our cover: SUMMER FUN
Fun-filled things to do
with your kids — in and
around Parker County
BY MARSHA BROWN
Who says there ‘Ain’t no cure for the
summertime blues’?
We’ve got a whole list of ‘em.
W
hoever said youth was wasted on
the young probably said it in the
summertime. I wish I had half the time
back then that I spent reading comic
books indoors. The Beach Boys must
have had north Texas in mind when they
sang of endless summers. Look outside!
It’s official! The days are long and hot,
and the kids are out of school.
How then to manage the sweltering
variety show that is life in the summer of
2017? By the time July rolls around, most
parents welcome a few ideas beyond
loading the kids into the Suburban, taking
them out to the nearest shopping venue
and dropping them off — armed up with
mom’s credit cards.
Try heading outdoors — really!
The whole logic of life in Texas has
been to head indoors to the sweet
languor of air conditioning. They say
that the coldest winter is summer in San
Francisco. Forget it. It’s summer in a
Texas shopping mall. Yet, people have
survived and thrived here from time
immemorial before the advent of refriger-
ated air.
There are many ways to stay cooler
outside, the best being to splash around
in water.
1. DISCOVER CHANDOR GARDENS —
See what all the fuss is about. The gardens are fascinating to adults and children
alike, but for very different reasons. English portrait artist Douglas Chandor incor-
porated his quirky sense of humor and childlike wonder as he converted what
once was a cow pasture into a living work of art. Kids go crazy over the fountain
made of pop bottles and marbles. Teenagers (especially the girls) love hearing
about the love story of Douglas and Ina (see The Chandor Story).
You can take a self-guided tour or get with another family or two and (call
ahead, there’s a 10 person minimum) take a guided tour with one of Weatherford’s
docents. They all have fun stories and can point out some fascinating features most
people would miss on their first visit to Chandor.