And Willow Glen residents don't have to travel far because they have a wide choice of parks to visit right in their own community. From Doerr Park's 12 acres to the 15,000-square-foot "pocket park" on Bird and Fisk avenues called Hummingbird Park, each open space is of a different size and boasts unique features.

At any time of the day, a tennis player can pick up a match at Willow Street Frank Bramhall Park, on the corner of Willow Street and Camino Ramon. The 18-acre park has six tennis courts, restrooms, 29 picnic tables, 11 barbecues, two basketball courts, one softball field and two playgrounds, including an enclosed toddler section.

"This is the only park in the area you can pick up a game without having a partner," says Gary VanSant, 68, who has been playing tennis there for five years.

There is a group of about 30 tennis players that frequent the park daily as long as the weather permits, says Alan Silverberg, 42. At about 2 p.m. players slowly trickle in and stay until sunset. The average age is 55, but sometimes younger players will come to learn tips from their elders.

"The older people are really nice," says Tisha Rae Munoz, 24, who plays with her 22-year-old sister Maritza Rae twice per week. "They welcome us right in and give us some pointers."

George Devencenzi, 65, who has been playing at the park for 32 years, says the park needs more young talent.

When not playing, friends sit down to chat about their lives. Remundo Lazaga, 47, used to play tennis at a nearby club but says it got expensive and "the caliber at Bramhall is good enough for me."

Like other tennis players, Lazaga lives near the park and visits on weekends with his family to use the barbecues, picnic tables and playground equipment.

While the middle-aged players congregate in the afternoon after work, during the early morning hours the courts are filled with people over 70. Twice a week a group caravans to the park from the Willows Senior Center on Lincoln Avenue.

Most of the afternoon players are men, but some of the men agree that Susan Zangl, who wouldn't give her age but appears to be in her 40s, "can hold her own." She lives in Santa Theresa but plays tennis in Willow Glen on her way home from work.

"Mostly locals come out here, and not too many women," Zangl says. "There isn't a sign-up board, but there's a courtesy rule where everyone plays one hour on a court."

Next to the tennis courts are numerous picnic benches. Marco Mendoza, 24, and Marisol Vireles, 18, brought their 1¹/2-month old baby to a picnic at the park for the first time on a recent sunny afternoon. They live in downtown San Jose but have driven past Bramhall Park and wanted to "check it out," Mendoza says.

Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer Loop D Loo: Swinging dizzy is how Ammir Umar, 10, and Lemia Wells, 9, play on the tire swing at Bramhall Park, an 18-acre park at the corner of Willow Street and Camino Ramon. One of the park's most popular features is its six tennis courts.

"We beat last year's championship team," Wicker boasts.

Taylor Hamilton, a center fielder on the White Sox, also uses the park to ride his bicycle and motorized scooter.

Doerr Park, nestled in a residential area on Portero Drive, provides four tennis courts. But Swan Boon prefers to play tennis at Bramhall Park because Doerr Park's tennis courts aren't as busy and "it's not as easy to find somebody to play with," he says.

But the playground structures at Doerr Park are used so often that children often have to take turns using the swing set. Travis Osterback, 10, not only likes to play on the teeter-totter, slide and tire swing, he also runs up and down a big hill with his friends.

Osterback visits a different park weekly with a group of 100 families that are part of a home schooling support group. They have been to almost every park in Willow Glen, but members live throughout San Jose.

Because the group consists of preschool through high school students, parents check out different park's features on the Internet to accommodate everybody's needs.

At the park, ninth-grader Britta Harline plays ultimate Frisbee, basketball and volleyball with her other high school friends. The park has a basketball court, a softball field and a big, open, grassy area, where the children play with squirt guns during the summer, Harline says.

The park also caters to younger children. Leanne Dougherty brings her 4-year-old and 2-year-old frequently to use the slide and playground equipment. She meets her friend Janelle Lorain, who has a 3-year-old and 5-month-old, once per week.

Just down the street, a group of about five mothers takes their children to Lincoln Glen Park, on Lincoln and Curtner avenues, every day after school. Their 3-year-old children are students at Challenger School, close by the park.

"We take our kids here after school so they can blow off steam," says Karen Berner, who goes to Bramhall Park on the weekends. "Sometimes it gets crowded, but a lot of kids their age are taking naps at around 2 o'clock, when we take them here."

About 1¹/2 years ago the park was completely remodeled, says Steve Roemer, parks manager for districts 3 through 7. It used to have a larger open field space where softball was played but now has an expanded playground.

"Our goal was to put in a showcase playground that was accessible to all," Roemer says. "Even kids in wheelchairs can use the playground."

The park is also filled with water features and is very safe—there is a black fence surrounding the toddler's playground area with doors that are kept shut. Sue Greene and Rosa Lee say they like that the park is gated in.

"It's nice because I can let my kids roam free without my eyes always on them," Lee says. "It's less stressful for me."

Ron Tannehill's 4-year-old daughter, Trinity, loves the water fountains, she says. In the center of the park there is a purple steel structure shaped like a shower and a ceramic frog that both spray water.

