How Floridians Stand The Heat

                It’s hot and sticky outside.  Then again, it is every summer at this time.  Other than sitting inside in the air conditioning, where can you go to escape the heat and humidity?

                Have I ever got an answer for you!

                On Military Trail south of Blue Heron Boulevard lies the absolutely perfect place to be on a hot summer day in Florida. The Rapids sits on thirty acres and has everything from sedate children’s sections (Tadpool and Splish Splash Lagoon) to Big Thunder with its forty-five degree drop and speeds up to twenty miles per hour.

                Bet you didn’t know The Rapids has been around for a long time. 

The Original!

               I was thirteen or so when my family went camping in the campgrounds now tucked behind the huge Rapids Water Park. In 1979, the owner of the campground thought some water slides might be a nice amenity to offer his campers. He built a hill and installed four flumes on four acres of land. We rode those four flumes over and over and begged to stay the entire day so we could ride them some more.



Black Thunder



             The owner decided campers weren’t the only people who might enjoy cooling off on a water slide, so he opened it to everyone. Today, those original flumes are still in the park. Called “Old Yellar,” they’re now tame compared to rides like Black Thunder, Big Thunder and Tubin' Tornadoes.

                I was there again recently. I walked through the entire park (a feat in itself), hearing the screams of terror and joy as children and adults braved the waters. Everywhere I looked, people were smiling.  How many places can you go to see that? I even rode around the Lazy River a couple of times in an inner tube. No fish swimming beneath me there like my trip down the Itchetucknee (see Rescuing Mom), but round a corner and an unexpected fountain of water thoroughly soaks those floating by. (See what sacrifices I make for my readers?)

                I made sure to sample the concession stand and use the lockers—the food was good, the lockers clean and the anti-slip surface much appreciated.

                I rode the waves in the wave pool and relaxed in my lounge chair under a huge shade tree next to the Lazy River. I decided to stay for a while and sat peacefully watching the park slow down and start to close. As the shadows lengthened, I became aware that the sound of rushing water had stopped. Fountains were turned off and fewer inner tubes, now all sans passengers, drifted by my chair. The lifeguards (Red Cross certified) pulled tubes out of the water and straightened the chairs around me.

                I asked a couple of lifeguards what they liked most about working at the Rapids. Dan, who’s been working at the Rapids for four years, told me that he likes being outside. He says his job is fun and he enjoys meeting people. He also enjoys the rides when he’s not working.

              Katie’s a first year lifeguard at the park. She just moved down from New York and enjoys watching the guests smile. She likes being able to help them. It’s a good thing they enjoy people because somewhere in the neighborhood of 400,000 people visit each each year.

                When I was thirteen, I loved riding those flumes. I might be quite a bit older with grown children of my own, but I still love riding those water slides.  And everything else on those thirty acres.

                For more information on Rapids Water Park, head over to their website at rapidswaterpark.com or call 561-852-8756. The park is open daily through September 7 and weekends only from September 8 through October 21 (weather permitting).  If you aren’t up for a full day under the sun, ask them about the Sunset Special. It’s a great way to get your feet wet.

The Dairy Belle

First posted on Facebook, "I Love Lake Park, Florida" Facebook page.

On a Sunday evening after dinner, when we ate at home and not at my grandparent's house in Delray Beach, occasionally, the talk would turn to dessert.

"Let's go to the Dairy Belle for some ice cream," my dad would say.

"But I made some jello," Mom protested half-heartedly.

"Let the jello wait. Let's go get ice cream." He'd turn to me, all of three, to enlist my opinion which of course, was always, "Ice cream!"

We'd head out of the house to my father's convertible MG Midget and wait patiently while he put the top down. Big hands picked me up and deposited me in the carpeted well behind the only two seats in the vehicle. No car seats or seat belts in those days. As we drove off, I spent the fifteen minutes to the Dairy Belle with my face poking out beside the passenger seat. If I'd have been a dog, my ears would have been flapping in the wind. No flapping ears, but no dog ever had a grin as big as mine as the wind hit my face and messed with my hair.

The Dairy Belle (never just "Dairy Belle") was in Riviera Beach near the intersection of Federal Highway and Blue Heron Boulevard. Just a little building, it was covered with square tile in bright colors. We'd mosey up to the window and order our cones. I almost always got a vanilla soft serve and pleaded for a chocolate, cherry or butterscotch dip.

Cones in hand, we headed for the concrete picnic tables where we sat and dueled with the balmy summer evening. It was always a race to see if we were able to get more ice cream in our mouths than down our arms as the cones melted.

I was always washed down after finishing in those days and was placed back in the carpeted well for the trip home. I can still remember lying down in the well, slightly sticky despite the vigorous washing in the restroom. I could listen to the sound of my parents' voices and could feel the car as my dad put it through the gears to drive us home. It's odd the things that stick in your mind. The feel of that carpet is just as vivid today as it was then.

Good news for you, my faithful readers, for once I'm not telling you about a place that's disappeared. The Dairy Bell is still there and still serving ice cream. The concrete tables have been replaced, but there are still places to sit and enjoy your dessert. I can't guarantee that the cones taste as yummy as they did in 1962, but I'm sure they're just as cold and just as nice on a warm evening, which Florida has plenty of even in the winter.