Toobin'
Yes, I'm totally skanking someone's picture because I'm lame and didn't take my camera tonight. When I have my camera, then there's nothing to take. When I don't have it, that's when the boys really get into whatever it is we're doing!Tonight, we wanted to do something different. Something we've never done before (at least, not with the kids). We TOOBED.
Rule #1 - it is not called tubing - it is TOOBING. Sorry, it is a New Braunfels thang, but that's how most will spell it around these parts. We have two rivers in town that are ideal for toobing - the Guadalupe and the Comal. This leads to...
Rule #2 - Toob the Guadalupe if you want to see the drunken college kids. Toob the Comal for a calmer, more family-oriented adventure. At least, that is the unspoken rule USUALLY. Tonight, notsomuch - we had our share of lushes on the Comal!
Rule #3 - make sure everyone in your party has a toob, whether they use it or not. They might need it anyway. We get our toobs for free from Schlitterbahn. With our season pass, we can pick them up for free, drop in on their property and do about an hour float!
Rule #4 - when a 4 year old says they want to do it again, you can guarantee you have found what could possibly be the highlight of their summer!
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So, here's the deal: the last time Scott and I toobed was probably sometime in 1995. It has been a while, and sad to say, we hadn't toobed since moving here. We found out a few weeks ago about the Schlitterbahn "deal", so we decided, why not? Schlitterbahn itself is a mess of people right now, and so this is a good way to take advantage of season pass perks while avoiding most of the crowds.
We took it easy - setting down along the Resort at the 'Bahn and cruising down the river for about an hour. It was okay, but I think next time we choose to do this, it needs to be in the morning before the crazy drunk college kids show up and leap out of trees and off of overpasses (both illegal, but both done on a regular basis). And the language. Yuck. And, the last public exit was a bit tricky...that's where I went from being a little wet from sitting in the toob to being completely soaked, head to toe. Yeah, I slipped.
There is a small "spillway" of sorts with some very small rapids right there at Schlitterbahn resort. We avoided it the first time, just wanting Tyler to get in the water and float for now. However, after our float, Travis wanted to do just the "spillway" part of the river that we had missed earlier (see picture above - that's what I'm talking about). Travis and Scott made it look so easy, by the third time, I had Tyler doing it as well! That was definitely our favorite part of the whole journey!
Next time, we'll just do the part in the picture and skip the drunk-college-kid route. I don't need to witness the tree-jumpers again.
Labels: Schlitterbahn, summer fun, toobing, Travis, Tyler
posted by Judy @ 9:06 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
So, I'm going to be full of questions.
Really? It's really not full of wet-t-shirt-contest-drunken-college-coeds?
How cold is the water?
How deep is the water?
Does it go in a circle, or do you get in at one point, and get out at another, and if so---how do you get back to your car!?
....see, I told you that I was full of questions...
Hey girl! Okay, to answer your questions...no wet t-shirt contest folks, but the drunken college coeds are definitely there (and more than just drunk). A few choice words, but it wasn't HORRIBLE...nothing we couldn't distract our kids from, other than the idiots who were jumping off the overpass into the water (which is HIGHLY illegal). It was our first float in 14 years; the best time to float with kids is obviously the morning when the drunks are still asleep, hahaha. There's a part of the river that runs by the Schlitterbahn resort (Resort at the Rapids) which was definitely the best part...you can get out along the way - they have several exit areas - and walk back along the sidewalk and get back in - the kids did this over and over and over. The river overall is doable without a shuttle...it is in a horsehoe. You can get out and walk about 6 blocks to get back in and float about 90 minutes back to where you got out. Being season pass holders, we park at Schlitterbahn, float about 45 minutes to an hour to the last public exit, then walk across the street to our car at Schlitterbahn! The depth varies - Travis could stand in many places, then it gets pretty deep where you can't touch at all. And the water IS cold, but as hot as it is here, you really appreciate it!
That sounds like such of a blast-minus the drunk & crazy college kids-for a nice family outing. I'm intrigued now and off to find out if there's some place to do that around here. Probably just Ben & I as I can see Cait being scared & Cara might be a tad young unless she goes tandem. Thanks for the idea!
Toobin the Comel River Chute is one of the great cheap adventures in the area. Aside of the college crowd, good time for family. If you have a snorkle and goggles, you can even troll for lost treasures at the bottom of the chute (where people lose stuff).
Looks like fun!
The college kids, aka half-naked (and sometimes it's the wrong half) foul-mouthed drunks, definitely ruined the Guadalupe for me. But we tube in San Marcos now, and it's just my speed! It's maybe an hour - no longer - and ends with a great chute of rapids that you can do again and again. We usually go when my niece and nephew are in town. Haven't been yet this year. I imagine the hot weather will be around for a while, though!
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