The Sandlot Pool

One of my all-time favorite summer movies is the original The Sandlot. We saw it in the theater when we were engaged, and I have enjoyed watching it every summer since. I love the classic Americana feel to this movie, from the small town backyard baseball gang, to the 4th of July celebration depicted in the movie; where the kids are running free down the block party headed to the Sandlot to play baseball under the Fireworks night sky. The icing to the movie is The Sandlot public swimming pool scene.

I grew up without an outdoor public pool. I also grew up in a neighborhood that contained the kids pretty well, not enticed by a small city to walk to, or things to attract kiddos on their own. So to see the movie played out with the freedom of the kids wandering about by themselves is fun.

When we were on our mini-vacation this past weekend, we headed to our first outdoor Public Swimming Pool. It reminded me of The Sandlot. I wish I had taken a picture of the Lifeguards. Classic attire, sporting no smiles to urge jokesters, with whistles prepped ready to blow rule breakers.

We went twice. The first day was less crowded than the second. We enjoyed just hanging out, swimming, and goofing off under the blazing sun. Don't get me wrong, we've been to outdoor pools at hotels and resorts, but this was our first public pool. It wasn't all that different, I know, but just the fact that we got to walk down Main Street to and from the pool with Lifeguards under umbrella's felt unique enough.

My son didn't pull a Michael "Squints" Palledorous on any Wendy Peffercorn lifeguard, but it sure felt like The Sandlot with the volume of attendees, and mass happy, chaos under the sun.