Taking the Plunge

Prior to Labor Day I had blogged about the memories of family reunions to Fort Robinson.  And I also mentioned that we now meet at Michael & Sarah’s in the Black Hills of South Dakota.  Well, that reunion is now in the books, and we declare it a success.

This year we were joined by my mother who rode along.  There were a grand total of 25 with the only person not in attendance being son-in-law Mike Schneider who had to work that weekend.  It took a lot of food and a lot of beds to accommodate all of us, but with 6 acres we were able to find a place for everyone to be.

We always try to do at least one fun special activity, and this year we chose a trip to Evans Plunge, a warm water waterpark with a lot of slides and pools and lots of fun things to do.  It also had a hot tub and a sauna…and I thoroughly enjoyed the hot tub!

This was my first trip so I didn’t really know what to expect, but by the time I had changed into a swimming suit and found the big indoor pool, the kids had all figured it out and were already going down the big slides.  There was a tall slide…no thank you!  And there was a shorter but longer slide which looked more like my cup of tea.  I watched and could see my grandkids going down the slide and landing with a splash and a smile at the bottom.  So why not?  I could do that too, I told myself.  I grabbed my sliding mat and headed up the steps to the top, ignoring my unreasonable fear of heights, and awaited my turn to go down the slide.  I took notice that everyone was grabbing their nose right at the bottom to avoid getting water up their nose and I planned to do the same thing. 

Finally it was my turn to zing down the slide, and son Michael was trying to help me get situated.  First of all, my knees have more limitations every day so simply getting sat down on the mat was tricky.  Then, before I was fully situated, Michael lost a hold of the mat and I was off!!!  I just hung on to that mat and the speed pretty much laid me down flat.  I don’t know for a fact what speed I was travelling but something in my heart says 60 mph!  It was a thrill as I slid around the corners, and I’m sure Mario Andretti gets the same thrill as his race car banks around the curves of the race track.  With the bottom fast approaching I was able to remember to plug my nose just before dropping off the end of the slide.

That’s when the problems began!  I hadn’t actually checked on the depth of the pool in that area, but assumed since everyone else was successfully landing and getting out that it couldn’t be too deep.  Well for some unknown reason (or maybe I do know that it was being inexperienced in the water) I went down, felt myself rising to the top, and then I sunk below the water again.  Then I couldn’t seem to get my feet on the bottom which concerned me that it must be deeper than I thought, and I couldn’t get my head above the water. 

 It’s rather amazing how much can go through your mind in a few seconds…and I know it was only a few seconds because I was not struggling for air yet.  I had the presence of mind to stick up a hand (the one that wasn’t still plugging my nose), and I wondered if anyone was aware that I was in trouble.  I had time to think about a drowning victim I had heard about who had only drowned in 6 ft. of water with his friends right there that didn’t realize he was drowning.  In fact, the names of several drowning victims came to my mind in these few short seconds.  The one thing that didn’t happen is that my life did not flash before my eyes, so I was apparently still comfortably distanced from dying.

I finally felt hands on my arms and someone lifting me up…it was my lovely daughter-in-law Sarah who never looked more beautiful.  And someone I didn’t know…the life guard!  They helped me get to the edge of the pool, and the pool was apparently only 4½ feet deep as I could get my nose out of the water by walking on my tiptoes. 

I felt kind of foolish, especially as we were awaiting the paperwork that has to be filled out when someone requires life guard assistance!  I’ll bet she had a chuckle when she looked at the paperwork that required my name, age, height and weight.  She probably figured anyone as old and fat as I was would probably do well to stick to a poolside chair!

I took a bit to recover from all the trauma and embarrassment, then the kids began to talk me into trying it again…kind of like getting back on a horse after being bucked off.  They all gathered at the bottom of the slide should another rescue be necessary, and I headed back up to the top of the slide to give it another try.  This time I got off to a smoother start which helped a bit.  And I’m not sure how things would have gone at the bottom because I was suddenly surrounded by kids (and love) to make sure I didn’t have to panic again. 

With that small bit of success, I hung up the water slide experience and headed for the hot tub where I surely couldn’t need rescuing!  Then outside to watch all the kids (and a few adults) come down an enclosed water tube into the pool.  It was a fun family activity, and everyone enjoyed it…even those couple of people who didn’t don a suit and get into the water.  Something for everyone!

This blog episode doesn’t have pictures because it’s impossible to take pictures while I am in the water…and I’m glad there isn’t any documentation of me in a swimming suit…or of me being rescued!   But if you ever find yourself in the Black Hills near Hot Springs, SD, I would heartily recommend a stop at Evans Plunge.  There is fun for everyone, even if it’s just sitting in the hot tub or watching from the sidelines.