Due to the crazy weather today James’s last tennis class was rescheduled for tomorrow. You, of course, are more than welcome to swim at Highbridge Pool as originally planned, but if you’d like to meet up we are aiming to be there this Friday at 11:00AM instead.

For those of you who have not experienced the zealous security at Highbridge Pool (located at W. 172nd and Amsterdam), here is some information I wish I had had the first time around:

You must have a combination lock, a swim diaper for any toddlers, and no pens, markers, snacks or drinks other than water in your bag. There is a 100% chance that your bag will be searched. You may bring yourself and a towel, and some sunscreen into the actual pool area. That’s it. You can wear a white t-shirt over your suit if you are inclined, but no other colors. You must proceed from security to the changing area to the locker to the showers, in that order and no other.

It may seem crazy the first (half dozen) times you go through the motions, but hey, admission’s free and the pools here are beautiful, not-too-crowded, safe and clean – probably in part because the security is so thorough. As an added perk for me, once we explained to security that James was disabled and could not get through these trials in the men’s locker room by himself, they allowed him to accompany me (bypassing the women’s changing area) and wait in a chair with a security guard while I got the babies ready. And, there is no other pool I know of that has such an enormous 1-2ft deep pool (Olympic+ sized) so that I can safely manage all of my kids alone (there is also an enormous 4 to 10 ft deep pool for more proficient swimmers).

I hope to see some of you in the next few days – there are a lot of fun meetups coming up between now and Monday (see Upcoming Events)! If you’re going swimming tomorrow, have fun (and bring a lock)!