On the side of the park facing Lincoln Avenue is a rock formation that resembles a river. When a child pushes a button, water flows from the mouth, down the 10-foot formation and into the sandbox, creating a puddle.

"Kids make sand castles with the wet sand," Tannehill says. "It's like they're at the beach. They did a really nice job on this park."

Even on an overcast day, children are dressed in bathing suits, ready to take advantage of the water.

A large playground structure where the river lies has an area where children can learn Braille and a "track ride," where a child stands on one platform, holds onto a bar and glides downhill to another platform.

Older children, ages 9 and 10, use the small grassy patch next to the large play structure to practice soccer on weekdays, Tannehill says.

As part of Proposition P bond funding, several parks in Willow Glen had playground structures and restroom renovations, Roemer says. Throughout the city of San Jose, 90 playgrounds and 28 restrooms were renovated in the neighborhood park system.

At River Glen Park on Bird and Pine avenues, the playground was renovated and a new restroom will be put in soon, Roemer says. The parks that received renovations were chosen based on the oldest playgrounds with safety concerns and restrooms in the worst shape.

In North Willow Glen parents can take their toddlers to a newly completed pocket park. Hummingbird Park opened to the public last month. It is newly landscaped and features one toddler play structure in the center surrounded by a circular concrete path.

The toddler play area is surrounded by a fence with some open sections, as well as a door that swings open for parents to enter.

Benches surround the circular playground so parents can watch their children. The park also features two game tables, at which visitors can play chess or checkers.

The park is not big enough for restrooms or drinking fountain facilities, but because the park allows dogs, two Mutt Mitt dispensers were installed. The North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association planted flowers and San Jose Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services planted trees throughout the park.

San Jose District 6 City Council member Ken Yeager worked with neighbors and the city's park officials to find funding to build the new park. The master plan to build the pocket park was approved in May, and the San Jose City Council allocated $300,000 for the project in June last year.

Another pocket park has been planned for Fuller Avenue, as part of the city's Strong Neighborhoods Initiative, but because it will be funded by the state, the project is currently on hold, Roemer says. The neighbors saw the preliminary designs for the linear park, which is to be located on city property adjacent to railroad tracks.

For residents living in the southern areas of Willow Glen, there is one playground structure at the nine-acre Wallenberg Park on Curtner and Cottle avenues. Located next to Willow Glen High School, the park has eight lighted tennis courts, restrooms, 18 picnic tables and four barbecues. It also has a large field where people can be seen having picnics and resting. This fall, renovation on the playground area and restrooms will be completed.

Albert Burton frequently walks his chihuahua Sammy around the park. His 9- and 10-year-old children also enjoy "jumping around on the grassy field on the weekends," he says.

Adjacent to the park is a two-acre part of the park's system that is called the Community Garden of San Jose. The city has 16 community gardens that are managed by a volunteer staff. Community gardeners grow vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruit organically in the 10-foot-by-10-foot plots.

The Wallenberg Community Garden opened in July 1981, and there are 70 plots.

There is an annual water fee—12 cents per square foot—but the rest of the facilities, including the shed, rototiller and wheelbarrow are free. Willow Glen resident Renee Jones, who's had her plot for three years, says she doesn't garden in the winter because of the large pine trees at Wallenberg Park that shade her plot. But during the summer she grows zucchini, squash and herbs.

"There is lots of ethnic diversity here," Jones says. "I really love how people plant flowers in with their vegetables."

She drove past the garden for 20 years saying to herself, "Those people are so lucky." Finally a friend convinced her to apply for a plot, which is given out on a first-come-first-serve basis. After gardening she walks through the park to get exercise.

Bernie Genetti has gardened year-round in his plot for the past 10 years. He ran out of room at his home garden, so he uses his plot to plant strawberries, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, artichokes, onions and potatoes.

"This is a wonderful place to become friends with people," Genetti says. "People keep it really neat. And when we have too much we share our crop with other gardeners and with the needy."

One Willow Glen park that will be getting a significant renovation is Biebrach Park on Delmas and West Virginia avenues. This fall the 6.4-acre park will "look completely different," Roemer says.

The park has a swimming pool, picnic tables, barbecues, basketball courts, a handball court, a large field and a playground structure that is old and worn and will be completely replaced. The adjacent Gardner Community Center is also being completely remodeled.

But people are still enjoying the park right now, just the way it is. Juana and Frank Rosales frequently take their 2¹/2-year-old granddaughter, Esparanza Martinez, to the park to play on the playground.

Their only complaint is "it could be a little bit cleaner," Juana says.

But litter doesn't keep the many kids who attend Gardner School, directly across the street from the park, from stopping by on their way home.

Fourth-graders Nohemi Sanchez and Ana Reli live around the corner and visit the park frequently after school and on the weekends.

"I like to make sandcastles and play soccer here," says Sanchez while sitting at the picnic table, making an arts and crafts project. "When it's hot this is a great place to swim."

And for families that use Biebrach Park or any of the other eight parks in the area, time outdoors offers many options.

For more information about Willow Glen parks, visit www.sjparks.org. Willow Glen residents interested in signing up for a garden plot can leave a voice mail message at 408.277.2575, or call San Jose Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services at 408.277.4573.