Meanwhile, the City of Los Angeles might have a good many firefighters who would love to feel the cooling water at any of the Schlitterbahns in Texas. Los Angeles has, since the start of 2007, not received anywhere near the usual amount of rain. On the afternoon of May 8, 2007, firefighters from throughout Los Angeles County rushed to Griffith Park, an area full of dried grass.
On one of the hottest days of the year, those firefighters had to battle flames that had scorched more than 100 acres. The heat at the Blastenof Hot Tub in Galveston’s Schlitterbahn would seem cool next to the heat coming from the flames in Griffith Park on May 8th. At 5:00 pm in the afternoon on May 8th huge clouds of smoke continued to rise above the hills that contained Griffith Park.
It remained uncertain just how firefighters might manage to douse those well-fueled flames. Anyone from Texas who happened to view those flames on TV might guess that the fire fighters needed all the water in at least five different rides: Whitewater River, Whitewater Beach, Whitewater Cove, Kristal Kove, Kristal River, Kristal Beach and Kristal Bay.
Those five rides can not be found at each of the three Schlitterbahns in Texas. They are only at the new waterpark in Galveston. That waterpark has a feature that really makes it a one-of-a-kind waterpark. The Schittlerbahn in Galveston is a convertible waterpark. It is designed so that it can be used at any time of year.
The Schittlerbahn in Galveston has rides with heated water. It also has rides that can be covered, in order to protect riders from the weather. Of course, it remains to be seen whether any of the Schitterbahns in Texas would remain standing, if hit by a twister like the one that passed through the City of Greensburg, Kansas.
Texans do not have much luck with ensuring access to entertainment during times of bad weather. More than thirty years ago Texans were rightly proud of the Astrodome, the covered sports stadium in Houston. Still, the rain in Houston can get so bad that not even a covered stadium can guarantee the playing of every scheduled baseball game.
One summer night the rain came pouring down. It filled the streets, and caused flooding in the area around the Astrodome. As a result, crowds could not get into the parking lot, and they could not watch the game under the cover of the dome. Fathers were luck that that took place before the building of the Schittlerbahn in Galveston.
Why could someone say that at least one Houston father was quite lucky on that night? Well, any children who might have foregone a trip to the Galveston waterpark in order to go to a game at the Astrodome would have been very disappointed on that night.