Leoti's BEACHED whale

We went to Denver's Water World, a water park, on Monday. It was an unbelievable place! Honestly, I don't think that you could see, let alone, do, everything in a 2-day period. It was simply amazing!

Even though our family which consisted of my mother, our daughters, Leighlyn and Abigayle, Stan and me were very excited, I have to admit that I was quite apprehensive of people seeing me in my HUGE swimmingsuit. But, as I think about it, maybe my swimming suit was more embarrassed to be seen stretched out all over my HUGE body. Ha! Ha! However, shortly after I made my fashion debut, I was very pleased to see that people didn't seem to care how anyone else looked there. There were people from newborn to people well into their 80s there. There were short people, big people, wide people, narrow people, people with no tattoos, people who had hardly any untattoed skin left, people with body piercings, etc., etc. No matter how you looked, no one seemed to care. What freedom that allows everyone! After seeing how kool everyone was about this, I would recommend anyone and everyone to try this park.

There were a bunch of water slides, at least two wave pools, river rafting, a lazy river ride which everyone could do. You simply sit or lie on a clear plastic innertube and then relax while the water moves you all around a "mountain." It is a very relaxing ride. You can stay there for as long as you want. There are places where you can actually surf!!! I probably don't even know what else is available there. So, if you enjoy water sports, go check this park out. I think that you'll be impressed.

For as much as I enjoyed everything that the park had to offer, I also spent the absolute WORST two minutes of my life there. As we had walked around the park, our family discovered a large wave pool. It looked so kool! Peope from very little babies to people in their 80s were enjoying the pool. Most people were just swimming in the water like normal. A bunch of others had brought in their innertubes and were either sitting or lying on them or had placed their body inside the hole. For a portion of the time, the pool was just like any other pool, but then, a sound was sent out to warn swimmers that the waves were coming in. People cheered with excitement at the prospect of the waves. Earlier, Abigayle and I had set up our innertube on the water and then Abigayle laid on top of it. She had both of her hands tightly woven in the handholds. I was hanging onto the tube also. We were ready or so we thought...

The first wave came through. It was high and strong but not TOO high and strong for us. Each subsequent wave was higher and stronger. At one time, the waves were 7 feet tall! Those are mighty high waves for these Kansas girls.

Keep in mind that there were MANY people in this water. As this water churned around us, we were thrown from one place to another. People were screaming and hollering. It was a thrill deluxe until...my hands were torn off of the tube where Abigayle was. For a few seconds, I was able to see her as she remained on the tube but then, another wave ripped away from her and I was totally underwater. I came up from the water screaming for her but she was absolutely no where to be seen. I cannot tell you the horror that I felt when I found our empty tube,. To complicate matters even more, the waves kept coming at us harder and harder. People came to me whenever it was possible to see what was wrong. I would tell them that my little girl was lost. I would describe her but no one had seen her. People began frantically helping me search for her. The whole while, many more waves took us under and over, etc., etc., etc. Finally, one of the searchers asked me if that little girl on the beach was mine. It was! Praise the Lord!!!!!!!!! Some man had rescued her from the waves and took her to the beach. I wish that I had known what man had done this. He was an absoulte hero in our world that day. We'll never forget what he did for our little darling!!!

Later, after everything had calmed down for all of us, I returned to the wave pool. ALONE, this time so that I didn't have to worry about anyone else. I didn't bring my tube either. I was ready to take these waves on all by myself. Or so, I thought...

On the edges of this very large pool are some handles which look much more like toilet paper rollers. The squimmish are invited to hold on to these to be secure against the waves. Shoot! In my opinion, if you're frightened by these waves, maybe you should stay on the beach instead...

I survived the first set of waves fairly decently. I can't say that I was proud of how I fared but at the same time, I wasn't embarrassed by how I did. After these waves had done "their toll", I stayed in the pool just taking a breather while the waves were on break. These breathers seem miraculous to the wave hoppers because the swimmers spend soooo much time under the water. When a person is swimming in a regular pool or other body of water, he/she can usually come up for air whenever he/she wants to. But, when a person is in a wave pool, he/she no longer has that option. Not only do the waves keep you under, but the other swimmers are being tossed all around also. Sometimes, they are tossed right on top of you, burying you even deeper in the water. There are points in time,when you don't know if you will survive what the water is dishing out to you. I guess that those times make your thrills just that much deeper.

After the waves' breaktime was over, I thought that I was ready for more. I told myself, that with each new experience, I would become better and better. Given the fact that I have never even been mediocor let alone good in any sport, I wanted to be able to "conquer" these waves. So, the machine let out the warning siren for people to ready themselves. I was standing up as straight and tall as I could. I took a couple of deep breaths. People closer to the wave machine began to scream in joy as the first wave was dispatched. Once again, the tossing of people and tubes began. More people screamed as the waves approached closer to us, casting even more people into the air. I soon realized that I was NOT ready for these waves after all. I tried to scurry off towards the beach as fast as any one my size could. Ha! Ha! Then, it happened. Someone who weighed about as much as I did, was thrown on top of my foot. Ouch! While that foot was being kept in place, the rest of my body just sank into the water. Then, the water totally engulfed me once again. For some reason, whoever was also standing on my poor little foot, just seemed to stay there.! My feet have plenty of weight to support with just me on top of them, let alone someone else my same size... Over and over, the waves came over me. I was hardly ever able to secure a breath. To make matters even worse, people around me began to notice that I was "in distress." They started to come over to try to rescue me. They would give me a hand to try to help me stand but once again, another wave came in and forced me further and further away. Eventually, I realized that I should just give up and let the waves win. Each wave pushed me further onto the beach. Of course, it also meant that the water was getting shallower with each wave. Therefore, securing air was easier and easier. I can only imagine how I looked to spectators. Yeah, the fat lady who couldn't get up was starting to get more and more attention from people in the water as well as from people who were not in the water. I was too embarrassed to look up at the sky but I'll just bet that local news crews were sent up in helicoptors to record the whole beached whale at Water World story. So, if you keep your eyes open, you'll probably see the whole story on news channels or on Utube.