Cowabunga Dude!

Well, just as suspected, it has taken me almost a week to convince Clare to write for me again.  She's a lazy one you know.  Someone should really get on her case about her lack of dedication to my fans.

As I travel back in time to last Thursday, I can take you on our wonderful excursion to a place called Cowabunga Bay.  This twisted collection of brightly coloured plastic was discovered on my previous trip to Utah two years ago.  It was spotted by one of the kids as we drove home from some adventure or another, and was investigated further as soon as computer access was attained at home.  We quickly discovered that it was a water-park, and all were eager to try it out until we learned that it didn't open for the season until the weekend Clare and I were to leave.  The idea had to be dropped until I returned.

So it was that on Thursday morning every child (and adult) eagerly finished their chores and were in bathing suits by 10 am, ready to go (I think its the fastest I've seen them pile into the van yet). 

Since this was the one (and probably only) chance all of us would get to enjoy this park, Clare splurged a little and even rented a cabana for our time there.  This added bonus gave us a shaded place to keep our stuff, and our own server (who would bring us anything we wanted, including making sure our free jug of ice water was always full), and the added entertainment for one child to press the "call your server" button.

It didn't take long before everyone was off exploring the mish-mash of water slides, fountains, splash pads, the lazy river and anything else the creators could come up with for getting people wet, and I was left to sit and wait while everyone else had fun (something about keeping my precious fur dry).  I didn't mind too much though, as it was quite fun hearing their excitement each time someone came back for a drink or a chance to just sit for a few minutes.  Apparently one slide was in complete darkness, while the lazy river kept you floating along soaking in the sunshine, and a giant bucket could dump tons of water down on you if you were in the right (or wrong) place at the right (or wrong) time.

After about two hours of excitement they all returned for a lunch/snack and Clare surprised them with some bonus treats as an early birthday present for KayLeigh.  By this point, the kids were loving the special attention, and saying they were princes and princesses for a day (the two blow-up crowns that were delivered with the other treats probably helped with that feeling).  Still, it was pretty fun to see the big grins on their faces as they enjoyed being VIPs for a day!

It wasn't long before I was left alone once again, so they could all get their fill before their four hour passes were up.  Jake and Tristen even tried out an extra activity (aka extra cost) that looked to me like a giant hamster wheel with water in it.  I have to say that this was one of the highlights of my day as Clare took photos of them, and I just sat and laughed as they rolled and flipped over and over again, trying desperately to stand up, until it looked more like exhausted flops as it continued to spin them when I think they were pretty much done.  Yup, very enjoyable to watch indeed :D.

While some of the kids had wanted an all-day pass, it turned out that a four hour pass was perfect.  When Clare told them they had 15 minutes left, and should line up for any last slides they wanted to go down, they all admitted they were done climbing stairs, and all went on one last leisurely float down the lazy river.  It was a perfect end to a wonderful visit in the park.

Whatever!