Jesse hates water so while my sister and brother in law were visiting, I took the opportunity to visit the park with the bro in law. The wives were kind enough to let us go alone and we made full use of the time staying the full 10 hours and using every minute of time we had.
This was the first time I've ever been to a water park blind and let me tell you it adds a whole new dimension to the experience. It's thrilling to have no clue what is coming next and just hanging on and waiting for it to happen. Brad was kind enough to let me find out what lay ahead as I passed through it. He spoiled nothing with warnings or cautions at all. I loved it!!
Their most popular slide is called the Master Blaster which is a tube slide that goes uphill alone with the usual lefts, rights, and downs. It was our first run of the morning and we decided I was going to ride in the front.
As I slowly stepped over the edges and made my way across the tube I thought to myself, oh there's probably a hand rail right here in front like most water slides…….
I reach out and instead of a rail got a handful of the female lifeguard who was watching me awkwardly climb to my seat.
It's a strange situation when I have no cane with me. The eye I have in looks very real and nobody has any idea I'm totally blind. They probably think there are some serious other issues going on ha ha.
Well of course I apologized and she just kind of laughed and said it was no problem. Sweet you might be thinking right? well sometimes I would agree but similar situations happened throughout the day but none of them were girls…talk about weird.
After lunch we went to the original park of the park on a hillside where most of the slides are under the trees and the Comel river actually feeds most of the slides. As we walked through the gate I was holding Brad's elbow and we were no more than ten feet inside when we stopped near a map to find out where we were. We had been there no longer than a few seconds when an employee came hustling up and asked if we needed first aid. I turned and smiled and we responded that everything was fine. I could tell the exact moment the light bulb went off in his head.
He slowly walked backwards stammering a mumbled "Welcome to Schlitterbahm" and off he went. I get a huge kick out of situations like this. Apparently this guy just thought I had been hurt somehow since I was holding Brad's arm and just assumed we were looking for help. I was caught off guard and only after he left did I think to say something like,
"If your first aid can cure my problem, them lets get going! I have a few friends who need some help too!"
There was another ride that at one point was just a lazy river and the current was pretty slow. I was paddling along and when I bumped the wall I reached out to pull myself along. Of course, like always, my hand landed in the perfectly wrong place. This time it was just the hat of a lifeguard who sarcastically said
"Woah watch it cowboy"
I was mostly just confused as he pushed me alone down the next part of the slide. Brad came behind me, and after seeing what happened, leaned over and told the guard I was blind.
I guess the look on his face was priceless. Brad said he could physically see him deflate ha ha.
The day went on and after unknowingly scaring a couple of kids who got too close in a whirlpool by accident with my fake blue eye we found ourselves back at the park we started at. We ran back and forth and went on just about every single slide they have there. I challenge you, next time you find yourself on a water slide, to do it with your eyes shut. It changes the entire experience and honestly makes it much more fun. You never know for sure when the slide ends or if it ends in a big pool where you need to hold your breath or not. It's a blast! Season passes here are only $140 so as soon as I find someone else around here who likes this sort of thing I'm picking mine up.
They have one of those boogie board wave things where you slide in from the side and try to ride the wave that we went on toward the end of the day. I dove out into it and after a second was pretty sure I had found the middle and was hanging on. About a half second later I came to a total stop way off to the side of the wave. Apparently, knowing which direction is strait it is a big deal. I couldn't tell at all by feel on this. So I stand up and go to climb out only to realize that there is rushing water on both sides…It took a few seconds before I was pretty sure which direction I needed to go…but not sure enough to start walking.
Brad was waiting his turn and was telling the lifeguard he needed to go. She, of course, said no and said he needed to wait till I moved.
" He's blind! Look at him! He isn't going anywhere!" he said to her.
Her only response was an "Oh ok" and the next thing I hear is Brad yelling "I'm coming!!!" as he dove into the wave.
Turns out I was right in my assumption of the direction I needed to go but wandering a water park with no cane and without anyone else knowing I'm blind just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
Big thanks to Brad for taking on the challenge of escorting this blind guy through the biggest water park in the States. It was awesome to have family come and visit and we are looking forward to the next time we get to see them all again!
Here we are at the lazy river in my housing development.
P.S. If you read this and find yourself in my neck of the woods be sure to tell me when you go to Schlitterbahn. I'll tag along!
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