Water park

The sound of something clunking woke Filly up. She lay in bed, luxuriating because she had decided not to get up early since she was taking the kids to the water park a half hour north of the city. The park destination, was smaller and was recommended by her daughter who had said to get there early. Their plan was to leave about two hours before it opened, and go to McDonald’s, the kids favorite place, and then head over to the park.

But it was too early to even get up and get sunscreen on. The kids had golden tans already but Filly’s daughter had insisted that they put on sunscreen if they were going to be in the pool a long time. Filly figured out they should leave about two hours or maybe three in advance. So since it was so early she stayed lying in bed but kept hearing that noise. So eventually she got up to investigate.

She closed the bedroom door and walked out into the front of the house where little Mister was hunting feverishly for “Sarah”. Sarah was the teddy bear hamster that Tater had earned that year by keeping her room clean all year. Apparently Mister had gotten Sarah out of her cage and had put her in the plastic ball and it was rolling around bumping into things and Mister could not find her. Filly could not find her either but could hear her.

Turned out Sarah was in the bathroom and had somehow rolled past the hardwood floor onto the carpeting and had made her way into the bathroom where she was bumping around. Filly was glad to find her before the top of the ball popped off.

They put Sarah back in her cage and decided to start getting ready. They started by putting kids mineral sunscreen on their faces and arms, which made them look like ghosts. But the sunscreen worked the best and also did not cause rashes or allergies as it was made only from titanium and zinc. That was what Filly used too.

Then they got on bathing suits and then put on clothes over the bathing suits. Last they got on shoes. Filly got her computer and a Astros cooler cup full of water and ice. Filly had thought about bringing a diet coke. The day before when she had been putting a diet coke in the fridge, Tater had said “I thought you were trying to stop drinking diet coke”.
Filly had said, “Well it is only one”. and Tater had said
“don’t put it in the fridge and then you won’t drink it” which was the truth. (lol)
She appreciated the help. (did not always take the recommendations)

The whole group trouped into the little car “sparky” and then Mister remembered he had forgotten a shirt to wear home after swimming. So he disappeared back into the house. Filly waited and waited and then remembered he could not easily open the back wood door because it sticks. Then she also remembered that she had forgotten her phone. Then Tater got out too because she did not want to be in the car alone even though it was cool.

Finally they got everything they needed and they started back out to the fun park destination. Google maps said that it was twenty minutes away. That would have them arriving at nine which was an hour too early. So that would give them time at McDonald’s, and hopefully there was one near the park. They found the McDonald’s, easy peasy, listening to the radio, as it played “let your love flow” on Yacht radio. (It was annoying to never be able to spell yacht right away. WHY WAS THERE a “C” in that word lol).

They ordered at the counter. It was not the fun kind of McDonald’s with a play area and it was freezing cold but the food was delish and the kids ate most of it. Eggs, sausage, pancakes hash browns and chocolate milk. What they did not eat, Filly put on the plastic tray… the small plate tray that the food came on, and put it in the front seat of the car. It would make a good snack later…two leftover pancakes, one hash brown and one biscuit. She did not like to waste food.

The park was only six minutes away and did not open for ten minutes. They would be early so that was good. As they parked they noticed the lovely park nearby with fountains and a playground. There was also an aquatic center with a line of fourteen year old kids trouping over there, some taller some shorter, following a girl with a head full of curly hair, topped with a blue fuzzy bear had who was apparently the leader. Probably a kids camp, Filly thought. Probably for people who worked and could not keep an eye on their kids without camps. Probably no family nearby to help.

The water park had three large areas covered with heavy duty green and blue tarps for shade with plastic octagonal shaped picnic tables underneath. It had about six tall slides and then smaller toddler slides in the middle of a shallow water splash area. Most of the tables were empty which was a good thing.

Filly noticed that quite a few of the patrons that day were families who had one family member with a specific neural defect. She wondered why so many people suffered from this and wondered if it was caused by the pharmaceutical industry. She looked it up and found out that big pharma seemed to deny any liability and yet some drugs like cocaine and anti depressants could cause neural defects in a developing baby very early on.

Filly knew about anti depressants because a significant number of the people who lived near her mother were taking them. Some of them even gave the pills to their dogs as well. Filly thought it was sad that these people who had so much felt depressed. Maybe it was because they forgot about God. Anyway, the people at the park did not seem like the people who would normally take anti depressants or cocaine. So the only explanation for all these similarly plagued people was a message from God that he was “down” with what she had written the day before. Thank you God.

