I’m amazed. Within 36 hours of the guys coming by to open the pool, it was swimmable. The water was crystal clear, and all it takes is a few minutes skimming flora debris off the top, and another few to vacuum whatever debris sinks to the bottom. Granted, once the cover came off, the water didn’t look all that bad to begin with — nothing like the bayou soup I had to deal with a few months after we closed on this place, and the owner just slapped the cover on it, w/o bothering to treat the water, or winterize the pipes.
So, I went ahead and inflated a few floats that aren’t solid, unsinkable foam, and tested them out (for “quality control,” you understand *wink wink*). The only problem so far was that the carpenter bees thought I was wood, and swarmed all over me, often landing on my arms and legs, while I was inflating those floats. I’m not allergic to bee or wasp stings, but why me instead of the split rail fence that was 3′ away? I can guarantee that my sunscreen does not smell like wood.
Also, who’d have thought the sun was this strong in USDA zone 6 in May? I’ve already got a really decent tan, complete with fish belly white marks from my watch strap and sandals, in only three days. I can’t even stay in full sun for more than half an hour at a time. No way could I lie out in in for half a day or more like I did when I was in my teens or twenties. This sun is more like July/August sun. Wow. I’ll need to get something with an SPF between 4 and 30, because that’s all I’ve got. I tan like crazy, but my shoulders and nose can get a first degree burn if I’m not careful.
As for the road trip, it’s to the annual family shindig in MN. It’s ~1200 mile drive, each way, but it beats getting molested by TSA staff at an airport, and having to rent a car. We could hook a right in IL, and go up through ‘Sconsin, but the driving is much easier taking the route through Iowa. A little shorter, too. We anticipate delays going through Columbus, OH, at evening rush hour, ’cause there always are some, whether we take the bypass or go right smack dab through the center of it, and possibly some at Waterloo the next morning. My guess is that on the way back home, we’ll cross the Mississippi at Quad Cities. Hopefully, we won’t encounter a detour through the local streets of Bettendorf. That happened once before, and it was not fun. As long as we make it back east to Cambridge, OH by 1am, we’re good. From there, if we get up early enough, and hit the road after partaking of the breakfast bar offerings, we should be back home in time to pick up our dog from our vet’s boarding facility in mid-afternoon.
For the shindig, we will bring a couple of cases of beer that are not distributed in the upper Midwest. People seem to like them, probably because they can’t get them there. Yuengling lager, and a Long trail IPA should suffice. I’d never show up to anyone’s party w/o at least a bottle of wine, or a six-pack. The quantity depends upon whether the party is for a few hours, or a few days. When I throw a party, it’s not BYO, but if you want to bring something, we know where to stash it, if it needs to be chilled, or not, and, yes, you may consume what you brought, if you want to.
On a completely different subject, our “spare guts” are poking up from the ground. We got them bare root from Burpee. Third try’s a winner, evidently. I love asparagus.
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