A Texas-Sized Slip N' Slide - Day 5

We asked lots of local folks what we should do while we were in Texas, and the answer was always "Schiltterbahn!" Huh? "Schlitterbahn Waterpark."

Everyone told us it is the best water park in the world! And when it is 104 degrees with 90% humidity, it sounded like something we needed to check out.

Unfortunately, so did everybody else in Texas! It was the last week of summer before everyone in Texas headed back to school, so they all had the same idea - one last day at "the Schlitt." So the lines were long and we didn't get to do everything - but that water park is so big, that doing everything might be impossible, even on a slow day.

In fact, Schlitterbahn is not just one water park, but three! You have to take a shuttle between them. It is so big, it makes Knott's Soak City look like an inflatable kiddie pool and a slip-n-slide.

The amazing thing about Schlitterbahn is that it is all fresh water, no chlorine, coming from natural springs. And the water is icy cold! In fact, the springs are the source of the Comal river that runs alongside the water park, there is even one slide that will drop you right into the river. How cool is that? They pile the inner tubes used for the rides onto big barges to float them down the river the the start of the slides.

Unfortunately, this being a water park, I didn't get to bring my camera out too much, so I didn't get too many pictures, but oh, I could have gotten some pretty terrific shots if I happened to have a waterproof camera. Oh well.

The original water park is a German Black Forest theme, and there are tons of trees everywhere, which was really great, because it kept us cool and we really didn't have to worry about sunburn.

That main waterpark is mostly tube rides and everyone finds the perfect black inner tube and uses it all day long.

Another thing I really appreciated about this place was that once you paid for admission, everything was free - parking, tubes, life-vests, and you could bring your own food inside. The tickets were kind of pricey, but at least we weren't being nickled and dimed to death.

Once we had our fill of the first park we headed over to the other two on the shuttle.

There was a family blaster slide with big 4-man rafts, and there were several water slides that went uphill! Standing in line was half the fun as there was icy cold water just gushing down on us from some slides above. In some places, as we stood in line, the water was a least a foot deep around our ankles. Who ever thought standing in line could be so fun and refreshing?

There was also the worlds only surfing machine. Dylan and I were excited to try that, but it was lame. Not surfboards, but boogie boards, and you are only allowed to get on your knees, not stand. The water rushes toward you in a curve upward at high speed. Not exactly the same. They should call it the world's only boogie board machine. Oh well, at least we can say we tried it, right? I guess those Texas folks just don't get the whole surfing thing. We'll just have to stick with the real thing.

We finished off the day at the tall tower with all of the high, fast slides. So fun! Those Texans really know how to make a fun water park!

We were there until closing, and then we had to wait for the shuttle back to our car in the other parking lot. The line was long, so the boys decided to take a dip in the Comal river that runs alongside the park. Other people, not park visitors, were floating down the shallow, slow river in inner tubes. It looked like so much fun!

When we got back to our car, we had a happy treat waiting for us! My sister Natalee, who lives in Abilene, TX, about 5 hours away, and her kids had driven out to join us for part of our vacation. They were there waiting when we got off the shuttle! What a happy reunion it was for us and the cousins!

It was so cute. Caleb and Ethan had the very same special blankets with them. Nat and I had bought the blue cowboy fabric together a few years ago and made the same blankets for our kids last year. I guess they were a hit with both boys, because they both drug them on the trip.

What a great day with a perfect ending!