CHUM - Houston's SCUBA Club is the sponsor of the 
Siren
Tiger Shark
- First Name
- Amanda
What a weekend!! Is anyone else exhausted? 
I am so pleased and happy that everyone shrugged off the weather forecast, and decided to brave the Comal weekend together. We did miss out on PegLeg joining us for the day, but we did gain two more CHUMMERS than we originally expected - thanks for joining us ToyZuki and Diver_T. In total, 13 of us Claimed the Comal this year!
24% and I arrived on Thursday and set up the motorhome in campsite 513. We were the only souls around and had the entire riverfront to ourselves. We immediately knew that diving would problematic for anyone since the Comal resembled dirty chocolate milk, however we still held out hope for the Saturday float/CHUM'O'PEDE. The joke became that with the flow of the river, we would be at the last take-out in approximately 30 minutes after entering the water.
On Friday morning, another storm blew through New Braunfels, but the skies cleared out pretty quickly...just in time for the storm to hit Houston and the I-10 drive for all our CHUM friends. I spent the afternoon cleaning, 24% made the obligatory beer & grocery run. Wanderwoman was the 1st to arrive, just in time to help Douglas unload the groceries. We sat and chatted with Wanderwoman for about 45 minutes in the motorhome, and then Heidi Ho knocked on our door. She and Scubagirl had arrived, so we moved outside and began to form our growing Circle'O'CHUM. We set up initially in Wanderwoman's site, since her spot was shaded. We were entertained by the guys in Site 510 whose travel trailer was quite literally on fire. Well...it wasn't THAT dramatic, but there were flames and smoke in the access panel to their water heater. We decided it was best to keep an eye on them. A few libations were consumed before heading to dinner at the Phoenix Saloon. It was quite packed! The only seats available were at a table with 2 nice looking people, clearly on a date. They smiled and agreed that the more the merrier, so we became fast friends with Steve & Kate. They turned out to be a fun couple - they were both military, he was a scuba diver, and they told us how they recently were trapeze artists in the circus with video to prove it. Scubagirl even 2-stepped with Steve! Shortly after ordering food, Sushi Boy joined us. I received a quick text that ReefHound and watermonkee had arrived at the campground, but unfortunately, the kitchen had already closed where we were, and they were hungry, so they didn't join us. We hung out at the Saloon laughing and drinking and screaming at eachother over the live band. Scubagirl also made the night of an elderly gentleman who was there by himself - they danced several times together, and his smile made the whole evening worthwhile. Heidi Ho cut it up on the dance floor at the very end, shakin' her groove thing in front of a full house. Right as we were about to leave, Earl Grey and Scubaster showed up! We all decided to skip diving, and meet at the campground around 11am for floating. When we got back to the campground, we moved our Circle'O'CHUM over to site 512, since Waterproof hadn't arrived yet, and her spot was still open. We all enjoyed a fairly clear sky and a few more brews, before turning into bed after midnight.
On Saturday morning, Sushi Boy made his annual run for breakfast tacos. After scarfing those down, we hung out around the Circle'O'CHUM talking to the park host, Mark Priest, and his locally famous dog, Bear, until our hotel crew - Heidi Ho, Scubagirl, Earl Grey & Scubaster - made their way to the campground. (side note - check out Mark Priest Photography. His photo will be featured this month in Texas Hilly Country Magazine - he won 1st place!) We walked to get to our tubes and shuttle wrist-bands, filled the coolers, applied the sun-screen, and then finally braved the cool, chocolately waters of the Comal a little bit before noon. The water was chilled, but with the heat of the sun, it somehow balanced out. The sun kept popping in and out of the clouds, and the weather made for a perfect float. It was the 1st time Heidi Ho wasn't shivering by the last take-out. The flow of the river was better than in year's past, but not too fast. The tube chute did kinda kick our arse, though. We had 2 CHUM'O'PEDE virgins - Earl Grey & Scubaster - so after a quick tutorial, we