Something Missing

This post is inspired by two drives over the past four days in which I had to cross the Strip at Sahara and was confronted by the end of an era: No more Wet 'n' Wild.

Yes, I miss Wet 'n' Wild. Some of you are groaning, I know. Who wouldn't miss the best place to see obscenely hairy and overweight European men stuffed into too tight Speedos? Or enjoy the warmth of the Lazy River? There are many theories as to why the water was warmer in the Lazy River than any other attraction. Even so, it was definitely the best way to navigate the park on a blisteringly hot day, especially since kool deck must not have been invented when the park was built. Ah, who needed kool deck when you could run and jump from puddle to puddle courtesy of sprinklers aimed at the concrete? Quit complaining, they were only second degree burns! During late elementary school and Jr. High, it seemed like all of my friends had a season pass. OMG, they were lucky! Of course, my brother and I were the dorks who had to go to the Boys and Girls Club or participate in a cultural tour of every museum in town. Did you know that we have a really crappy doll museum on the Strip? At least we did. Shoot, after seeing that place I should have started charging admission for tours of my closet 'o crap! Anyway, I digress. The wave pool was probably the best test of a young child's swimming skills and a great place to kick and hit people for no reason. I was usually on the receiving end. How many times were you afraid that you'd hit the concrete when you bounced off the Bubble Up because the pool it was in was so narrow? I loved that ride. Did the guns in the Kiddie Pool blimp ever work? I was always too scared to ride Der Stuka- nothing's changed. I never got to go on any of the new rides, because my adult self (and my husband's adult self) was far too conscious of communicable diseases to go anywhere near that cess pool of Jr. High hormones and soggy hot dog buns. All the same, I do kinda' regret not going to Wet 'n' Wild last year when I knew that it would be closing at the end of the Summer. I took best friends there. My parents had company picnics there. I owe my knowledge of second degree sunburns and oversized T-shirts to Wet 'n' Wild. Now, as I cross the Strip at Sahara I just see a big sign touting Ivana Trump's new high-rise condominium tower. I miss the familiar sight of Der Stuka from the road that reminded me that Las Vegas Blvd could be a fun place for kids while their parents gambled away their inheritence across the street. Honestly, I never thought there would be a day when I didn't see Wet 'n' Wild sitting there between a few hotels, and it makes me sad. But, in this town of constant re-invention it shouldn't surprise me that it's gone. Like so many other Vegas icons, Wet 'n' Wild will just have to live forever in our hearts and minds. sniff. sniff.