. . "2007-02-28T00:00:00"^^ . "Paradise Park, on McLeod between Tropicana and Harmon, has been host to, well, a host of barbecues we've thrown for the mere fact that it's close and we're lazy. But, hey, guess what? It works, and there's always something going on. \n\nThere's plenty of benches and, since we're not prissy and use park grills, plenty of grills to use. There's a covered area or two that, on the weekends, are usually reserved for parties, but you could call Parks and Rec to reserve them for yourself if you were so inclined. The park boasts a large playground, exercise route, basketball courts, a rec center and a pool. It's an older park, and the trees are mature, full and offer plenty of shade in the summer. Ice cream trucks used to have little ice cream wars trying to get customers to buy their (identical) wares over their competitors (identical) confections and hopefully will once it warms up again.\n\nOf course, Tropicana and McLeod is no longer exactly the BEST neighborhood in town. The park police patrol the park regularly, oftentimes not bothering to get out of the car but driving through the park on the grass itself. I'm often amused by the drunkards walking home, or the crazy man urinating, or the lady with the bag on her head, but more family oriented or societally squeamish people might not enjoy that quite as much as I do. Also, and not surprisingly because it IS a park, the bathrooms are always deplorable. This is why we use this park because of it's proximity to home. Of course, I let my friends drive to my house to use the restroom. \n\nNo, you can't come over to pee. Geez. I don't even know you."^^ . . "16"^^ . "3"^^ . "6"^^ . "2"^^ .