| | Published August 4th, 2021
| Hopscotch squares span nearly quarter mile, thanks to local girls' efforts
| | | By John T. Miller |  | | Annie Andres and Fiona Greenaway Photos John T. Miller |
A pair of neighborhood girls drew a 1,000 square hopscotch pattern in the asphalt on their quiet street in Lafayette. Annie Andres, 11, and Fiona Greenaway, 12, used Crayola Sidewalk Chalk to draw the hopscotch game in rainbow patterns.
It took the girls nine hours over the course of two days. Annie's sister Leah stood guard and warned them when a car was coming. The quiet lane is usually only visited by residents, guests, and delivery trucks, but it was enough traffic to send them to the side plenty of times.
At one point they were scraping their fingers on the asphalt, so Fiona's mom went to the store and bought two fresh six-packs of chalk for them.
A lot of the neighborhood kids have attempted to "go the distance," but the longest anyone has lasted is about a hundred hops. Annie and Fiona had made many chalk drawings on the street before, including extended hopscotch games. "This time, when we got to 100, we thought we'd just keep on going to a thousand," said Fiona.
Both girls admitted that it was upsetting that their project is not permanent, but they said they might make it an annual tradition. After an East Bay Municipal Utility District crew worked on a water leak, Annie went back and redrew the damaged section. Their thousand square hopscotch measures about 410 yards, or close to a quarter mile.
If the girls were looking to set a record, they've got a ways to go. According to the Guinness World Records, a hopscotch created by Legwork for Lungs in New Jersey measures 7,041 yards, or about four miles. |
 | | Hopscotch squares meander down the middle of this quiet Lafayette street. | | | | | | | | | | | |
Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA