Around 1 p.m., they met their dad at “Salty’s Snack Shack,” where he balanced a tray of soggy fries, chicken tenders, and two blue raspberry slushies. The picnic tables were sticky and scarce, so they sat on a patch of artificial grass near the kiddie splash zone, watching a toddler shriek with joy under a tipping bucket shaped like a parrot.
Mia smiled. “Same time next year.”
But the best moments, Mia thought, came just before closing. As the lifeguards began their slow, rhythmic whistles, the crowds thinned. The slides cast long shadows across the pools. She and Leo convinced Dad to join them for one last float on the lazy river. The water had warmed to bath temperature. A DJ somewhere played a reggae version of “Hoist the Colors.” Above them, real crows flew toward the Occoquan woods, and the faux pirate flags hung limp in the golden evening light. pirates cove water park lorton va