Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1034531
22 NOVEMBER | DECEMBER 2018 WWW.HOUSEBOATMAGAZINE.COM y at her home lake on Pleasant Hill. During these events she interacts with the kids, letting them get their picture taken with her and playing mermaid games. As the grand finale, the kids get to swim with Mermaid Tami. When Tami goes to any event, she typically brings her mermaid display along which includes some pop-ups, her inflatable pool and her shell throne. Then she also brings her mermaid crafts and dolls to sell at the booth. Tami said her husband Andy has always been extremely helpful at events and that without him, there's no way she could pull it off. "I can't move when I'm in a tail," explained Tami, "so he has to carry me. We also have a wagon that he pulls me around in." Andy also mans the booth while Tami does meet- and-greets, managing the sales of crafts and also helping out with taking photos. Together they make the perfect team. Mermaid Tails Tami is amazingly crafty and creative when it comes to making mermaid paraphernalia. In fact, she even makes some of her own tails. "I actually just finished one," shared Tami. "It's a sequin tail, so I really only use it for pool events and more land stuff. I don't swim in it very often just because you tend to lose a lot of sequins swimming and you don't want those floating around in the water." She's made two sequin tails so far and this one she just finished is Ariel-themed, so it's made of green sequins. Altogether she has six tails and she just ordered another one from Mertailor which she should receive soon. Of all her tails, her favorite is the silicon one from Mermaid Kariel, a professional tail maker in Hawaii. Tami said that swimming with a mermaid tail takes a bit of getting used to. You're not using your legs, but more your core and abs. Tami has been swimming pretty much her whole life, so it wasn't too hard getting used to the tail in the water, and now she's an expert which comes in handy for her underwater modeling. Mermaid Society There's actually a large community of mermaids that you probably didn't know about. Tami even mentioned there are quite a few mermaids in Ohio and they're continuing to get more in her area. "Three of my friends have actually purchased tails," said Tami, "so it's nice to have people really close to swim with." The four friends try to go out in the lake and swim around in their tails as often as they can, but it can be quite a challenge when you're as busy as Tami. Most of her weekends are booked and then