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What type of water do/did you like to swim in or sit next to--pool water, ocean water, or lake water. I liked pool (Original Post) debm55 Yesterday OP
Lakes, always. Ocelot II Yesterday #1
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH. Thank you very much for sharing, Ocelot II. I love your reasons. debm55 Yesterday #2
In the stream Norrrm Yesterday #3
HAHAHHAHAHAH. Thank you Norrrm. I did. debm55 Yesterday #4
Each one has its good points Diamond_Dog Yesterday #5
So true. Diamond_Dog. Thank you for sharing with us. May I ask where the photo is from? It is lovely debm55 Yesterday #6
That is Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio. Diamond_Dog Yesterday #7
Oh no. I am from Pittsburgh and my whole life we have gone to Geneva-on-the-Lake. Haven't been there in about 20 years. debm55 Yesterday #11
Well, this is at the marina. The Strip is still there, pretty much same as it's ever been. Diamond_Dog 22 hrs ago #21
Yes, the last time we were there they were putting the marina in, We stayed at the strip. Is Ashtabula still around. debm55 21 hrs ago #24
Yep, Ashtabula hasn't gone anywhere. Diamond_Dog 21 hrs ago #26
Thank you , Diamond_Dog for sharing that info. debm55 21 hrs ago #31
Dad started teaching me to swim in the Delaware River. discntnt_irny_srcsm Yesterday #8
Thank you very much, discntnt_irny_srcsm. The Monongahela River that flows into the Ohio River. Runs past my house. I debm55 23 hrs ago #12
I got pinkeye from swimming in a lake once. ☹️ Diamond_Dog 21 hrs ago #25
Pool, with sunscreen and boys nearby. 🥰 Polly Hennessey Yesterday #9
Thank you very much for sharing with us, Polly Hennessey. debm55 23 hrs ago #13
Pool to swim in, both fresh and saltwater pools generally contain chlorine levels that kills germs Niagara Yesterday #10
I agree, Niagara. I swim in a pool, But sit on the beach when we went to the Lake or Cape Cod debm55 23 hrs ago #14
We swam in a creek. LoisB 22 hrs ago #15
Thank you very much.LoisB. When we would visit our cabin , I would swim in a creek. But I would wear shoes because of debm55 22 hrs ago #17
Heavy water True Dough 22 hrs ago #16
I am sorry. True Dough, but I have no idea what that is. debm55 22 hrs ago #19
It's a True Dough 22 hrs ago #22
HAR, HAR, HAR, True Dough, I had no idea what it was. debm55 21 hrs ago #28
My apologies True Dough 21 hrs ago #30
Apology accected. debm55 21 hrs ago #32
Nothing beats a freshwater spring genxlib 22 hrs ago #18
Oh, that sounds so very nice and refreshing. Thank you genxlib. debm55 22 hrs ago #20
Spring fed lake, specifically Lake Lily where my grandparents lived. Phoenix61 22 hrs ago #23
That sounds wonderful. Thank you very much for sharing. debm55 21 hrs ago #35
Pool EarthAbides 21 hrs ago #27
Thank you very much for sharing, EarthAbides. debm55 15 hrs ago #42
The Bay, Delaware or Chesapeake Walleye 21 hrs ago #29
Thank you very much for sharing with us, Walleye. debm55 15 hrs ago #43
Lakes and rivers... MiHale 21 hrs ago #33
except it's not Cirsium 21 hrs ago #37
Yeah, and that!... MiHale 16 hrs ago #40
WoW, What a informative post. Thank you very much for sharing with us. Cirsium. debm55 15 hrs ago #47
My pleasure Cirsium 14 hrs ago #50
Message auto-removed Name removed 14 hrs ago #52
Yes, it does but it doesn't have creatures in it. Thank you very much for sharing, MiHale. debm55 15 hrs ago #44
Walking Cirsium 21 hrs ago #34
Thank you very much for sharing with us. Cirsium. debm55 15 hrs ago #45
All of the above (including rivers and streams). waterwatcher123 21 hrs ago #36
Thank you very much for sharing waterwatcher. My husband is from Boston. on our yearly trips there, we would go down to debm55 15 hrs ago #48
I like the Caribbean Sea, I like Lake Michigan, Americanme 20 hrs ago #38
That sounds beautiful , Americanme. Thank you for sharing. debm55 1 hr ago #56
Chappaquiddick Island. Walking on the beach at night to look at the stars. CTyankee 17 hrs ago #39
That sounds wonderful, Thank you for sharing your wonderful view of the stars. CTyankee. debm55 1 hr ago #57
None some_of_us_are_sane 15 hrs ago #41
Thank you , some_of_us_are_sane. Great post. debm55 15 hrs ago #46
None of the above. Morbius 14 hrs ago #49
Thank you Morbius. You have every reason not to like swimming. debm55 1 hr ago #58
had a chilly n wis family lake cottage. spring fed lake. pansypoo53219 14 hrs ago #51
Thank you pansypoo53219. That sounds lovely. debm55 1 hr ago #59
Ocean - the Gulf of Mexico especially nt CozyMystery 14 hrs ago #53
Yes , It is very beautiful. CozyMystery. I swam and boated in the Gulf of Mexico. So enjoyed it. debm55 57 min ago #60
Hot spring enid602 14 hrs ago #54
Thank you very much, enid602. I have never been in a hot spring. But I would love to try it. debm55 55 min ago #61
Grew up in a lake with no slugs or brain eating amoebas. It was heaven. applegrove 13 hrs ago #55
when my daughter was little we had one of those small kiddie pools & when she got a bit older we orleans 14 min ago #62
To swim in : Pool. To sit and watch: Ocean. Mad_Dem_X 1 min ago #63

