My wife, Helen, my daughter, Allie, Cubby, Tova and I decided to check out some parks around Largo and found this great little spot on Walsingham Lake.

Walsingham Park claims the 100-acre Walsingham Lake as its own and has a multitude of amenities for the family. A fenced-in dog area behind the lake has two large dog areas and the largest small-dog area I've ever seen.

It took a while and some serious navigation to find the place, but the trip was well worth the trouble.

From Brandon, we took 275 South, got off on Exit 688 and headed west just as Mapquest stated. Then we took Alternate 19 south and that's where our trouble began.

Mapquest said that Alternate 19 was Seminole Blvd. South, but I bet there are those of you out there giggling to yourself right now because you know where I wound up. This was the first time that I was actually happy I caved in and bought my daughter an iPhone for her birthday.

If it weren't for her navigating skills, we would probably be somewhere to the south on some long lost Key, surviving as scavengers eating hermit crabs and slow seagulls.

I say all this sarcastically, with a tongue-in-cheek attitude, but I was on the verge of calling off the search and heading north to familiar grounds in St. Petersburg. Thank goodness I didn't.

This place was beautiful and from what the locals were saying, Largo prides itself on how tax money is spent. They know that pet owners are a large base of the voting constituents; animal lovers like it when they have a place to spend the day with their little furballs.

Quite a few people commented on how the grounds were freshly mulched on both sides of the fence. I asked a couple of really nice people, Cathy and Mac, why there were two large dog areas and I was told that the parks crew used to rotate the grounds when one area got over-run, the other would open up as an alternate playground.

When I first arrived, I noticed the number of dogs in the fenced area and quite a few in the small dog section.  There had to have been around 50 dogs all together. I was looking around and taking pictures when I saw Mac throw a tennis ball in Cathy's direction. I didn't know that they were a couple and thought it a clever way to meet the woman on the park bench. Turns out, they are a couple who frequent several dog parks in the area with their dogs, Marley and Baby Girl. Hope to run into them again and I wish them luck on their pool league.

In the middle of the park was a phony, red plastic fire hydrant and a large black tube my daughter loved playing hide-n-seek around with Cubby. Right next to the dog sections was a kids' playground, with several people playing on the slides and swing set.

This was a busy park where we will have picnics this summer. Two large covered sections with a dozen picnic tables and a very clean restroom were very close. This place has fun written all over it and boasting a 354-acre family oriented environment, complete with bike trails and dog walks.

Bottom line is that I'll be back and have picnic supplies to last the day; my dog's said I have to! Don't forget to love them as they love you!