BOTHELL — Like a real pirate, Charlize Avshalom climbed all the way up the little stairs and looked down on her mom from the crow’s-nest.
Charlize, 5, and her mom Sabina Avshalom, 37, of Bothell came to the Country Village shopping center Saturday to explore the new fixture on the playground, a new pirate ship called the Jolly Rodney.
The Jolly Rodney opened its treasures to kids for the first time Saturday. There were free pony rides, pirate booty and an appearance by Capt. Scarface.
“We went on the train; we did the pony rides — the whole nine yards,” Avshalom said. “It’s always good when there is something new for the kids.”
No wonder the Jolly Rodney made dozens of kids feel like pirates. The ship, colored in black, red, gold and green, offers many things to play with: a cannon, two bells, a real pirate lookout, a telescope and a crew’s quarters where you can peek out a porthole.
The attraction turned out just as 83-year-old Rod Loveless of Kenmore had imagined.
Loveless, who developed the Country Village almost 30 years ago, and two other people built the Jolly Rodney from scratch.
“I just like to build things,” he said.
Projects like that have long become second nature for Loveless, who has been in the building business all his life, said his daughter Leeann Tesorieri.
“That’s what keeps him young,” she said of her father’s passion.
Tesorieri, 55, lives in north Seattle and manages the Country Village, which has become a family business.
Loveless had his knee replaced in September and for the most part had to supervise the construction from a golf cart.
Although it was frustrating to not do all the hammering and sawing himself, Loveless said he is happy with the result.
Most materials used to craft the ship are recycled: scavenged driftwood for masts and hull, a piece of PVC pipe for the cannon, and glass pot lids for the portholes.
Loveless said the Jolly Rodney is his most elaborate pirate ship. He has built three others on Decatur Island of the San Juan Islands.
The 15-foot-tall, black-on-white polka dot chicken in front of the Country Village was his idea, too.
Back on the playground, the ponies were giving their last round of rides, and many kids were lining up to ring the bells for the last time.
Mila Cherkasova, 36, of Bothell called her 8-year-old pigtailed twins Yana and Alisa. It was getting cold, and it was time to go home.
But the twins knew that whenever mom decides to bring them back to play, the Jolly Rodney will be there.
Reporter Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452 or kyefimova@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
