Splish, Splash

When the thermometer reaches “scorching” and the humidity seems to be at 100 percent, move over, low-pressure hoses and sputtering fire hydrants -- there’s a new water park in town. You don’t have to travel to another county for your watery wonderland fix anymore: The City of Miami has finally opened Black Beard’s Beach at Grapeland Water Park, a funky fresh place for the whole family to get wet.

Enormous and brightly hued structures designed by local artiste Romero Britto sprinkle the grounds of the $20 million park, and even though you have to leave your Saturday doobies and brewskis at home, you’ll be having too much fun to notice. The kiddies will surely love the candy-colored slides and huge playground at Pirate’s Plunge, where buckets of water deliver liquid surprises every five minutes. And while the youngsters shriek in delight, you can catch some rays at Captain’s Lagoon, a resort-style infinity pool meant for swimming and sunbathing. We’ll let the beach bums deal with the Atlantic Ocean’s rip currents; we’d rather chillax on white, blue, yellow, and black inner tubes while jets push us through the lazy Buccaneer River Ride. The park stays open until dusk, and the fun is free for kids under three, five dollars for ages 4 to 13, seven bucks for city residents 14 and older, and a crisp Hamilton (that’s $10, dork) for noncity residents 14 and older.
Mon., July 7, 2008