SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — San Diegans are taking in a deep breath of fresh air and are excited to finally get outside and head to the park.
Even though not all city parks are open, many parkgoers said the slow reopening is a much welcomed start.
"We're just so excited, and so happy that the park is open. It’s such a breath of fresh air and so nice to see the flowers in full bloom,” said Nalley, a mother of two young boys named Jedidiah and Emmet, at Lake Murray Community Park.
Some residents played catch while others rode bikes and did yoga on the lawn.
"You can go to a neighborhood park as long as you practice physical distancing and participate in individual activities,” said San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer.
San Diegan Jacob Sherman was pumped to play frisbee golf on his own.
“I'd usually be here three, four or five times a week before the-stay-at-home order,” Sherman said. “You take a walk around the block and what not, but sometimes that just doesn't do it, you know? Actually getting out and being active, it's hard to do that you know cooped up in the house.”
Sherman is currently out of work as a restaurant employee at the Tap Room in North Park and the PB Ale House. He said he sides with local leaders with not rushing to reopen the economy.
“I agree with them taking their time to reopen it. People need to be smart,” he said.
Basketball, swimming pools, playgrounds, and tennis courts will remain closed. Some parts of Balboa Park like Bird Park and Morley Field and the 28th Street Corridor are open, but other parts of the park are not.
"[I am] really excited because I haven't been able to go to this park in like two or three weeks now. We're doing online school at home. It is not that fun, but it's better than nothing,” said 12-year-old seventh-grader Sheridan Hanna Mathis.
Dog owners like Sharon McDowell were also elated to get their furballs out of the house.
“I said to myself today I'll never take it for granted again. So lovely just being here,” said McDowell who kicked off her shoes to walk in the grass with her dog named, Coco Louise Langadorf Louis.
“Just being here, just being out in the air, I love it. [I was] cooped up in the house for way too long,” she said.
The mayor also said parkgoers will not be able to drive to the parks, as parking lots remain closed per public health orders.
City leaders said whether other recreational facilities are opened in the future "will be dependent upon how closely physical distancing rules are followed and the ongoing monitoring of COVID-19 cases."
A full list of parks that reopened can be viewed here.