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Wipeout
By Charlie Panek, age 11
As we ended our afternoon visit at the Kalahari water park, one last idea popped into my head. Surfing! Nearing the indoor wave pool, I glanced at the vast line, which consisted of about 75 people, but decided to wait in line. When only about 10 people were ahead of me, I got nervous. A lot of people were wiping out. But not everyone-the pros were able to get on their knees or, occasionally, on their feet before being knocked down by the current. Soon enough it was my turn. Even though I was scared, I closed my eyes and jumped in. I landed and headed toward the bottom of the wave. I was not one of the lucky ones who managed to stay on for even a minute. Instead, I slid right to the bottom. The man who ran the wave pool quickly got me going again. (Everybody gets at least two tries.) This time I was determined to do well. Somehow I moved from side to side on my board, but the thrill didn't last long-because, before I knew it, I crashed again and it was some other kid's turn to try the waves.
The Wonder Spot
By Gabriel Panek, age 15
There it was on page 16 in our local guide: "
Wonder Spot," a weird corner of nature that somehow distorts gravity and creates optical illusions; and, like the water parks themselves, it's supposed to be open 365 days a year-rain or shine. And there it was in real life, across an empty parking lot off a side road in the woods: a shack with black garbage bags in the windows. After looking around for about five minutes, we sighed, conceded defeat, and went back to the hotel. We returned the next day. Still, no luck. Same thing the next day, and the one after that. Sitting in the diner down the road on our final morning in the Dells, we asked the waitress where the Wonder Spot had gone. Turns out it had closed about a year before. How wondrous.
Copyright © 2008, American Express Publishing. All rights reserved.
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