linked up, held on tight, and hoped for the best. The flow through the 1st tube chute definitely was definitely higher, and it didn't become completely evident until we turned the last corner in the chute, and we were staring HUGE RAPIDS in the face. Trying to hold on plunging head first into the rapids, Heidi Ho - the head of the CHUM'O'PEDE - flipped over and was thrown a safety donut from the lifeguard, Wanderwoman flipped over and Sushi Boy's tube zipped right over her; she popped up trying to grab by my tube at least 3 times and kept getting sucked under. I was trying to grasp her arm and keep her above water, and in her other hand, she was holding her shoe and throwing me her sunglasses. haha....she did lose her hat, but all in all, she was quite the trooper. Heidi Ho lost her tube completely, so Sushi Boy wrangled it down in the eddies. I thought it was safe to stand up in the waters after the tube chute, to make sure everyone else was okay, but that turned out to be a stupid decision. I completely underestimated the swirling waters, and very quickly got sucked back towards the raging waters of the tube chute. I couldn't get back in my tube, and I became a lot worried. I looked up and called out for Douglas because I knew I wasn't going to get back to quieter waters alone. I kicked and I kicked but I could not gain ground in those eddys. I held on to my tube for dear life, let myself get picked up in the rapids and just prayed that it would shoot me out the right direction. I got close enough that Douglas could grab my tube and try and pull me to calmer water. I was kicking and kicking, almost lost my shorts trying to swim against the current, and eventually, I literally felt the waters turn, and I could stand. That tube chute was quite intense....fun, but yah...it did get the better of us. I'm sure there are other stories from the back half of the CHUM'O'PEDE, but I do know that Earl Grey and Scubaster made it through successfully on their 1st time. Good for them! The 2nd tube chute was fun, because there was actually enough water flowing that we didn't bottom out. By the 3rd tube chute, we recruited 5 more girls and an additional beer tube, so our CHUM'O'PEDE was 15 people/18 tubes long! It was our most successful yet, as we all stayed together, even with our 5 girl rookies. We made it to the last take-out in tact, nobody was too cold, and we waited...and waited for our shuttle back to Landa. When we got back to the campground, Diver_T was waiting for us around the Circle'O'CHUM. Waterproof and her dog, Shooter, pulled in shortly after, and ToyZuki shortly after that. We put up an EZUp tent for a little bit of shade, and after a round of showers, and a grocery run by Earl Grey & Scubaster, we started our grill-out. Two tables, a grill, a hot plate, an oven, paper plates, paper towels, and silverware combined with hot dogs, hamburgers, brats, all the condiments, jalapeno stuffed pork tenderloin, grilled mushrooms, corn on the cob, potato salad, chips, fresh brownies and warm chocolate chip cookies from the oven equaled very full and happy bellies. We traded a birthday serenade to one of the guys in site 510, for a great group picture with "Wet" and the CHUM Flag. The rest of the evening was spent chatting, drinking, and listening to music, before turning into bed a little earlier than the night before - around 11pm.
...to be continued...
I am so pleased and happy that everyone shrugged off the weather forecast, and decided to brave the Comal weekend together. We did miss out on PegLeg joining us for the day, but we did gain two more CHUMMERS than we originally expected - thanks for joining us ToyZuki and Diver_T. In total, 13 of us Claimed the Comal this year! 24% and I arrived on Thursday and set up the motorhome in campsite 513. We were the only souls around and had the entire riverfront to ourselves. We immediately knew that diving would problematic for anyone since the Comal resembled dirty chocolate milk, however we still held out hope for the Saturday float/CHUM'O'PEDE. The joke became that with the flow of the river, we would be at the last take-out in approximately 30 minutes after entering the water.
On Friday morning, another storm blew through New Braunfels, but the skies cleared out pretty quickly...just in time for the storm to hit Houston and the I-10 drive for all our CHUM friends.
