Yeah - not so much.
It was rough from the beginning. I dropped everyone (Anna, the kids and my parents) at Prince Solms Park and then drove the van over to a friends house by the last public exit. I jogged back over to the park and we made our way (with our 7 tubes and appropriately sized cooler) down to the river.
Mishap #1
My mom was going to be the first into the water.
Before I go on, let me say this: I'm impressed that Mom was even going. She's not exactly what you would call a great swimmer. As a kid, I remember swimming a LOT - I can't ever remember seeing Mom with her head under water (or even getting her hair wet intentionally). I remember her yelling at us (and other kids) for splashing in her vicinity in the pool. Just to set the stage. :)
I got down on the step and put her tube in position for her to sit. She put one foot down onto the step and WHAM! - she landed on her keester. She was OK, I got her and everyone else into their tubes, tied off our shoes and cooler and off we went.
The water was great! It was cool and we were floating calmly - it was nice. Anna and my mom decided that they (along with Phillip and Elijah) would skip the first tube chute and walk around - as it turned out, this was an error in strategy - more on this in just a moment.
We got them out, and Katy, Dad and I proceeded down the chute - woooooooooooo! Good stuff! At one point, Katy got a faceful of water, but all in all, we did well. Everyone was happy.
Mishap #2
Once we got clear of the chute, I got out of my tube and pulled Dad and Katy back to where Anna, Mom and the boys were getting ready to get back in (which, upon further review, was not the correct entry point).
They were getting in right at the mouth of the chute. Anna got in her tube and joined the group. Next was Elijah, then Phillip, then Mom. All were in, all was good.
Then all Heck broke loose at once. Keep in mind that everything I'm going to mention next happened in the span of about 3 seconds.
Mom drifted too close to the end of the chute. The current flipped her out and took her across the river. She was connected to the group by Phillip (either he was holding her tube or vice versa). When she flipped and entered the current, so did he.
So now the two of them are on their way across (under water). At this point, adrenaline takes charge of Dad and he leaps out of his tube (reminiscent of being shot from a cannon) after Mom and Phillip. I'm with Anna, Katy and Elijah now, watching Phillip and Dad's heads (I couldn't locate Mom's immediately).
I see Phillip with Dad, so I know they're OK. I leave my tube with Anna and jump into the current to get over to where the others are. About halfway across I see everyone. Phillip is being hauled out of the river by his arm by a kind stranger, Mom is clinging to a lifeguard's buoy, and Dad is trying to hang on to the wall. So I locate one of our tubes, and swim it over to Dad and tell him to start heading down to the next entry point. Then I go and get Phillip, retrieve his tube from where another kind stranger tossed it onto the bank, and then I help Mom get out of the water and get her tube.
So now I'm walking Mom and Phillip down to the next entry point (all the while making sure everyone's OK, and trying to calm Phillip down and convince him that the only way back to our van is to get back in the tube and follow the river).
Everyone's back in their tube now, except me. Dad, Mom and Phillip are together, and Anna has Elijah and Katy (and my tube). So I'm working my way back to where Anna is and I thrash my knee against a rock.
Finally, I get everyone situated. Just in time for the 2nd chute.
Happily, our journey down the second chute was less dramatic. No one left their tube and everyone was fine (except for the emotional reactions to what just happened). There was shaking, crying and general nervousness all around.
I know what you're thinking...why get back in the water? Trot your cheeks back to your van, pick everyone up and chuck the whole concept of a float.
Well, here's why I rushed everyone back in: I knew that if Phillip didn't get right back in the water, he would NEVER get in it again. He is the most cautious child alive and if I would have let him stay out after being scared, that would have been the end.
So...we floated. We talked. We named animals through the alphabet (I think we only made it to C). And nobody flipped anymore. It ended much better than it began.
So now we're all recuperating. I'm rehabbing my knee (a little mentholatum and ice), and everyone else is rehabbing frayed nerves. I don't think anyone's going to have trouble sleeping.
Thank you, Father, for keeping us all safe and reminding us of our Your strength in our weakness.
Tomorrow, we take our act to Schlitterbahn!
Until next time - RevPhil
My New Church
5 weeks ago
13 comments:
Phillip has underestimated this whole event!
I saw my Little Honey disappear from sight...I knew she was scared to death and I was scared to death for her. To say she does not like to get her hair wet is really an understatement. I saw her go under once...then I saw her head...and there she went again...and again. All I could see was her floating down the river. This was a terrible, terrible thing. Then I saw that the lifeguard had her. then PhilBob was missing. It was all really a nightmare. I must say I am not over it yet. Tight in my chest and an upset stomach. There will be no more events like that again. It's th kiddy pool from here on out.
You picked the right river because the Guadalupe has falls. That would not have been a leisure float for the kids if they were in tubes. There used to be an age requirement for the tube chute. Phillip was brave! Those currents are tough even for the older folks. (I used to work on the river during college) Glad you all survived the river. Hope your day at Schlitterbahn is less eventful. Enjoy the heat!
Sorry, posted that under Kimberly's name.
See what happens when you skip softball practice!!!
Only kidding. Glad you are all okay. I have yet to float the river, now I am not sure I want to. I am a pretty good swimmer, but doesn't sound like much fun.
Remind me to tell you the time I sat through a major thunderstorm under a bridge while trying to canoe.
