Day 2
Our booking included breakfast at the Water’s Edge Grill, so we headed there in the morning. I asked for outdoor seating and the hostess took us to an enclosed space with floor-to-ceiling windows. Close enough, we decided, as all the tables were spaced at least 6 feet apart. The buffet was not self-serve. Instead, the staff asked each of us what we wanted from behind plexiglass and assembled our plates for us. Masked waitstaff brought coffee and juice to the table.
Next, we borrowed clubs and balls from the lifeguard stand and headed to an empty mini-golf course, where I got two holes-in-one! We returned the equipment to the guards, who sanitized them before putting them back out for other guests. The resort also offers a daily scavenger hunt and a nightly “dive-in movie” at the pool.
Our next stop was to reserve a jet ski for the kids’ first ride. Blackwater Adventures provides water sports, bicycles and boat rentals on the property, and the masked dock worker was spraying life jackets with disinfectant while my husband signed up for a time slot. Jet skis are rentable for $75 per 30 minutes or $120 per hour. We opted for the former. The ski was big enough to hold my husband and two kids.
On our way to the jet ski dock, the kids spotted other guests stand-up paddle boarding, so after they zoomed around the river we were in front of another Blackwater Adventures worker signing up for 30 minutes on a stand-up pedal board. The pedal board differs from a paddle board in that you do all the work by pedaling your feet—kind of like a StairMaster that doesn’t ascend—and you hold onto a steering handle, not paddles. Each kid took the board out in the marina for 15 minutes of pure fun, far from anyone else.
It being Monday, the indoor pool, which has rafts, a volleyball net and a basketball hoop, was less crowded, so we jumped in, but we didn’t use the equipment. The kids gave the hot tub a whirl, going from the hot water to the cool pool in what I can only describe as an effort to take home a cold as a souvenir.