My family frequented water slide parks on our many vacations through British Columbia. We were a thrill seeking family. Rain or shine you would find us riding down the rapids or speed slides of these incredible parks.
Our most memorable slide was always the river ride. It was always the most uncomfortable. It was the slide we most often got injured on. Down each rapid, we would end up slamming into all the other people swirling around in the water. Getting thrown off or losing your tube was common as was the amount of water we would inhale into our lungs.
For our family, the rougher the ride, the more fun! That was until the day my dad picked up a woman!
After hours of sliding, we all took a break in chairs enjoying the sun. We were relaxing in front of the river ride so we could laugh at all the people coming down. My dad decided to go down the ride by himself on a single tube. He had a technique, he knew how to hit the water just right, insuring that he bolted right through the pool and down the next rapid.
He gets into his tube and starts down the slide. He bolts right through the first pool of water, bypassing all the people in tubes floating around in circles and goes down the next rapid. All of a sudden, he sees an attractive woman in a bikini standing in the pool of water, bent over. She has lost her tube and he barrels right into her. Her leg’s go up in the air and she lands right in his lap!
“Uh, hello!” My dad exclaims and then they go down the rapids together.
The woman is screaming and she’s embarrassed. My dad is riding down the river ride with a strange woman in his lap. They’re both laughing because what else can you do when you’re in a situation like this. However, as they are riding together, trying to laugh off this awkward ordeal, my dad suddenly remembers my mom.
He starts freaking out, knowing that we are all waiting for him at the bottom. He’s worried about what my mom’s going to think, not to mention his children. Our family friends were also there and he knows he’s never going to live this down! He’s a happily married family man! So, in a moment of panic, he picks that poor woman up and dumps her over the side into the water!
He comes down the last rapid with a red face and doesn’t say a thing. Of course, when we do find out the true story behind dad’s last river ride, we all laugh at him! To this day, I’ve never been able to go down the river ride at water parks without thinking of him and the woman he accidentally picked up!
