Opening the Pool

5/25/03

Our in-ground swimming pool is gorgeous -- but, wow, opening it after a long winter is an amazing amount of work.  From re-grouting tiles that have popped off (due to the freeze/thaw cycle in Iowa), to repainting, to resurrecting a filtration system that has sat idle for five months, it's an intense six-day effort to get her up and running again.

But it's worth every minute.  Once the tile is done, and the paint is dry, all that's left to do is add 25,000+ gallons of water!  At full blast (and we have commercial water pressure, so "full blast" is a LOT) it still takes two and a half days to fill.

Our daughter, Rebecca, had the honor of making the first cannonball of the season!   See the pictures, below:

What a job -- re-tiled and re-painted...	A different view -- that's a deep hole in the ground!	3 days at this angle helped me to appreciate one of our Jacuzzi hot tubs...	All the blue tile visible in this pic had to be replaced...	25,000 gallons later...Mary shows off...
Becca wades into the kiddie pool...	And, the pay-off!	On a hot summer day, there's nothing like it...see the party gazebo behind her...