There is no cure for the wintertime blues quite like jumping on a trampoline. That's what I figured when I heard about Sky Zone, the new trampoline center in Hyde Park. And on the day 6-year-old Ava and I went to check the place out, it seemed that half of Boston had the same idea. We'd been advised to buy our tickets online, and on a frigid Sunday, the first slots we managed to get were at 5 p.m.
Truth be told, we were a little grumpy about that - and got more so when we discovered the logistics involved in arranging a half-hour “open jump.” Once you purchase your tickets online, you can't change your time by phone, even if your junior jumper is taking a spontaneous late-afternoon nap. You have to print and sign a waiver form, which reminds you of all of the injuries kids sustain on backyard trampolines. You have to arrive early, leaving time to put on special rented sneakers before your jump begins. As I climbed onto the communal trampoline, my thought processes went roughly like this: “I'm not sure if this is going to be worth all of the trouble, and I almost wish that OHMYGODYOUCANJUMPSOHIGHONTHISTHINGLOOKATMEGOWHEEEEEE!”
I spent most of the next half-hour in the air, jumping as high as I could, kicking my feet forward, occasionally dropping to my knees or my butt and then back up again. Ava, who had been skeptical, too, lost any trace of doubt once the jumping began. She had worried that the “big kids” would knock her off balance, but it turns out that the jumping is carefully controlled: The communal trampoline - they call it a “playing field” - is split into individual squares, with separate areas for kids and grown-ups. (It's also carefully monitored by referees, who yell at you if you lie down.) There's a designated area for toddlers, and a separate trampoline where there's a running dodgeball game.
Ava and I were content to simply jump and watch more seasoned jumpers bounce themselves off the walls, which were also covered with rubbery trampoline material. A half-hour went by surprisingly fast, but clearly we'd done our jobs; when we finally left the playing field and tried to jump on solid ground, gravity played tricks and our feet felt glued to the floor. The feeling wore off, as did the smidgen of soreness in my ankle and back the next day. Ava, of course, felt nothing but desire. She keeps asking when we can go back.
$8 for a half-hour, $12 for an hour, $16 for 90 minutes; $18 for two hours; shoe rental included. 91-B Sprague St., Boston; 857-345-9693; www.skyzonesports.com.
WHO: Globe columnist Joanna Weiss and her 6-year-old daughter, Ava
WHAT: Trampolining
WHERE: Sky Zone