When I used to go wading and body surfing on the shores of the Atlantic in Virginia Beach, the worst that sometimes happened to me (other than sunburn) was getting stung by jellyfish. But they really sting! Reader Downpuppy left a comment referring to a post by Jules Rivera about her own unfortunate encounter with a stingray, which may have inspired the stingray pond.

That Penguin slide we see has to be some 25-30 feet above the pool (which we cannot even see)! That’s about the height of Olympic diving platforms, making this water slide beyond the normal skillset and safety margins of most families. Maybe Rivera really was inspired by the New Jersey Action Park.

I was amused by Honest Ernest’s panic attack in panel 1, as it brings a look of wide-eyed shock to Cherry; or maybe she reacts to how he refers to Violet as “Miss Violet.” That’s certainly an old-fashioned phrase that Cherry, herself, used from time to time in the early days of the strip when talking to Violet Cheshire (see the strips for 8/23/21 and 3/28/23). Yet, Ernest is only talking about Violet. Why refer to her that way, when Cherry knows her almost as well as he does. Don’t worry; I’m not going to deconstruct it. It probably means nothing.