Ocelot II

(131,437 posts)
1. Lakes, always.
Sat May 30, 2026, 10:51 AM
Yesterday

A pool has nasty smelly chlorine and someone probably peed in it. The ocean is pleasant to sit next to but I don't like the salt and there are weird creatures like crabs. Also, if I were to sit next to it someone from Greenpeace would assume I'd been beached and drag me into the water, and then someone else would harpoon me.

Diamond_Dog

(41,225 posts)
5. Each one has its good points
Sat May 30, 2026, 11:29 AM
Yesterday

But if I had to choose one for sitting by, I’d choose Lake.

Pool for swimming in.

Oceans are beautiful but they can be violent.

Lake:

debm55

(62,069 posts)
6. So true. Diamond_Dog. Thank you for sharing with us. May I ask where the photo is from? It is lovely
Sat May 30, 2026, 11:32 AM
Yesterday

debm55

(62,069 posts)
11. Oh no. I am from Pittsburgh and my whole life we have gone to Geneva-on-the-Lake. Haven't been there in about 20 years.
Sat May 30, 2026, 11:44 AM
Yesterday

Sure looks different. Thank you, Diamond-Dog

Diamond_Dog

(41,225 posts)
21. Well, this is at the marina. The Strip is still there, pretty much same as it's ever been.
Sat May 30, 2026, 01:34 PM
22 hrs ago

debm55

(62,069 posts)
24. Yes, the last time we were there they were putting the marina in, We stayed at the strip. Is Ashtabula still around.
Sat May 30, 2026, 01:58 PM
21 hrs ago

Diamond_Dog

(41,225 posts)
26. Yep, Ashtabula hasn't gone anywhere.
Sat May 30, 2026, 02:02 PM
21 hrs ago

Ashtabula is home town of Pulitzer Prize winning writer Connie Schultz, Sherrod Brown’s wife

discntnt_irny_srcsm

(18,785 posts)
8. Dad started teaching me to swim in the Delaware River.
Sat May 30, 2026, 11:39 AM
Yesterday

Later I took lessons in a pool. I like the pool better, same as you.

debm55

(62,069 posts)
12. Thank you very much, discntnt_irny_srcsm. The Monongahela River that flows into the Ohio River. Runs past my house. I
Sat May 30, 2026, 12:15 PM
23 hrs ago

would never swim in it. Pool for me.

Diamond_Dog

(41,225 posts)
25. I got pinkeye from swimming in a lake once. ☹️
Sat May 30, 2026, 02:01 PM
21 hrs ago

It was Lake Milton, a small lake in NE OH. We took our boat out there one time.