Ok...first off.....DUDE! Second, your trainer reports that you need to call the office and make and appointment for an eval-he'll work you in (for now just ice, ice, baby!) Third, this will eventually be a great sermon somewhere down the line! And forth, and most importantly we are thankful that your experience ended safe. Thanks for sharing! We love you all!
Whata day! Here you have this nightmare experience, finally get to your vehicle with children who are so happy to be out of the water and safe. Only to be bitten by Shannon's evil cat Kiki, and barked at by her 45 pound dog Brinkley who looked like he would eat them alive but really would have licked them to death.
To go along with what Amy first commented on, I must remind you of a few weeks ago when we were reminded that we are both Lame and Old.
You should know that old, lame people should not try something so adventurous.
Hey, dwain...I maybe getting old but not lame yet.
No offense intended for you rbrown. But we both know that Phil is old and lame!!! HA HA HA HA. Only joking :)
sorry Dwain...I thought you were picking on me...my bad.
Who is PhilBob? I meant to ask your Dad.
In my world, I am Phil and my son is Phillip.
In my dad's world, I am Phillip and my son is PhilBob - short for Phillip Robert.
If I have time some day, I'll clue everyone in to the thought process behind our names. Not today though.
RevPhil
Can I call him PhilBob BrownPants?
I talked to Phil today, they were on their way to the coast, and he said that several people had asked about me after reading the blog about Comal River Tubing. I guess it’s time for me to post a comment.
He tells me that those of you originally from Ohio, that are now New Braunfels residents, are more than reluctant to try river tubing. What happened has much less to do with me being from Ohio, as is does my personal history.
So, it’s time for me to fess up, ‘they’ say confession is good for the soul.
First off, I did NOT hurt myself landing on my keister getting into the tube & water at the beginning, the extra pounds came in handy.
Now, a little background…my dad loved the water. Boating or skiing with friends, swimming on top of the water, under the water, trying to swim between your legs, a real cut-up, despite the fact that he had holes in his ear drums from scarlet fever as a child.
My mother, on the other hand, was strictly an Esther Williams type, suit had to be just right, matching bathing cap, perfect Australian crawl, left arm straight out, take a breath, right arm back, face down, blow bubbles, switch arms; breast stroke, side stroke, back stroke. I do remember her form was much better where she could stand up, & she did not like her head under the water, or to be splashed. Sound familiar? One of the many frustrations of my dad, having spawned two daughters.
Somewhere around the time that my age hit double digits, my parents signed my sister and me up for ‘free’ swimming lessons sponsored by the Red Cross at our local Portage Lakes State Park on the ‘hauled-in’ sandy shore of the beautiful Portage Lakes. Four to six weeks, once or twice a week, for an hour. At the end of the course, there was a swimming ‘test’, which involved swimming around strategically placed buoys, to the teacher’s satisfaction, to earn a certificate. Well, I’m not all that tall, but, I cheated. I started out waist deep, had my strokes and breathing coordinated, got half way around, and my lower half started to sink. Tippy-toes on the bottom, pushed back up, and kept going, still coordinated, evidently catching the instructor on a blink, because I got the certificate.
I wasn’t proud of myself, but, I have told myself, all these years, that I learned enough in that class to keep myself from drowning. Hmmm…
Flash forward, to my boyfriend, later to be husband, Bob. Déjà vu. Under the water, on top of the water, trying to swim between your legs, typical teenage boyfriend stuff, trying to dunk you, splashing you until you wanted to scream, you know. Rough housing. I liked it even less at this mature age.
Flash forward again, to motherhood. Two boys. No brothers. Wonderful husband, wonderful father. We have thanked God, nearly every day, for more than several reasons, that HE blessed us with boys, but, I was especially thankful that these first two men in my life would now have SOMEONE TO PLAY WITH!!! Both boys at ease in the water, one even nicknamed ‘Timmer the swimmer’. Phil says he will do a blog on the nicknaming thing, so, I’ll leave that to his explanation.
Ok, now to June, 2008. My husband wanted to wait for our 2008 visit for weather warm enough to take a leisurely ride down the river on a tube. And the rest, as they say, is history.
I will agree with Phil that our choice of places to enter the water would be different now, and knowing my ‘easy feeling’ in the water, I would have either declined, or better yet, wore a life jacket like Katy and Elijah, to heck with pride.
I will spare you the gory details, however, the last thing I remember before being rudely submerged is my husband saying, ‘you are drifting too close to where the chute water is coming out’ and wondering, ok, what do I do about that??? And then counting how many times I went under.
I did NOT see my life flash before my eyes, but, they WERE closed, and once my head was above water, at the wall, clinging to the life guard’s float(which is slippery), I was not in a panic-mode. A little anxious, which improved tremendously, once I saw everyone else, especially Phil-Bob, who might still have issues.
Long story short:
DO NOT DENY YOURSELF A TUBING EXPERIENCE BECAUSE OF ME, BUT, BE SMARTER!!!
1. If you are a thrill seeker, by all means, go down the chute! Phil, Katy and Bob thought it was great!
(Bob maintains I would have been better off going down the chute, he says I wouldn’t have tipped over, and I most vehemently disagree.)
2. If you are not a strong swimmer, wear some kind of buoyant device(you can’t count the tube(!), only one part of you is wearing THAT)!
3. If you can swim, and you want your children to swim, test them yourself.
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