Steph, yes, Oakley. I am planning on being unemployed this summer, so we're looking at minimal camps, and cheap fun. Have you been to the Oakley pool?

I'm not sure I've been to the Oakley pool. I've been to the Pleasant Ridge one and the one in Northside. They're what you would expect -- TONS of kids, but they're pretty well run and maintained. I'm guessing Oakley pool is probably the same way -- not a fancy private swim club, but a big-ass pool with a ton of kids. I'm not really sure what people get from a private swim club that they don't get from CRC pools, other than a feeling of superiority and, frankly, virtually no minorities.

I'm not really sure what people get from a private swim club that they don't get from CRC pools, other than a feeling of superiority and, frankly, virtually no minorities.

I get a huge green space, lots more shade and fewer people in the pool where I'm swimming with my 2 year old. I'm a little insulted by your assumption above.

Sad, but mac is COMPLETELY over having a dog and does not want anything to do with the care and upkeep. I think it was good for us to sit her, because he now knows that a large dog is not what he wants, and definately not a large puppy. He HATES being jumped on.

That's fantastic to learn before you've committed to an animal. But maybe a retired greyhound? They are so chill and lazy, IME.

Does it come with a poster of the board you can tape or otherwise affix to the 'fridge?

Nope. You're free to use the entire fridge as you want.

Somehow when I sign up for a private pool they *still* let minorities in. I'm not sure what's up with that. I should get my money back.

However, I do get a metric tonnage less of people in it, and since I hate swimming so much, every less person counts.

It's not a radical idea, paying for nicer surroundings (and I don't mean nicer involves keeping me out), and fewer other people. The minute you say "ton of kids" and aren't sure what I get from not being there, it's obvious our swimming experiences have very different goals.

If my kids were tiny, a private club might be more worth it, but both can pretty much swim now, and are tall enough to stand in the shallow end of most pools. But I am sure the history of private swim clubs in Cincinnati - as well as in Georgia, where they also had them - reflects the history of racial segregation. I am pretty sure private Christian academies (in Georgia) reflect that same history - I am less sure about Catholic schools (more prevalant in Cincinnati and much older) and whether or not they saw an influx of kids when the public schools desegregated.

When I worked at Duke, the "faculty" swim club was only open to faculty and people who were salaried, as opposed to paid hourly. This (plus the price) had the handy result of making it not crowded, but there were also very few racial minorities there. (Edit: I was not eligible for membership, but attended a birthday party there once.)

Coming in this morning, there was a car in the lot with the license plate: DRD PYR8

So the day is starting out well.

Also got Bev spambot mail. And one from Deb Grabien last week.

When I was a Casper-and-Dillo aged kid, I remember public pools being much more fun than private pools, precisely for the tons of kids factor; the year my grandparents joined the private club, swimming changed from nonstop playtime to "you and a handful of other kids can mess around in between the adult times". Certainly a much better situation for the grandparents, and if I were into swimming now, it'd be a totally different vibe for me too, I'm sure.

We're lucky -- my area has several nice pools, and the summer family rates are pretty reasonable, but I have friends with kids that live in different areas with nice pools, so we vary our summer pool visits between places when M is here, so we don't pony up for a family pass to any one pool.

And the closest pool, which is pretty nice, with a grown-ups only pool area adjacent to the kid pool, and water slides and a diving board separate pool, is not that crowded when it opens at 11, and M is old enough, and a good enough swimmer, that I can float in the grown-up pool on my raft and keep an eye on him in the nearby kid pool at the same time when we go to the pool by ourselves.

And when I go with a girfriend and their kids, the kids entertain themselves and we can float for a while after playing with the kids for a while, then one of us can run and do a round up if we see 'em running off to the waterslide without asking permission, which they rarely do, since they're good kids.

When I was 10, my sister and I spent the whole day at the pool without adult supervision, but I am a little more paranoid, since our pool was an apartment complex pool, and this is a big public pool. I'd like a waterproof GPS to attach to his swim trunks, actually. Is that too much to ask?

M thinks he knows how to swim, but he can just dog paddle from the diving board to the side, only when I dive first and wait for him at the side, so we are definitely getting him swimming lessons this summer. I am a good swimmer, and I try to teach him, but when we're at the pool together, all he wants to do is play, and I get that. So -- lessons with someone else.

Serial: I got Bev spam too.

I'm not really sure what people get from a private swim club that they don't get from CRC pools, other than a feeling of superiority and, frankly, virtually no minorities.

I get a huge green space, lots more shade and fewer people in the pool where I'm swimming with my 2 year old. I'm a little insulted by your assumption above.

Sparky, I'm sorry. I was talking about my experience with private swim clubs in Cincinnati. I have no way of knowing what other cities are like, and I wasn't trying to imply anything about them.