I was just trying to read my book. Yes, I happened to be sitting on the floor, but is that any excuse for a tot to sit on you and poke you and giggle in your ear? Yeah. I guess it is. After giving Eli several tummy raspberries, I grabbed a nearby Sharpie marker and...
The face was fairly lopsided. But it is hard to draw straight when your "paper" is wiggling and making belly laughs.
Using Eli's belly button as a happy face nose happened in the morning. And to tell you the truth, I'd forgotten all about it by the time we went to the public pool that afternoon...until the lady next to us in the locker room started laughing. D'oh! Thank goodness that I brought Eli a swim shirt!
Now, I promised my local mama friends that I'd blog about recent adventures so we could swap information about fun places to go with our kiddos...
On that fateful Sharpie marker day, Eli and I tried out the Richmond Plunge for the first time. It is an indoor pool in Point Richmond.
And, boy, is it beautiful! It calls to mind the public boardwalks and spas of the Roaring Twenties. There is a beautiful nature mural on the back wall, there is a lot of lovely tilework, and sunlight spills down from the high windows into the water.
The first section of the pool consists of lanes reserved for lap swimmers. Then there are two open sections. The middle slopes from 3 to 6 feet for big kids and experienced swimmers while the far section beneath the mural is intended for small children.
The shallowest area slopes from 2 to 3 feet. Since Eli is 40 inches tall now, he was able to roam the whole section, although he had to tiptoe and lift his chin near the floating rope. I didn't want to take my camera into the pool area, so my zoom lens from the door of the locker room makes the pool's open areas look narrow. They are actually larger than the size of a basketball court each.
One Mama's Two Cents:
Parking is free and fairly easy to find, but be prepared to walk a short distance. The Plunge currently offers open swimming time for kids on Fridays through Sundays. (Click HERE to see the schedule.) It cost $5 for me to get in and $3 for Eli. There is a spacious, very clean changing area with hot showers and bathrooms plus small programmable lockers (at no charge) for securing your valuables. The water itself is a bit on the chilly side to accomodate the lap swimmers, so a swim shirt may be helpful. We took a few small floating toys with us (boat, pail, etc.), which helped make the afternoon fun.
The staff at the Plunge are friendly, but on the stern side. There was a long list of rules posted plus quite a few reminder signs. I saw lifeguards correct people several times. This was done politely and respectfully, but I thought I'd mention it because it can be good to know in advance that it isn't a casual atmosphere where kiddos can run wild. On the plus side, it makes the place feel very safe.
The Plunge is located in an older business district that now is home to various restaurants and coffee houses. I overheard some parents discussing walking over to get a meal after a swim -- not a bad idea!
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