No Skinny Bitches Allowed

That's the sign we're going to make to take with us to the pit. Then if some miracle happens and we all get skinny, it's going to say "Only Skinny Bitches Allowed."

Today was Sunday, and it was cloudy and crappy and kinda rainy- until about 4:30- then it was beautiful. Which was great and all, but I'm really looking for hot and sunny before 11 am. Since the summer of 2004, we have spent hot, sunny Sundays at the pit in the summer. I don't know why we waited until '04- I guess things just never lined up before then. See Bro had just started working at the pit, and all of our friends were on a co-ed, adult softball team and we played on Sundays. After a particularly hot game Bro said, lets go to the pit, jump in and cool off. It quickly became our routine. We all bought pool floats and would just float and relax- when we weren't jumping off the 8' bank trying to make the biggest splashes. We also used to dive down to the bottom and try to bring up the biggest rock. We quit playing that game when our friend, Blondie, threw a particularly large rock back into the water, not realizing I was still under. Luckily it missed me- but everyone was pretty sure I'd be getting coloring books for Christmas for the rest of my life if it had hit me- so we quit that game.

There are quite a few ponds at the pit- I mean, they dig in the sand and the water table is pretty high around here, so eventually the holes fill up with clean, clear water. The water is filtered through the sand and gravel making it super clear. You can see your toes as far down as you can stretch them. Where we float there are two ponds side by side. We used to go in the front pond because it has easier access- but then we started the jumping thing, so we switched to the bottom pond because it had higher more sheer banks. Now we stick to the bottom pond because it's bigger.

Here's how a normal Sunday in the summer goes. I wake up, shave if boys are coming-otherwise I yam what I yam, slather on spf 15 or higher (these days its 30) put on a suit, put on some shorts, pack a cooler with beer, water, snackies, slip on my flip flops, grab my towel and head for my car where I keep my blown up raft in the back seat all summer long. I drive the 1/2 mile to the pit, open the gate and head down the hill. Park, get out my raft, flip flops and shorts come off, I put tanning oil on over the sun screen, wait until I'm good and hot then wrestle with my raft until I'm comfortable, re-arrange suit straps for ultimate sun tan experience, exhale and relax. To me, it's paradise.

Over the years we've formed our own little float-illa of friends and family. So sometimes its a surprise to see who shows up, but its always a good time. We tailgate with snacks and stuff, sometimes we'll bring a grill down or other times we'll head back to our house for a cook out. Sometimes it's a 'recovery' day so it's quiet and peaceful. Other times it's a free for all, jumping, laughing, yelling, splashing, mud wrestling, swimming races, sand dune challenges... Yes I said mud wrestling.

Our sand and gravel is washed- so the excess water that comes off the plant where they wash the sand and gravel forms a little gully, or wash, that flows out into the pond. The little 'canyon' that formed is actually our entrance point to the pond. Well one day, only my best friends from college, Darla, Lenny and Sneaky (it's always the quiet ones you've got to watch out for!) were the only ones going to the pit. Bro and his friends had something going, so they weren't coming. Well we decided to go on a little 'field trip' and follow the water to see where it came from. What we found was an amazing little gully full of thick, cool mud. So of course, one thing leads to another and someone got stiff armed into the mud. Besides being good 'clean' fun, it also kept the bugs off. We were probably gone for a half an hour or more, just horsing around. We had also found some blue clay, so of course we were drawing all over each other with it. Finally we were hungry or tired or something, so we headed back to the pond to rinse off. As we came to the edge of the pond I see Bro and about 7 of his friends on the far bank looking at us. I hear echoing over the water, "I didn't know Erin had black friends."

That was just one fun experience we've had- I can't even begin to try telling all the stories that have happened at the pit- some of them I'm not even allowed to tell, they're classified.

There's just something almost magical about being there. It's not so much the physical location, or who you're with or what you're doing- relaxing and enjoying the day- but a strange combination of all three. I can't describe it better than that. The only other thing I can say is sunny Sundays through September, we'll be on the water after noon- come on out and see for yourself.