Back in the USA and a Texas pool on the list finally!
Great to finally be back in the US - although I nearly wasn't ... I Arrived at Heathrow to find my ESTA visa had been cancelled! Apparently, there have been similar problems in recent weeks, so I apply for a new visa as I stand at the check-in counter! The check-in staff tell me the quickest they've ever seen an ESTA visa issued is 50 minutes ... I have 42! Unbelievably, just as I was about to close the laptop several minutes after check-in closed, I heard a ding, looked, and it was a visa-approved update... The amazing Julie on the Heathrow check-in desks went over and above to re-open the flight and get me on the plane - after a sprint through Heathrow Terminal 3!
I'm on a two-stop Dallas > Los Angeles work trip, hoping to fit in at least three new pools. First stop, the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas, to visit the fantastic post-COVID busting PSP + Deck Expo 2021; great to see a bustling expo floor again.
Manage the usual Dallas tourist stops, then try and find a pool. I was hoping to get a couple done here, but COVID seems to be still putting a dent in Dallas public facilities, with many closed or on restricted hours. Managed to find the Bachman Indoor Pool just a few miles out of town, back towards the airport, Uber booked and on my way.
It's a reasonably run-of-the-mill pool, very quiet (although it is mid-afternoon on a weekday during a pandemic) and has that US school pool feel about it. Jump in and make a start, have the watch set to the expected 25y length and pace set to an easy 1:30 beep interval. I'm way off fitness but something isn't right, I'm either super fast or slow, and the watch is all over the place, I finish up on the 500m/y mark, and to try to figure out what's going on - I notice a printed sheet on the wall giving metre to yard conversions... It's a 25-metre pool! In the US, how bizarre! Reset the watch and start again (Garmin and Swim.com show two sessions!). I managed to complete 1,500 metres before I need to head back into the city.
Next stop is Santa Monica; hopefully, more pools will be open in California!
Pool Review
Well worn pool, typical US 90's high-school style pool, decent facility and well used by the local community.