Part 2 of our Great American Roadtrip for 2014 took us from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, across five states to New Orleans. It was the height of summer, so swimming was always going to be a full family affair.
#347 – Sea Crest Resort, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is the home of Mini-Golf. The US Championships of this dignified ‘sport’ is played here. There are vast themed constructions, acres in area, up and down the main roads. There’s a beach too.
I had the kids on my own for 4 days at my hotel which offered five different pools. ‘River pools’ are big in Myrtle Beach; every second hotel has one. You drift around with the current. Not easy to swim a K in though, as they tend to be donut in shape.
But fortunately, there was one long pool (see photo) which was made for doing laps.
And thus another state was conquered.
#348 – Hamton Inn & Suites, Savannah, Georgia
Savannah’s famous for its squares. And ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.’ And Flannery O’Connor. And many years ago, pirates.
I expected it to be on the coast with, perhaps, a nice ocean pool (I’ve not come across one in the States yet), but it’s on a river and getting to the beach is a bit of a trek.
So, I swam the hotel pool.
#349 – Opelika Sportsplex, Alabama
A nice, big indoor pool with a great outdoor wet-area for the kids. Alabama mid-summer is pretty steamy, so this place was a nice relief as we made our way west towards Montgomery.
And, of course, yet another state conquered.
#350 – Biloxi, Mississippi
The Quest is 35% done!
And in a very nice, 50m pool. Of course, they didn’t let you swim the length of the pool, only across it (this is a peculiar US peccadillo) but nevertheless, it was a wonderful way to break up a long drive. In very warm weather too.
They call this place the Natatorium, a word I’d never heard before but which means basically: a building with a pool in it.
And yet another US state conquered.
#351 – Whitney Young pool, New Orleans, Louisiana
Very warm weather down south, which made a swim a necessity. Our hotel pool was very pleasant but also very small, so we caught the bus to this place in a beautiful park right next to the Audubon Zoo.
It was very, very nearly not conquered. In the US, the lifeguards religiously obey the ‘wait 30 minutes after thunder’ rule before allowing keen aqua-lovers anywhere near the water. There had been rain on the day we arrived and there was still rumbling thunder in the distance. We waited an hour, but we got in. (At one point I told the lifeguard the noise we heard was a Harley Davidson passing by, which seemed to satisfy him).
I swam my heart out in case the thunder struck up again. But it didn’t, and so the pool was conquered. And so too, another US state.
Aquatic Regards, The Porpoise
