Sunday, June 30, 2013

Beat The Heat

  This has been a busy weekend for me. My daughter, for the first time, had a sleepover with someone who was not directly related to us by blood. I have volunteered with both the Mom and Dad of the little sleepover friend, so am on familiar terms with both, which makes a difference. And although I was a nervous wreck, my daughter had a blast. And I stayed at my sister's house and annoyed the ever-living shit out of her by complaining every five minutes that I missed my daughter.
   But after picking my daughter up, I wanted to do something fun. I didn't want to go home to my apartment.  The temperature outside is 85, and I know that my southern relatives are all hooting now, because that is nothing to them. But I would like to point out that all of the apartments, trailers, ect. that I lived in down South had central air. Apartments in Washington do not come with any kind of air, and most apartments have issues with you installing a window air unit because they don't look attractive, and in order to draw in new tenets, the neighborhood needs to look as attractive as possible. And my apartment holds heat very well, a boon in the winter, but a curse in the summer. Another issue is that one of my neighbors is very elderly, and has been complaining about the cold, and has been running her heat. In 80 degree weather, and her living room wall is my living room wall. So my apartment has been feeling like it's 95 degrees instead of 85, and I feel like picketing her front door. She is trying to cook us all.
   So to get back to what I was saying before, I didn't want to take my daughter from an awesome sleepover to our oven of an apartment. I needed something fun to do, something that would cool us down. So I decided to go whine to my sister. As the youngest, one of her primary duties in this life is to keep me entertained (Haha! She doesn't agree.) And she came through, because all the kids have new swimsuits, and she thought they might like to go to Steel Lake Park. Way to go Sissy!!
   I love Steel Lake Park because it's free. You can see the cheapskate coming out of me, but free is awesome. Plus, after 12 pm, they have official lifeguards on duty, so that is an extra layer of safety. So we suited the kiddos up, suited ourselves up, and piled into my sister's minivan. You swim at your own risk, because this is a lake and ducks shit in that water and little kids pee and there are all manner of strange creatures. My sister found some kind of freaky fish looking thing with six freaking legs, so who knows what is in that water, but it's free. Free is awesome!!!
    And on getting there, my sister and I proceeded to show the kiddos that they do not have the monopoly on having fun and goofing off. My sister and I spent two hours in the water with the kids, splashing each other, smashing dirt into each other's swimsuits, grabbing the other's legs and trying to pull them under water, jumping on each other's backs unexpectedly, and causing general chaos that had the parents glaring, the children staring, and the life guards keeping us under careful watch. Kids do not have a monopoly on fun when my sister and I are around; we have that monopoly. Everybody just wishes that they had as much fun as we do. What can I say? We can't all be awesome. But if you are somewhere looking for a way to beat the heat, I do suggest looking for the free activities. Because the water parks are awesome, but you don't always have the cash, and if you only want to spend a few hours somewhere in the first place, those entrance fees are a waste of money if you do have the cash. Beat the heat in ways that are free, or have a low cost, like 5 bucks. If you live in my particular area, Steel Lake Park. Free, and with life guards on duty. What's better?
   

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