Niagara

(12,213 posts)
10. Pool to swim in, both fresh and saltwater pools generally contain chlorine levels that kills germs
Sat May 30, 2026, 11:43 AM
Yesterday

Lake to sit by. Lakes are contaminated with E Coli, pollution, toxic algae, wastewater and nasty parasites just to name a few issues.


I've never visited an ocean and have no desire to. The same impaired issues as a lake but on a much larger scale. Also, once a person enters an ocean, they are now on the bottom of the food chain.

Happy surfing!

debm55

(62,069 posts)
14. I agree, Niagara. I swim in a pool, But sit on the beach when we went to the Lake or Cape Cod
Sat May 30, 2026, 12:37 PM
23 hrs ago

debm55

(62,069 posts)
17. Thank you very much.LoisB. When we would visit our cabin , I would swim in a creek. But I would wear shoes because of
Sat May 30, 2026, 01:14 PM
22 hrs ago

all the nasties in the bottom.

genxlib

(6,169 posts)
18. Nothing beats a freshwater spring
Sat May 30, 2026, 01:15 PM
22 hrs ago

Clear as glass and refreshingly cool. Like swimming in a jewel.

One of the only really great things about Florida.

Phoenix61

(18,900 posts)
23. Spring fed lake, specifically Lake Lily where my grandparents lived.
Sat May 30, 2026, 01:46 PM
22 hrs ago

It was about 30 minutes from my house so I got to spend lots of time there. As a teen, me and a friend would go there to start working on our tans when it wasn't quite warm enough for the beach.

EarthAbides

(471 posts)
27. Pool
Sat May 30, 2026, 02:06 PM
21 hrs ago

I have to be able to see the bottom whether I am sitting or swimming. We have an above ground pool in out backyard and I am usually the only one swimming in it so I don't worry about pee.

Cirsium

(4,138 posts)
37. except it's not
Sat May 30, 2026, 02:53 PM
21 hrs ago

It's not chlorine we smell. It's chloramines, caused by urine (and sweat) combining with chlorine.

Just How Much Pee Is In That Pool?

You know that sharp odor of chlorine from the swimming pool you can recall from earliest childhood? It turns out it's not just chlorine, but a potent brew of chemicals that form when chlorine meets sweat, body oils, and urine.

...

The scientists calculated that one 220,000-gallon, commercial-size swimming pool contained almost 20 gallons of urine. In a residential pool (20-by-40-foot, five-feet deep), that would translate to about two gallons of pee. It's only about one-hundredth of a percent, but any urine in a swimming pool can be a health concern for some people, not to mention that smell that never quite goes away.

...

Apart from being gross, that's also a potential health hazard. Chlorine reacts with urine to form a host of potentially toxic compounds called disinfection byproducts. These can include anything from the chloramines that give well-used pools the aforementioned odor, to cyanogen chloride, which is classified as a chemical warfare agent. There are also nitrosamines, which can cause cancer. There's not enough evidence to say whether the nitrosamine levels in pools increase cancer risk, Blatchley says, but one study in Spain did find more bladder cancers in some long-term swimmers.

...

The simplest solution: Just don't pee in the pool. And tell all your friends not to do it, either. "I view it like secondhand smoke," Blatchley says. "It's disrespectful and potentially dangerous."

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/01/517785902/just-how-much-pee-is-in-that-pool

Response to Cirsium (Reply #37)

debm55

(62,069 posts)
44. Yes, it does but it doesn't have creatures in it. Thank you very much for sharing, MiHale.
Sat May 30, 2026, 08:11 PM
15 hrs ago

Cirsium

(4,138 posts)
34. Walking
Sat May 30, 2026, 02:40 PM
21 hrs ago

We like to walk on the water (Lake Michigan - in the winter, of course). In the summer no one goes there anymore. It gets too crowded. (hat tip to Yogi).

waterwatcher123

(555 posts)
36. All of the above (including rivers and streams).
Sat May 30, 2026, 02:49 PM
21 hrs ago

We are just waiting for Lake Superior to warm up a bit now (39 degrees is a bit too cold even for a Minnesotan).

