BEST FAMILY OUTING

BEST FAMILY OUTINGLarry and Penny Thompson Park12451 SW 184th Street

South Miami-Dade

305-232-1049 Two words: water slides. Six Flags Atlantis has been gone for more than a decade, and it's a long haul from Miami to West Palm Beach for a steep slide-induced wedgie and a close-to-drowning experience in the wave pool at Rapids Water Park. For an aqua-inspired good time that won't leave your wallet dry (five dollars for adults, four for children), drop into Larry and Penny Thompson Park and then drop down the slides a few times, or a few dozen times. In addition to the rapid hydro descents, you can take advantage of the campground and nature trails. The park, named after a long-ago Miami Herald columnist and his wife, boasts three water slides and other ways to get all wet: a beach, a freshwater lake, paddleboats. There's a snack stand with ice cream, hot dogs, and other fun food you'd expect, and a picnic area. This is a summer classic, the ice cream melting down your chin and the seriously soaking slips down the chutes washing away the steamy heat and the layabout doldrums.