile place to play. And while the spawn density and gyms are of a lower number than at a park like Lake Eola in downtown Orlando or Cranes Roost in Altamonte Springs, there is still enough here that you will not run out of Pokeballs or Pokémon to catch. While Lake Mary in general has plenty of good spots to play the game, this is the best location in and its right in the middle of everything here.
It really tells you about the quality of the places that I tend to play Pokémon Go, that a park with four gyms, eight Pokestops and several Dynamax Dens all active isn’t considered stellar for the game. And if not for some of the places I frequent, I would be able to recommend this park enough to play. Again, I will stress that if you find yourself playing Pokémon Go in Lake Mary, Florida this is the best spot in that entire city to play in my opinion.
I hatched a few eggs that were just stardust fodder. Nothing exciting here. But sometimes you have to get through the bad eggs to reach the good ones.
I did my best not to look at the sun when I took this picture at Lake Mary Central Park. Instead the sun was behind me and I couldn’t see how I looked. Never have been good at taking selfies. I always look either tired, upset or bored. Yet I was none of these things when I took the picture. I felt fantastic in fact as I always do when I go for a hike. Its one of the most therapeutic things I do which is why I try my best each week to go on another adventure.
Now that the weather is improving, I want to go on as many adventures as I can. But there is Kalos Tour next week, so I’ll have a different blog post for that. Look forward to something special.