I spent the afternoon cleaning, 24% made the obligatory beer & grocery run. Wanderwoman was the 1st to arrive, just in time to help Douglas unload the groceries. We sat and chatted with Wanderwoman for about 45 minutes in the motorhome, and then Heidi Ho knocked on our door. She and Scubagirl had arrived, so we moved outside and began to form our growing Circle'O'CHUM. We set up initially in Wanderwoman's site, since her spot was shaded. We were entertained by the guys in Site 510 whose travel trailer was quite literally on fire. Well...it wasn't THAT dramatic, but there were flames and smoke in the access panel to their water heater. We decided it was best to keep an eye on them. A few libations were consumed before heading to dinner at the Phoenix Saloon. It was quite packed! The only seats available were at a table with 2 nice looking people, clearly on a date. They smiled and agreed that the more the merrier, so we became fast friends with Steve & Kate. They turned out to be a fun couple - they were both military, he was a scuba diver, and they told us how they recently were trapeze artists in the circus with video to prove it. Scubagirl even 2-stepped with Steve! Shortly after ordering food, Sushi Boy joined us. I received a quick text that ReefHound and watermonkee had arrived at the campground, but unfortunately, the kitchen had already closed where we were, and they were hungry, so they didn't join us. We hung out at the Saloon laughing and drinking and screaming at eachother over the live band. Scubagirl also made the night of an elderly gentleman who was there by himself - they danced several times together, and his smile made the whole evening worthwhile. Heidi Ho cut it up on the dance floor at the very end, shakin' her groove thing in front of a full house. Right as we were about to leave, Earl Grey and Scubaster showed up! We all decided to skip diving, and meet at the campground around 11am for floating. When we got back to the campground, we moved our Circle'O'CHUM over to site 512, since Waterproof hadn't arrived yet, and her spot was still open. We all enjoyed a fairly clear sky and a few more brews, before turning into bed after midnight. On Saturday morning, Sushi Boy made his annual run for breakfast tacos. After scarfing those down, we hung out around the Circle'O'CHUM talking to the park host, Mark Priest, and his locally famous dog, Bear, until our hotel crew - Heidi Ho, Scubagirl, Earl Grey & Scubaster - made their way to the campground. (side note - check out Mark Priest Photography. His photo will be featured this month in Texas Hilly Country Magazine - he won 1st place!) We walked to get to our tubes and shuttle wrist-bands, filled the coolers, applied the sun-screen, and then finally braved the cool, chocolately waters of the Comal a little bit before noon. The water was chilled, but with the heat of the sun, it somehow balanced out. The sun kept popping in and out of the clouds, and the weather made for a perfect float. It was the 1st time Heidi Ho wasn't shivering by the last take-out. The flow of the river was better than in year's past, but not too fast. The tube chute did kinda kick our arse, though. We had 2 CHUM'O'PEDE virgins - Earl Grey & Scubaster - so after a quick tutorial, we linked up, held on tight, and hoped for the best. The flow through the 1st tube chute definitely was definitely higher, and it didn't become completely evident until we turned the last corner in the chute, and we were staring HUGE RAPIDS in the face. Trying to hold on plunging head first into the rapids, Heidi Ho - the head of the CHUM'O'PEDE - flipped over and was thrown a safety donut from the lifeguard, Wanderwoman flipped over and Sushi Boy's tube zipped right over her; she popped up trying to grab by my tube at least 3 times and kept getting sucked under. I was trying to grasp her arm and keep her above water, and in her other hand, she was holding her shoe and throwing me her sunglasses. haha....she did lose her hat, but all in all, she was quite the trooper. Heidi Ho lost her tube completely, so Sushi Boy wrangled it down in the eddies. I thought it was safe to stand up in the waters after the tube chute, to make sure everyone else was okay, but that turned out to be a stupid decision. I completely underestimated the swirling waters, and very quickly got sucked back towards the raging waters of the tube chute. I couldn't get back in my tube, and I became a lot worried. I looked up and called out for Douglas because I knew I wasn't going to get back to quieter waters alone. I kicked and I kicked but I could not gain ground in those eddys. I held on to my tube for dear life, let myself get picked up in the rapids and just prayed that it would shoot me out the right direction. I got close enough that Douglas could grab my tube and try and pull me to calmer water. I was kicking and kicking, almost lost my shorts trying to swim against the current, and eventually, I literally felt the waters turn, and I could stand. That tube chute was quite intense....fun, but yah...it did get the better of us. I'm sure there are other stories from the back half of the CHUM'O'PEDE, but I do know that Earl Grey and Scubaster made it through successfully on their 1st time. Good for them! The 2nd tube chute was fun, because there was actually enough water flowing that we didn't bottom out. By the 3rd tube chute, we recruited 5 more girls and an additional beer tube, so our CHUM'O'PEDE was 15 people/18 tubes long! It was our most successful yet, as we all stayed together, even with our 5 girl rookies. We made it to the last take-out in tact, nobody was too cold, and we waited...and waited for our shuttle back to Landa. When we got back to the campground, Diver_T was waiting for us around the Circle'O'CHUM. Waterproof and her dog, Shooter, pulled in shortly after, and ToyZuki shortly after that. We put up an EZUp tent for a little bit of shade, and after a round of showers, and a grocery run by Earl Grey & Scubaster, we started our grill-out. Two tables, a grill, a hot plate, an oven, paper plates, paper towels, and silverware combined with hot dogs, hamburgers, brats, all the condiments, jalapeno stuffed pork tenderloin, grilled mushrooms, corn on the cob, potato salad, chips, fresh brownies and warm chocolate chip cookies from the oven equaled very full and happy bellies. We traded a birthday serenade to one of the guys in site 510, for a great group picture with "Wet" and the CHUM Flag. The rest of the evening was spent chatting, drinking, and listening to music, before turning into bed a little earlier than the night before - around 11pm.
...to be continued...
