18 June 2008

Tour de St. Louis: Raging Rivers

Mike took off work today, and we went to Raging Rivers Water Park in Grafton, Illinois. The forecast promised perfectly gorgeous weather, and it was right. The drive took about an hour, enough for Noel to start fussing (one of the reasons we opted to be local tourists this summer--he hates long car rides). To get to Grafton, you have to cross the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, so we got a firsthand look at the flooding. I was sad to see Elsah, such a picturesque little town, under several feet of water. All along the Great River Road, water was lapping up close to the highway.

Raging Rivers was fun. First we went to the kiddie areas, but the boys weren't really into those. Dom didn't like the bucket dumping water, and Noel cried when I got him two feet from the Itty Bitty Surf City. Dom did ride the Cascade Body Flumes. I took him first, holding him tightly on my lap. It was fast! We landed at the bottom with a big splash, going under the water slightly. I assumed Dom would be freaked out by that, but instead he said, "Let's do it again!" He liked the wave pool, too. Noel was most interested in pushing the stroller around. By naptime, he was getting pretty cranky, so we left at 3:00.

Back at home, I saw on the park's website that it will close starting Friday because of the flood. Our original plan had been to go then, so I'm glad we went today! I took some pictures and will try to post them to Picasa tonight or tomorrow.

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