First "Spring" park day

This weekend we finally had some no-jacket weather!  We rushed right out to explore a park in the center of the city...

 There was still some snow on the ground, the lake we walked near was still pretty frozen, and there was nary a green bud to be found,  but we were ready to call it Spring anyway!

 The park was beautiful even without greenery... many, many wide open paths.

 After a young man saw me take the picture above, he kindly offered to take a picture of all of us:

 Thankfully he did not steal our camera... in fact, he ended up being a very nice fellow, telling us about how he spent time in Ocean City, Maryland a few years ago.  (We're finding there seems to be quite a consistent conduit of students from Chisinau to O.C.  What a wonderful taste of America they must be getting there.... )

Anyway, we enjoyed our long walk near the lake, up some hills, and through some woods, and spotted some beautiful things -- including these glowing white trees:

 Then we came across the coolest nautilus-type equipment!  We thought it was a playground at first, but then realized there were more adults on the equipment than children... and everyone could get quite a work-out.

 Here's the one cousin Alison or Uncle Mike would head for, I'd bet:

 It's actually pretty ingenious, since these little machines are right next to a real playground for little kids.  I wish we had these in America -- parents could fit in a work-out while their children play right nearby!

 We played for a bit, but fortunately saved enough energy for exiting the park, which included going up these 171 steps.

Yesterday was one of our most enjoyable exploring-Moldova days so far, and we look forward to experiencing more of these parks in the city.

Bring on the Spring!