Each pool is run a bit differently. Many of them are neighborhood pools that are outdoor unheated pools that anyone can use for free. Some of the pools charge an admission. This is no problem most of the year since there is plenty of places to go for free during warm weather. The problem starts when it gets cold out.
During the winter the city closes almost all of its pools. There are only 4 open during the winter. 3 of them charge an admission fee of $5. This seems like a small amount until you start swimming 3 times a week. That's $15 a week and $60 a month. My membership to planet fitness is only $10 a month.
There is one pool that does not charge admission called Big Stacy. The reason is that they allow Homeless people to come in and use the showers for free. They receive a government grant that covers their operating expenses because of this. There is usually not a line for a lane since most of the people are not swimming. Last time I waited in line for a shower and a guy came out with his dog. He had given his dog a shower too. There was hair all over the shower and I decided to just dry off and skip it.
One fine day I decided that it was time for my swim. I drove up to Big Stacy only to find that they were closed for the month for routine maintenance. The sign also said that I could go to the Bartholomew Park Pool which would be free for the month to accommodate people such as myself who had become addicted to their swimming fix.
I drove 25 minutes in rough traffic to this pool. When I arrived they were closed. The winter hours were from 1pm to 5pm and it was only 11pm. At this point I had 2 options. Burn two hours at a coffee shop reading and fooling around on the internet or I could drive to another pool and spend $5 on the admission. Going home without a swim was not an option.
As I drove over to Deep Eddy I began to concoct the story that I would tell the person taking the admission at the desk. I would tell them my tale of woe about how much of a hassle it had been to finally arrive at an open pool and implore them to allow me to enter the pool for free. It was also about 45 degrees out which is unusual for Texas so I was not even certain they would be open. When I arrived I had this elaborate story all worked and put my most persuasive look on out only to find that it was off season so they were not even charging an admission fee. Score!
I successfully swam my laps and felt great afterwards. All it cost me was 4 hours of hassle and a quarter tank of gas. I learned to call ahead so I can avoid swimming through traffic all day.
