If you read the previous post, you got a little background to how the day started out.
I'm happy to report that everything just got better and better!
So where was this surprise trip? ? ?
The Whale's Tale Water Park, an hour north in Lincoln, NH! Right in the heart of the White Mountain region- so gorgeous!
Here's a photo recap....
Shipwrecked Island Splash Park
Which translates to Totally Awesome Gonna-Get-Soaked-Wherever-You-Go Park
Then off to something a bit speedier...
Slides + Tubes + Giggling & Screaming Kids = A Really Fun Time!
Finally came the adrenaline part of the park...
OhMyGosh! SOOOOOOOO fast and scary and FUN!
I kept having to back up more and more in order to get this whole set up in the picture! It was so high! Just look at the beautiful mountain scenery everywhere in the background!
This was called The Eye of the Storm- you zoom down the tunnel part of the slide and then reach this funnel-type part where you go around and around until you finally just DROP into the pool below!
Round and round and...
...going...
Gone!
Caleb did this attraction at least 15 times! He became pals with the teens who worked the gates and went over safety instructions, and by the end, they joked that he could do their job! HaHa!
this pic gives a little more perspective of how high up it is!
Ethan zipped through really fast- I blinked and he'd already plunged in the pool!
Gotta love centrifugal force at work!
I didn't do that ride because everyone said it kills your back. But I did do this one...
Whoa Nelly! That may not look that intense, but I promise you, it FEELS intense!
You shoot through a tunnel (really fast if your preteen son is rocking the tube a ton!) and then get catapulted onto this huge arc and you go so high you think you're going to sail straight off the top of the thing! Boy does your ticker perk up on this ride! And your stomach flies into your throat too. Good times!
These two pictures absolutely crack me up! Look at those faces!
We'd read that if you go to the park on a day with an "iffy" forecast, you'd avoid big crowds, and waiting in long lines for the rides. This was the best tip ever! We felt like we had the whole park to ourselves! It was a wee bit chilly when we first arrived, and thankfully, there was a ginormous whale-shaped pool that was heated (how cute!). We lived in that pool for the first hour or so! The sun made a few appearances, but we didn't mind the clouds at all. Whenever we got too cold, we'd make a run for the whale pool and warm right up! It was so much fun! After lunch, it got hotter so all those cold rides felt great!
Oh, and here is my public service announcement for all you fair-skinned folks:
Why yes, you WILL get burned even when the sun isn't beating down on you, so don't get stingy with the sunscreen! Some of us are still learning that lesson the hard way, ahem.
Here we are at the end of the day...
...happy and exhausted!
Nice cover-up tunic, right? hee hee
A day like this is a bit of a splurge for a bigger family like ours, but we saved money where we could by bringing in our own snacks and lunch (there are plenty of tables and chairs to use- great!), and checking out their Facebook page where Bill discovered that honor roll students receive half-price admission tickets! This was also the first year that there was a coupon in the NH Breathe Free Fun Pass book, so we got a half-price ticket for Isabelle, too! We also took advantage of the "shoulder season" which offers lower admission tickets, so we saved about $100 total! Score!