The ocean is pretty hard to beat too - especially when we have to cut holes in the ice in MN to swim.

debm55

(62,069 posts)
48. Thank you very much for sharing waterwatcher. My husband is from Boston. on our yearly trips there, we would go down to
Sat May 30, 2026, 08:26 PM
15 hrs ago

the Cape. No matter how hot it was, the water was always cold. Any beach we went to was cold and for me , unswimmable.I couple of years ago we went down to the Bahamas. Oh it was so warm and a lovely shade of blue. I did swim there.

Americanme

(561 posts)
38. I like the Caribbean Sea, I like Lake Michigan,
Sat May 30, 2026, 03:53 PM
20 hrs ago

I used to like sitting by my pool. But I filled the pool in a few years ago, then last year I dug it up again, now we have a large koi pond with a waterfall. Very relaxing place to sit. My wife calls it her zen spot.

CTyankee

(68,532 posts)
39. Chappaquiddick Island. Walking on the beach at night to look at the stars.
Sat May 30, 2026, 06:34 PM
17 hrs ago

No street lights on Chappy so you have a beautiful night time sky.

debm55

(62,069 posts)
57. That sounds wonderful, Thank you for sharing your wonderful view of the stars. CTyankee.
Sun May 31, 2026, 10:33 AM
1 hr ago

some_of_us_are_sane

(3,726 posts)
41. None
Sat May 30, 2026, 07:56 PM
15 hrs ago
I'm a non-swimmer. Other than a 4 or 5" in a hot bath, I'm as far from a "water baby" as one can be. And the ocean scares me to death.

Was on a small fishing boat when I was 18 off the coast of New Jersey. A storm was brewing, the waves got higher and higher till the boat was almost tilted SIDEWAYS..............then the damn MOTOR cut out. We actually drifted into international waters. Everyone was seasick except ME and the priest who took us on the trip. LOL!! Sooooooooooo... I hate the ocean, do not suffer from seasickness and found I like beer a little too much.

Morbius

(1,151 posts)
49. None of the above.
Sat May 30, 2026, 08:55 PM
14 hrs ago

When I was a young man I would occasionally be sent to my aunt's house for a week (I think my mother needed a break from me - I don't think my brothers got sent away for a week!). She had an outdoor aboveground pool which was in retrospect quite small. When my aunt ordered me to go in the pool, there was no argument, I did what I was told... and I got really, really nasty sunburn. I still remember how much it hurt, and this was over half a century ago.

Then when I was a freshman in high school I had to take a semester of swimming; everyone did. One of my classmates held me under the water, laughing like a madman. He was of course (very properly) suspended, which made me even more unpopular.

I do not like swimming. No thank you.

debm55

(62,069 posts)
60. Yes , It is very beautiful. CozyMystery. I swam and boated in the Gulf of Mexico. So enjoyed it.
Sun May 31, 2026, 10:57 AM
57 min ago

enid602

(9,767 posts)
54. Hot spring
Sat May 30, 2026, 09:47 PM
14 hrs ago

In a hot spring. Eating a club sandwich and fries. And a coke with crushed ice.

debm55

(62,069 posts)
61. Thank you very much, enid602. I have never been in a hot spring. But I would love to try it.
Sun May 31, 2026, 10:59 AM
55 min ago

applegrove

(133,266 posts)
55. Grew up in a lake with no slugs or brain eating amoebas. It was heaven.
Sat May 30, 2026, 10:15 PM
13 hrs ago

An hour north of Ottawa in Quebec.

orleans

(37,258 posts)
62. when my daughter was little we had one of those small kiddie pools & when she got a bit older we
Sun May 31, 2026, 11:40 AM
14 min ago

got a bigger pool (maybe two feet high)

i loved sitting by her pools, watching her play, sometimes i'd go in the bigger pool with her to splash and play.
the first day the water was always cold (from the hose) and then it would warm up by the next morning with the sun.

sitting in our backyard beside her pool, watching her, with the privacy of all the bushes and the fence around the property line, on happy. warm, slow summer mornings and afternoons was absolute heaven.



Mad_Dem_X

(10,240 posts)
63. To swim in : Pool. To sit and watch: Ocean.
Sun May 31, 2026, 11:52 AM
1 min ago

I love watching the ocean and find the sound of it so soothing. But, I hesitate going in because it's so powerful. I'd rather admire it from afar.

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