If you write YA, perhaps your MC works at a water park and stalks a hunky lifeguard. If you write MG, maybe your MC visits a water park with her friends and there's drama drama drama. If you write adult fiction, your frazzled MC might take her kids to the water park so she can have peace and quiet and read a book (Not that I'm referring to myself. No way.)
If your character visits a water park, here are a few things she can expect to see:
The People
- Barefoot teen lifeguards--girls: red one-piece bathings suits (sorta Baywatch style). Guys: red trunks; bronze chests shaved; some backne. All: blue fanny packs/first aid kits around their waists.
- Babies with sodden diapers
- Tattooed dads pushing baby strollers
- A pregnant woman wearing a two-piece bathing suit
- 15-year-old teens making out on a lounge chair (awkward!)
- Teen guys walking in circles around the park, swagger on full display for teen girls
- Teen girls walking around the park, flipping wet hair
- Middle grade kids running barefoot on the hot walkway, jumping from one shady spot to another
The Sounds
- Running water
- Bare feet slapping concrete
- Babies crying
- Conversations in Spanish
- Whistles blown by lifeguards
- Laughing
- Squealing on slides
- Thump of inflatable tubes exiting slide & landing in water
- Horn at wave pool announcing incoming waves
The Scenery
- Black or white tubes and slides looping through the sky, with water rushing down
- Blue and white striped cabanas with small, sandy areas in front
- White lounge chairs reserved with colorful beach towels
- People walking or floating in the lazy river
- Leaves and stray hairs floating in the lazy river (Ick! My personal pet peeve)
- Water that gets cloudier with each hour
- Bright blue and yellow circle tubes leaning against posts or piled high at ride exits
- Pizza, funnel cakes, large souvenir cups
The Smells
Shelley Trammell reminded me about the smells. How could I forget that? Here are her suggestions:
- Suntan oil/lotion
- Sweaty bodies
- Chlorinated water
- Concession stand food
- Landscaped flower beds
- Musty locker room
Like malls, water parks are great places for people watching. Have you been to a water park lately? What details have I missed?