Splash lagoon and the Erie blizzard

Along interstate 90 on the way from Cleveland to Rochester is a colorful billboard for a splash park called Splash Lagoon. For years we've stopped at a Bob Evans next door on our way to and from Columbus, and Sam has long begged to give Splash Lagoon a try. This year we told Sam that if he stuck with his swimming lessons, we'd finally go.

It has a large number of water slides, including two which feed into a sort of huge salad bowl where one slooshes around at high speed, spiraling in and falling into a hole in the center into another pool below. It also has what it proudly calls the largest indoor wave pool in the Eastern U.S. It is large, too, and a great deal of fun. 

Sam has gone down three of the water slides, including the scary Python Plunge--that's one of two slides that snakes out of the building and back in again, the sight of which has lured Sam to Splash Lagoon all these years. He has gleefully bobbed in the wave pool, as has Josh (from the safety of Daddy's arms). (There is also a "kiddie" area with a number of smaller slides and fun things for the wee folk.) Here is Sam during a break near the end of our six and a half hours there today:

This is a view of the main area...

A huge bucket periodically pours water over those below. You may notice the polynesian theme, paying homage to that great civilization of giant bucket-pourers

Here's a shot fo Susan and Sam having just done the Black Hole water slide

And another view just after opening this morning at 10 o'clock.

There is also a "ropes course" in which you traverse various rope bridges 20 feet and higher off the ground. People using the course are strapped to a line connected to a railing above, so if they slip they fall only about a foot before bobbing in the air. Sam was very eager to do the course, and with a look of concentration navigated most of it with determination and, well, without falling.

Did I mention this park is in Erie, PA? Erie is famous among those who travel this route as having more snow and foul weather than any other stretch. True to form, the evening we arrived it began to snow--light, fluffy lake-effect snow. Here's what the balcony looked like the first evening:

And here's what it looked like the following morning:

And it continued to snow! The hotel (three hotels, in fact) is connected via indoor walkways to the water park, so we were able to enjoy the view of the blizzard while heading out to spend the day in tropical heat and humidity.

Tomorrow  morning one more hit of water park, then back to Rochester.