Boulder Beach

Nope, I don't mean Colorado. Though perhaps there IS a beach in Boulder. I'm talking about the water park at Silverwood Amusement Park. We typically go to Silverwood during the off season so Boulder Beach is usually closed for the season. The kids have been wanting to get to the water park so we decided to try and "catch a wave" during the heat of the summer. We decided to throw in a camping trip (another thing that the family loves to do). Sadly, there were no available campsites due to our last minute decision. Luckily, Silverwood allows camping in the overflow parking adjacent to the camp grounds. Cost to "camp" there is $25 and, although you don't have any hookups, you do get full use of the campground's facilities.

While my incredible hubby set up our campsite, I took the kids in for a little bit of water time. I rented two large inner tubes and the kids floated down the lazy river (a circuit around a 3.5 foot deep "river"). When the campsite and lunch was ready, Mat called us and we walked back to the trailer. BBQ'd burgers and dogs, potato salad, chips, and fruit were served up in short order. YUMM! Then it was back to Boulder Beach - this time, all four of us.

Mat and I used the inner tubes to take our own tour of the lazy river while the kids checked out the wave pool and went down the individual tube rides. When they returned, all four of us headed down the lazy river. And with the assistance of my lovely daughter, the two of us saw the river from UNDERNEATH the inner tube (as she flipped us over not once, but twice). We also got a chance to check out the two wave pools (pretty cool stuff) before walking back to the van so we could drive to dinner.

Dinner at Silverwood typically means one thing: Tomato Street! Our favorite Italian spot. I usually get the same thing: baked spaghetti. But this time, both Mat and I opted to try the Street Trio. Two manicotti (one seafood and one smoked chicken) plus baked spaghetti. It was a good combo, but for me, the baked spaghetti still takes top honors.

When we returned to the campgrounds, we headed back to the park. This time, we did the Silverwood rides. There wasn't all that much time left but enough for the kids to ride the roller coasters (and some other rides) a few times. When the park closed, we mosied off to the trailer and tucked ourselves into bed.

The trip home was also a little adventure itself. While looking for a place to have lunch (we ended up at Wingers and I, for one, love their wings), we found the location of the closest Hobby Lobby to us. It's not open yet but when it does, I foresee some road trips with my T/C scrappin' buds. One final stop took us to Krispy Kreme and a dozen glazed donuts, then we were headed on the road home. A very nice way to spend our weekend.