Pool Hopping

Like many parents this time of year, Julie and I have been juggling the end of camp vs the beginning of the new school year.

Wisely, of course, Julie scheduled our vacation for the first week after Summer Camp ended. This was a terrific idea. However, since we still had another week and a half to deal with before Kit went back to school, we've been trading days off.

Yesterday, Kit and I started the day with a quiet breakfast at one of our favorite places, Frankie's on Fairview.

Just a daddy and daughter outing...

...and a couple of dolls.

We had no other plans other than to do some back-to-school shopping. But That's when I saw a sign (on the TV in the previous photo):

OF COURSE!

The Summer was coming to an end. We had to do something fun! Something epic! Something we'd remember well into Winter. 

We had to enact Operation Finale! AKA, we had to go Pool Hopping!

Now look, before you think I am going to coax a 4 year old into trespassing in the backyards of strangers, know this - *"Pool Hopping," as described in the film The Swimmer with Burt Lancaster, is hopping from pool to pool regardless of whether or not you know the owner of said water hole.

Therefore, I decided to take Kit to "friendly" pools of people we already know...completely unannounced.

#1 - My Aunt Lauren & Uncle Joe's Pool:

This was a no brainer to start with. It's on the way from my house to my parent's, and as luck would have it, my Mom happened to be there. My Aunt Lauren laughed at the idea and of course welcomed us to jump in the pool.

My Uncle Joe gave me a bunch of hot peppers (he gets it!), so clearly he didn't mind the mid week intrusion.

Operation Finale off to a great start!

#2 - My Aunt Jane & Uncle Lou's Pool:

Jane & Lou are some of my family's oldest friends. They have been my parent's neighbors since we moved into the house in 1977. I knew they wouldn't mind if we crashed their pool.

They didn't.

I mean, no hot peppers or anything, but they sat outside with us while we took our uninvited swim...

...then invited us back any time, so I guess it was kind of an invited after the fact swim.



#3 - My Mom & Dad's Pool:

I mean, of course we were going to swim at Grammy & Pop-Pop's. That's a given! But still, unannounced...unless you count the fact that I called my Mom earlier, which is how I found out she was going to be at my Aunt Lauren's house.

Still...number three!

#4 The YMCA

Okay. Yes! In fairness, I have a membership and can go whenever I want, BUT what happens if the family pool has been drained for the annual end of season cleaning?

Then you go in the BIG pool...unannounced!

Count it!

That's four pools in one day! AND we didn't even plan to do it until almost 1pm.

So now what?

I told Kit, "We did four pools in a day!" Then I asked, "How many pools do you want to try and do next summer?" Her answer... FIVE POOLS!

With proper training, I think we can do it.

In fact, my plan is to attempt TEN pools in one day.

"Piece of cake," you're thinking. Yes. But again, I'm doing this with a 4...er by then, a 5 year old. So, ten pools is quite ambitious.

If you have a pool, we'd love to jump in it for a few minutes. If your aunt Genie has a pool and it's cool that we jump in that...we're in! If a college roommate you haven't spoken to in 11 years "might have one," we'll pass. We're looking for the sure thing.

Be on the look out for these two pool hoppers next summer - Saturday, June 8th 2019.

We'll bring our own towels!

(*They 100% never define "pool hopping" as described above in The Swimmer. But I figure no one but Brendan Carr has ever seen it, so I'm pretty safe!)