Water is many things to me: soothing, relaxing, reinvigorating and healing. And my favorite swimming pool provides all of these. How can I go wrong at any of these pools? Terra Linda Community Pool, Homestead Pool and the Dunsmuir Community Pool.
WaterGym Belt
I love to swim, but not in the classic freestyle, head in the water sort of way. I wear a WaterGym belt that gives me a bit of buoyancy all while doing my water aerobic laps.
My sister Carrie first introduced me to WaterGym back in the 1990’s while we were training for a grass court national 35 age group tennis tournament in Pennsylvania.
Don’t Wear Yourself Out in a Swimming Pool
Swimming and tennis usually don’t go together because “your muscles get too relaxed” according to our tennis teachers of the past. We were told that we would physically wear ourselves out if we spent too much time in a swimming pool and would have much energy left for our tennis.
Flexibility
However, recovery and fitness, are important as you get older in athletic endeavors.
My joint flexibility improved as we attended water aerobic classes held by WaterGym founder, Suzanne Paynovich. It seemed logical to me that my body needed some recovery time to avoid prolonged injuries that are common from intensive tennis court time.
WaterGym Moves
She gave us commands of what to do from the swimming pool deck: sitting elementary backstroke, cross country legs, rocking climbing, punches with arms. We did these movements wearing our WaterGym belt for an all-around workout.
Success on the Tennis Court
We won the National Grass Court Title that year in Women’s 35 tennis doubles at the historic Marion Cricket Club in Pennsylvania. We know our WaterGym training was part of the reason for that success, along with our determination and drive on the court.
Fast forward to the 2000’s. I took my young son the local Homestead Valley Pool in our neighborhood regularly. He was a little guy learning to swim and needed a lot of attention and watching, while he was in the water with me. He was having fun and I was exhausted, to be honest!
Adult Swim
My relief came when the lifeguard blew his whistle and yelled: “Adult swim”. All the kids exited the pool and took a fifteen minute break, while some of the parents had the pool to themselves to do laps or whatever.
I strapped on my WaterGym belt and did my own version of Suzanne’s WaterGym class. Back and forth I kicked, in our small, local 40 foot swimming pool. It was just the “secret sauce” I needed to re-focus on my own self-care and peace of mind. What a relief!
My Slice of Heaven
Fast forward again to the 2020’s. I am a member of the Homestead Valley Swimming Pool. It is open from late April until the end of October. There is a designated Adult, Senior Swim time from 10am-11am during those months.
There are about four or five of us that are “regulars” and show up for our daily swim hour. We chat, laugh, discuss news of the day and all sorts of topics, as we do our laps together. If one of us misses a session, we catch a little “heat” from the group, unless we have a good excuse: doctor’s appointment, going out of town, etc. for not being there.
The Biggest and Best Swimming Pool
As much as I miss the Homestead Valley Swimming Pool while I’m on vacation. (I am writing this from our cabin in Mount Shasta, CA) I have the opportunity to swim in the best of all the pools I use: the Dunsmuir Community Pool.
This pool is gigantic (75 feet x 150 feet) and reminds me of the pool from the movie, “The Sandlot”. It has an old fashioned feel since it has a low diving board, which is not commonplace in today’s world.
Life Guards at the Swimming Pool
The swimming pool has been recently renovated and is naturally heated. They have many trained lifeguards watching over the kids and adults enjoying themselves. It is my favorite place to relax and cool off all while doing my version of Suzanne’s WaterGuy workout.
Do you like to swim? Where is your favorite swimming pool.
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Check out my post about a local Marin County favorite: Blackie the Horse
Kebba Buckley Button
Anne, I am amazed to read about all this pool activity. Even at home, with a beautiful pool in our enclave, I have never been in it (20 years). However! Your bringing up the Water Gym Belt piques my interest! Maybe water exercising would be fun? I looked at Water Gym Belts online, of course, and there is such a wild variety. What style do you prefer? Thanks for the inspiration!
Anne Z
I did get the water gym version but Susanne has stopped selling on Amazon. If you go to her website in the post – they are available there . That’s the one I use and love. It’s so fun to
make up your own laps!
Jodi Robertson
I don’t have a favorite pool because I grew up on a lake and really miss it. The lake was small enough that motorized boats weren’t allowed, which made it a peaceful retreat. My family had a paddle boat that provided endless fun. It was incredible how many people we could fit on it. It was probably meant for only 3 people. My mom even crafted a special bench at the back so our dog could join us on the water. So many cherished memories.
Anne Z
Love the paddle boat reference! Lots of fun on the lake!