So Mom and I hit the wave pool yesterday on yet another "free" pass. I confess, I used to hate this place. Too much concrete equals scraped toes, scraped kness and an overall miserable time, but I'm happy to say, that Cindy's gotten smarter in her old age. Running shoes stay on my feet at all times (in the water too) And the cumbersome rafts I once struggled to get up on, have been replaced by clear, compact tubes, much better for manuvering and clinging to:-)
As I've said, neither Mom or I are strong swimmers, but she sticks close and having the tube at hand gives her all kinds of new, fun ways to torture me:-) I tell you, she gets that devish gleam in her eye, and I know I'm in trouble. She loves spinning me around and pushing me out into the waves and watching as they drive me forward, trying to spit me out.
Here's the thing. I still can't sit IN the tube. It's just too much trouble to sit on top. It takes forever to get in, and once my butt slides down, I'm never getting out. So, we put it over my head, and I grab on with my arms, while shimmying forward and flopping over the front until I have a good grip. It's not pretty, but it's effective. From there, Mom will grab on to the back and squeeze herself behind me to grab whatever is left of the tube. She won't do this in the shallow end (she prefers to push me around/spin me in the breakers as we make our way in) but she knows I'm not comfortable alone in the deep end, so she hangs on the back and steers us over the good "rollers" so that we feel the butterflies fluttering in our tummy as we crest the wave and slide over the other side. It's actually relaxing once you get the hang of it and beats the chaotic flailing I remember from childhood.
Mom however, seems to enjoy a bit of flailing/struggle hence her love of all waves breaking, moreso, her love of plunging me into them. She's getting better at keeping me out of the fray though, and pushing me back out when it gets too shallow and my feet are dragging. I'll feel the solid push and know she's sending me out to ride another challenge.
It's a fine line when you can't just stand up and walk out of the waves. One minute you're riding a crest, the next, your legs are dragging along the bottom, taking skin with them. I'm so glad I've found a balance. I was always so miserable at these places as a kid because I just couldn't move. It's frustrating when you see everyone else just up and walk away while you know your body is taking a beating, just from a day at the pool.
They've also made a new lazy river whish as the name infers, is slow. Slow I can relate to. I actually sent Mom down it on her own this time so she could chill out and not have to worry about what I was doing. I sat around eating/reading a book while she floated out of my sight. I might actually tackle a waterslide next time. Sure, the climb is long, but it doesn't look TOO bad, and there's loads of time between each person so I'd have time to head for cover before the next person came down. I timed it as I was watching for Mom (Yes, she is a slide girl) and I would have been okay, as most riders seemed to shoot out of the end and come to a stop right around the exit stairs anyway, to say nothing of the two lifeguards standing right there.
We had a nice little picnic but decided that a trip to Hutch's was in order after our tough day. (Not sure if you remember but Hutch's is my favourite fry place and it's literally, just down the road). It was a beautiful night and people were out in droves, enjoying the warm summer evening. The place is a total hole in the wall, but it's got that 50's feel to it, I was half expecting a movie to click on as I munched on my fries. I could TOTALLY see a drive-in fitting right in at this place.
Did I mention we had more great ice-cream? Good old chocolate/peanut butter. No worries, we had gift cards for that too. Total cost of this Summerfest? $5 (for the tube rental) Not bad, not bad ! :-)
Oh, and the cost for the huge bruise under my arm from sticking to the tube/holding on so tight? FREE. LOL That's okay, it was worth it to "catch a wave!"
www.hutchsonthebeach.com/
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