What does your summer calendar look like? How do you feel when you look at it? Excited, or stressed? Is it already full of reminders for upcoming sports camps, swimming lessons, or team practices?
Too often, summertime hours are swallowed up by kids’ peer-to-peer activities. Mom and Dad’s non-work time can easily be consumed with car time, driving kids to-and-fro, or bench time, watching practices or games from the sidelines.
Consider spending more time this summer sharing physical activities with your kids. Instead of being mere spectators or taxi-drivers, you can be sports buddies: building muscle, endurance, and flexibility right along with your children. Your relationships will grow at the same time, as you cheer each other on or engage in casual conversation along the way.
Some activities require planning ahead. Others can be done spontaneously…as long as you leave a little white space in your calendar and decide to be a little more adventurous.
An hour one evening might be spent on a bike trail, racquetball court, or a climbing wall. On a weekend, you can spend two hours learning scuba or snorkeling basics (in four days you and your pre-teen or teen can actually become certified!) in anticipation of a future tropical vacation. Or a day trip to a golf course or lake might fit into your family fun.
Here’s a quick list of some local resources and some of their activites for your family fun this summer:
Cedar Falls Trails: 80 miles of recreational trails, including a watertrail. Biking, hiking, roller skating, canoeing, kayaking. For trail map, call 1-800-845-1955. Clay Hole, Cedar River Cedar Falls: whitewater, kayaking and canoeing www.cedarfallstourism.org/trails.asp and www.americanwhitewater.org
Things to Do in Waterloo: Waterloo Convention & Visitors Bureau 319-233-8350; Waterloo Leisure Services: 319-291-4370. www.waterloocvb.org
Wartburg-Waverly Sports and Wellness Center 319-352-8311 (Wartburg College, Waverly.) College and community joint venture. Gyms, tracks, tennis, racquetball, climbing wall, swimming pool with slides and 0-grade entrance.
Waverly Rail Trail: Asphalt trail, 7.5 miles long between Waverly and Denver, IA. Crosses a spectacular 500-foot bridge over the Cedar River.
Waverly Golf Course, an 18-hole public course, or the frisbee golf courses at Wartburg College and at Riverside Park. For both, click on Leisure Services at http://city.waverlyia.com
Black Hawk Roller Dome, Cedar Falls: for roller-skating. Also try the Young Arena, Waterloo for ice-skating or indoor walking to beat heat and humidity. Call for schedules: open part of the summer only.
Holmes Pool, Cedar Falls: Dive-In Movies on Wednesdays. Bring water toys to
lie on and watch a “family” film shown on the wall. Or go to Peet Pool, for scuba and snorkeling: pre-register with Scuba Too at
(319) 268-420. www.scubatoo.net/
The Falls Aquatic Center: Water park with 3 pool areas, including waterslides and diving area. Sturgis Falls Pool Party, Saturday June 28, and Doggy Dip(swim with your dog), August 20, as weather permits. www.cedarfalls.com/index.asp?NID=397
Crawdaddy Outdoors, Waverly: 319-352-9129. Retail store offering canoeing, kayaking, paddling, backpacking, camping, and outdoor equipment. Rentals, demonstration days, paddling opportunities, special events, guided services, trips, educational programs. www.crawdaddyoutdoors.com
All Iowa State Parks: www.iowadnr.gov/
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