Filly wanted to write. To get in the park, one window only took cash so Filly went to the other window while simultaneously there was a blond pony-tailed girl trying to speed up the process by putting on armbands on kids and parents to match the height.

Blue bands meant they were tall enough to go on the big slides. A striped band meant too small.
They paid their thirty bucks for three people and got the table closest to the entrance. There was a cool breeze and Filly set up her drinks, her computer and her shoes and the tray of leftovers. The kids immediately set off to play on the smallest part that had a giant bucket that emptied every few minutes on the people playing below.

Filly noticed one sour lady who called herself “granny” nearby, frowning at the kids and yelling at them to stop running. CONSTANTLY. They only stayed an hour. Filly was glad they made their way out so soon, they must have had a season pass as Filly did not enjoy looking at such a mean mugging “granny”. She was probably a nice lady, she had three kids she was responsible for but it sure was early in the day to be adopting the regimented shouting orders approach. That was what Filly thought.

Some of the kids in the pools had on the kind of life vest that made kids float on either their chest or back. The kids were too little for those kinds because they needed more body weight to wear them. But the parents must not know. Other kids had on the kind that went around the waist and the arms strapped into arm floats and these were better but the arm floats had to stay up. The only one that Filly saw that was being worn properly was a ninja turtles arm float.

Most of the parents had figured out to snap the floats in the back so the kids could not take them off. If the kids could get their arms out though even if it was snapped in back, it would be easy to take off and could not keep them safe in the water. Filly had instructed one mom on the way to get floats for kids, because she had been a lifeguard for most of her high school and early college years. She had also taught adult and kids swimming lessons and was WSI certified.

Filly took off her long sleeve shirt and put on the short sleeve one since the blue sun shade above her was enough protection. The table offered a great view of most of the park, and the lifeguards were attentive and well placed. Filly knew about life-guarding as she had worked at an air force base several years. That base had been pristine and had strict rules for cleanliness and for lifeguard behavior and vigilance.

The only time Filly had to save someone was when she was a guard at her college during lunch classes, where adults were learning to swim. The students, upon realizing that they could not touch bottom, on the test, would sometimes panic, and Filly had to be ready to pull them out. That had been half of the time. The other half of the time she was watching the diving team practices and they were very proficient and she was only there if someone hit the board when diving and needed to be rescued. That never happened.

Most of the people who came brought coolers full of Uncrustables, water bottles, fruit and chips. Coolers were allowed and they were the rule rather than the exception. American flag bathing suits were popular as were tattoos and Filly felt bare with just a drink and a computer and her shoes.

An hour had passed smoothly. Filly was approached by a lifeguard who said that even though Mister was a proficient swimmer he had to wear a life jacket if he was not eight years old. Mister did not want to wear a life jacket but Tater went with him to get one that they provided, because she wanted to stay there and swim and ride slides some more and she was going to use her influence to get Mister to cooperate. Filly liked when the kids worked together like that. It was a good rule, the life jacket rule. And that jacket fit perfectly.

Tater had already made friends with a couple of little boys and was having fun on the big slides that Mister was too small to ride on. The tables had all filled up except two that were in the sun.

Another white haired pony tailed lady had replaced the rough frowning lady and was supervising three teenage girls. She was wearing a camo hat and smiling and eating Doritos. Filly thought she seemed happy to be there which was nice. She even waded into the water at one point, and she was trim, fit and sleek, a country version of Elon Musk’s mom.

Little buddy showed up wearing his bright yellow life jacket. and he was able to practice floating on his back which was hard to do without the life jacket so he was having fun too.

The almost three hours passed rapidly. Filly gathered up the stuff from the table. She had to comfort Tater who was crying and did not want to leave. She had to monitor Mister who was bragging that he was not sad and was ready to go. Filly was hot, even in the shade and the car felt like an oven, even with the shade over the windshield.

By the time they got home, Tater had calmed down and had made plans with Mister to play train or to play restaurant or maybe to do both. Filly was ready to put her feet up and take a siesta. It was one thirty and the kids could eat Lunchables. Another one of their favorite snacks. The guys who were going to be working on the fence would not be coming until the next day.

Filly looked at the picture she had taken of the kids and laughed. Not what she had seen at the time.
They would go again. Maybe even if it rained. It was a great value and fun for the kids and not that crowded.