The Water-bearer19:23 Jul 22 2005
Times Read: 1,876
I think it is safe to say it has been at least 20 years since I've been to Big Surf water park in Tempe. People don't believe me when I tell them they can surf and boogie-board in Arizona. Damned straight you can! Leave it to folks from AZ to create the first artifical surf wave pool in America. A wave pool, for those unfamiliar with the concept, is a large swimming pool that creates a large wave that ebbs and flows from one end to the other. They can be surfed, provided there aren't hundreds of people around you to wipe out on.
It opened up in Oct. 1969. Here's a photo of a postcard from 1970.
That was back when they actually had sand on the "beach" around the lagoon. Myself, I don't remember a sandy beach, but the mind forgets cool details like that a score years later. I certainly don't remember the water slides and tubes. What do I remember?
I remember one of the last trips I made there, on a summer school field trip, and I didn't have the money for a locker. So I left my sandals and eyeglasses wrapped up in my towel on the grass by the lagoon. Merrily I played in the water, dodging my fellow classmates. When I came out and discovered that our busses were getting ready for us, I got out and could not find my towel with my shoes and glasses inside. Frantic minutes passed like hours with many people helping me look, and nothing turned in to lost and found.
I eventually had to walk shivering, half-blind, barefoot over hot blacktop to air-conditioned busses. Then when I got home I had to explain how I foolishly lost my glasses (and shoes, but the glasses were a bigger deal) to my parents. Heartache and a scarred memory of a fun place to swim were all I had left.
Fast Forward 20+ years.
Michelle and I live in an apartment complex that is literally FIVE minutes drive away from Big Surf. Summer hit and the season opened a month ago or so. Many times I've driven past it and thought it would be nice to go, only to be reminded of my embarrassing mistake.
Her work actually throws a barbecue party every summer there at Big Surf. They gave her two passes and we decided to go. We went prepared, and I went armed with a little cash and lots of quarters for the lockers!
We got there just after they started serving food. We searched for the lockers, found where to pay them and discovered that they charge $8 for all-day locker rental. This may well be a deal for folks actually there all day, but this was a big shock. I paid it though and we got our key and put our belongings in the locker.
We had some wonderful burgers and grub, and then made our way to Waikiki Beach (aka the Wave Pool). Michelle is still very self-conscious about her swimming abilities. Whereas myself, I'm chicken when it comes to tubes and water-slides. So my goal was to hit the lagoon and swim. She started in with me for a bit, but the waves just took her by surprise by their force and she went down a couple times. I helped her up and she decided she'd have better luck with the tubes.
Myself, I went deep into the lagoon, dodging people on rafts, ducking under some waves, floating about others. But swimming the rest of the time. I went as far as I could before getting to the roped off area -- too close to the wave crest beyond that. I floated and the waves picked me up a couple times, bodysurfing as far as I could before getting knocked around by other people.
Sometimes I imagine I was born to swim. I've been doing it since I was a toddler. I usually swim underwater long distances, diving with or without a board (though not high dives, I hate heights). But since having the kids, swimming opportunities mean taking them with me. Then I'm not swimming, I'm playing lifeguard.
This was my first time really swimming alone, even with hundreds of kids and adults bumping around me. I was alone with the water. I felt at peace. At one with the water. Flowing with it, ebbing in time.
I felt selfish.
I got out eventually, and found Michelle, shaking because she enjoyed one slide, but on another she came out of the tubes in deeper water and got lost underwater. Very, very easy to do, and I blame myself for not realizing that I should have gone with her.
She was OK, a lifeguard helped her out, that's their job, but I hope it showed her that she's still very safe. It's OK to be afraid of the water as long as you respect that.
A storm rolled in and I could feel the power of the storm as the charged air above us rippled around my wet skin. I forgot how much I loved storms, too. We decided it was time to go back home.
We had fun, a nice time just the two of us. I was so at peace, I didn't even need sleeping pills to get to sleep.
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