Goodbye pool - thanks for the memories!

Today was the last day the Cedar Pool is open to the public - to say goodbye, they let everyone in for free and they did away with the height rule to ride the hydrotube. Abby has begged to go down the slide all summer but wasn't even close to the height line - so of course, we waited in a huge line so she could go down the slide - TWICE! She loved it - here she is - I know you can't see her face, but it is Abby. On a side note - I wanted to brag about how talented I am to get such a shot - I rode down the slide right before Abby, jumped out of the pool and grabbed the camera that I had stashed by the fence and still managed to get the camera on and focused before she came down.


While we were climbing the stairs to the hydrotube I started to get a bit nostalgic. Crazy - I know, but I did spend an awful lot of time at that place. So - to say thank you for the good times, I wanted to jot down a few of the memories that I have of the pool (in completely random order).

- running the hydrotube stairs for conditioning

- swimming in clothes during "Hell Week"

- the payphone by the outside door that we used to call all the customer service numbers on our shampoo bottles and request free samples while waiting for parents after middle school swim team.

- the garden hose that would be passed from lane to lane during workouts since the drinking fountain was always broken

- the steam that used to cover the pool when the sliding doors were open

- drawing posters down in the lower hallway

- almost drowning in the hydrotube pool after a train of 5-6 people landed on top of me

- the showers that were never hot and rarely even warm

- practicing my volleyball jump serve out back in the sand courts in my hour break between swim team and teaching lessons

- frozen hair (if hair wasn't wrapped in a towel, it would freeze while running from the pool to the car during winter months)

- guard parties after hours - we would turn the water off on the hydrotube and see how fast we could go down - some would even wrap the safety belts around their heads because they could go so fast that they would flip over inside the tube

- riding my bike down 300 West at 4:45 a.m. when I would substitute for the person who guarded morning lap swim (it was DARK)

- running across the covers on the outdoor pool - it is possible to get clear across the pool before you sink

- Commonwealth games - when I first loved to be Scottish (favorite relay - T-shirt relay!!!)

I don't have time to think anymore (does that make sense?), but I will add memories when I do get around to thinking. Feel free to comment on any of your memories though (Jenny - help me out) maybe it will help me remember.