When I was a kid, it wasn’t really summer until the family made a field trip to Aquarena Springs, usually on the way to a bigger event (like the now-defunt Astro World).

It was low-key but still pretty fun, especially when I was smaller. Glass-bottom boats, light-gun gunslinging, playing tic-tac-toe against a chicken, mermaid shows, and a diving-swimming pig named Ralph!

It was corny, but it had character. It’s a shame to think of it as gone. Although it’s cool that they’re endeavoring to restore the land to the state it was a century ago.