H2O WONDERLAND: Some people, when it comes to summertime swimming, simply favor a pool. Cool, blue, reflective of sky and cloud and not a thing in it but water and, of course, a set of stairs to enter. But many people? Maybe even the majority of poolside fans? They like a little something extra with their outdoor, splash-style recreating. Could be a set of waterwings or a floating tray for beverages. Could be a raft or rings or a volleyball net or a bouquet of colorful pool noodles. Or it could be that king among pool toys, the inflatable. Inflatables have grown in popularity over the years among pool owners, and they've grown in size, too. Remember the balls you bounced around as a tot back in the '70s? Yeah, they're bigger, as is everything that has air in it and sits in a backyard swimming pool. But where they're bigger -- much, much bigger -- is a place not all that far from your backyard. It's the Moe's B. Watersports Summer Playground area at the Newport Dunes.
TAKE YOUR PICK: Yep, it's a long sandy stretch of private prettiness -- 10 acres in all, and there are lifeguards. As for the out-in-water climbables? Look for "a wide range of massive, colorful inflatable amenities from giant icebergs and water trampolines to rock-climbing walls and massive teeter-totters." So how much is it to spend a couple of hours with some large-scale water-floaty sculpture thingamabobs? Twenty bucks for two hours or thirty for four hours. Yep, you'll get happily worn out, as you might in a pool with a much smaller inflatable. It's open every day through Labor Day and every weekend in September. Ready for what is traditionally our region's hottest period? Make for the water, inflatable aficionado.
WAIT ONE SEC... "massive teeter-totters"? Well now we feel covetous. Do they sell those down at the corner store?
