Summer 2019: Day 23
A long day of driving and water. It's good to be back home.
The weather continued to suck and seemed even colder this morning. Ben had two last races (the Sunday races are all finals, and he was a little sluggish for his first one. Then, he had three-plus hours before swimming again. I actually took an hour nap in the car so I wouldn't be so tired for the drive hime.
When I came back to the pool, the waterpark had opened up for Sunday traffic and for the swimmers to enjoy. The temperature had not climbed above 60, the skies were cloudy, and there was a breeze, but that wasn't going to stop kids for trying the water slides. After some of our kids' last races, they would skip a cooldown but hit the slides instead, then pack up and depart for the long drive home.
Ben and I had to wait, however. He swam the last race of anyone on our team, and the last race of the meet except for a bunch of 400 freestyles. And as he started ... the sun came out! He swam a great 200 backstroke despite having no one within 15 seconds of him in his heat that he won. He deserved a trip down the water slides.
A woman from the pool staff was handing out paper wristbands to use the water park, and Ben went right up to her and asked for one. She looked at me and asked if I wanted one, too. Now, it was still cold and breezy despite the sun, and I thought it was crazy. She replied "You gotta do it." I had been saying all week that we needed the parents to go down the slides at the party, but I had my doubts now. Yet, I said to myself, "What the hell, let's do it."I still thought it was crazy, but at my age, an opportunity for crazy and juvenile shouldn't be passed up. I got into my trunks and got the wristband, telling the woman that this might tire me out for the drive home. She said, "No, it will wake you up!"
I climbed the tower to where the three slides were, and as I sat down onto the launch area and water was rushing past my legs, I woke up. The slide was a blast (went three times), but the climb back up the tower was freezing. Also took two laps on the lazy river. After 15 minutes, we had to go. We changed, packed up the camping chairs (and somehow ended up with an extra one), and were off. After stopping for lunch at Jimmy John's downtown, our trek home began.
Oddly, it went quick for 7.5 hours. We stopped in Pocatello and got Freddy's again, finished listening to the '70s boxe set, and made it home before it was completely dark. I will be exhausted in the morning -- the whole weekend was exhausting -- but it was a great trip.
The weather continued to suck and seemed even colder this morning. Ben had two last races (the Sunday races are all finals, and he was a little sluggish for his first one. Then, he had three-plus hours before swimming again. I actually took an hour nap in the car so I wouldn't be so tired for the drive hime.
When I came back to the pool, the waterpark had opened up for Sunday traffic and for the swimmers to enjoy. The temperature had not climbed above 60, the skies were cloudy, and there was a breeze, but that wasn't going to stop kids for trying the water slides. After some of our kids' last races, they would skip a cooldown but hit the slides instead, then pack up and depart for the long drive home.
Ben and I had to wait, however. He swam the last race of anyone on our team, and the last race of the meet except for a bunch of 400 freestyles. And as he started ... the sun came out! He swam a great 200 backstroke despite having no one within 15 seconds of him in his heat that he won. He deserved a trip down the water slides.
A woman from the pool staff was handing out paper wristbands to use the water park, and Ben went right up to her and asked for one. She looked at me and asked if I wanted one, too. Now, it was still cold and breezy despite the sun, and I thought it was crazy. She replied "You gotta do it." I had been saying all week that we needed the parents to go down the slides at the party, but I had my doubts now. Yet, I said to myself, "What the hell, let's do it."I still thought it was crazy, but at my age, an opportunity for crazy and juvenile shouldn't be passed up. I got into my trunks and got the wristband, telling the woman that this might tire me out for the drive home. She said, "No, it will wake you up!"
I climbed the tower to where the three slides were, and as I sat down onto the launch area and water was rushing past my legs, I woke up. The slide was a blast (went three times), but the climb back up the tower was freezing. Also took two laps on the lazy river. After 15 minutes, we had to go. We changed, packed up the camping chairs (and somehow ended up with an extra one), and were off. After stopping for lunch at Jimmy John's downtown, our trek home began.
Oddly, it went quick for 7.5 hours. We stopped in Pocatello and got Freddy's again, finished listening to the '70s boxe set, and made it home before it was completely dark. I will be exhausted in the morning -- the whole weekend was exhausting -- but it was a great trip.
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