Monday, July 13, 2009

Swimming My You Know What Off!

This past weekend we went to Castaway Bay, which is an indoor waterpark in Sandusky, Ohio right at the entrance to Cedar Point. We had promised our son that if he made Honor Roll at school all year we would go, and we also had paid in advance for the room, before my husband got laid off, so we didn't have to worry about coming up with the money for it and could just go enjoy ourselves. My son also brought a friend, since four passes to the waterpark are included with the room.

We've been there before, so I always look forward to going when we get the chance. Now mind you, I don't actually know how to swim...but I love the water! I know I should learn, and I still plan on doing that. There is a really shocking tidbit I must share with you...my dad was able to get into the Coast Guard when he was younger without knowing how to swim! He was stationed in Key West, and even went out on rescue missions in a small boat with one other guy, or by himself! Neither of my parents knew how to swim, so I wound up never learning. (And my dad still doesn't swim!) My son does know how to swim, which I am very happy about...we started him off when he was very small, and he is such a fish in the water.

I love being in the water, and I can do enough things to get decent exercise out of it and have fun. When I was younger, a friend of the family taught me a couple of things...standing up in the pool and moving my arms around, and holding onto the side of the pool and kicking out from there. Both give my the feeling of being lighter than air. (thank Mrs. L...shout out to you in heaven!) I've also added some water aerobics to my time in the water, so I can get even more of a workout from my pool sessions.

In addition to that, I love the wave pool at Castaway Bay. I stand so the waves hit me about waist high, and it really gives me a rush. I can only imagine the rush I'd get if I could actually swim the waves! Then I stroll on over to the hot tub, which starts inside the park but has a walk-through to outside, where there are also lounge chairs for sunning. (Please use your sunscreen of course!) The doctor OK'd me for the hot tub, as long as I didn't sit in it for longer than 15 minutes at a time, which was fine. That's what the park recommends for eveyone anyway.

I did really well eating this weekend, not only because I didn't want to negate all of the exercise I was getting, but also because I didn't want to feel too stuffed to get back into the pool. I stuck with salads and lighter foods, and I'm happy to report that in addition to the regular fare of hot dogs and pizza in the snack area by the pool, they also serve salads and fruit. It's awesome to have to have the chance to get something healthy if you get hungry while in the waterpark.

I was feeling so good that I also took the stairs everywhere I went. I only used the elevator twice...both times were when I was carrying all of the luggage. I went for a walk through the resort, and discovered a lot of things that I didn't even know were there. Hopefully next time we go I will be able to use their spa services too.

It was so nice to spend a healthy weekend away. At least I know that I won't spend the rest of this week trying to undo everything I did over the weekend...I can just continue the exercise and healthy eating habits that I kept up while on my mini-vacation. Back to dancing my you know what off!

4 comments:

Mesha said...

sounds like a bunch of fun. i actually don't know how to swim either, yet I take a water aerobics class 3 days a week and last month it was 5 days a week with two of them being deep water classes. :) i love the water too. :)

Michelle said...

Wow - what a wonderful weekend! :) I'd love to have you join my FitRoll! Please email me your information at michelle at secretsofaformerfatgirl dot com

Thanks!

WriterMarie said...

Thank you ladies! I will e-mail you Michelle...xoxoxo

Mary Lou said...

Marie!

Good for you keeping up with your healthy eating and exercise even while vacationing! That is awesome! Water aerobics is great exercise, I'd love to find a class myself!

You go Girl!