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

[debm55]

water.

[Ocelot II]

1. Lakes, always.

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.

[debm55]

2. HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH. Thank you very much for sharing, Ocelot II. I love your reasons.

[Norrrm]

3. In the stream

[debm55]

4. HAHAHHAHAHAH. Thank you Norrrm. I did.

[Diamond_Dog]

5. Each one has its good points

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]

6. So true. Diamond_Dog. Thank you for sharing with us. May I ask where the photo is from? It is lovely

[Diamond_Dog]

7. That is Geneva-on-the-Lake, Ohio.

[debm55]

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.

Sure looks different. Thank you, Diamond-Dog

[Diamond_Dog]

21. Well, this is at the marina. The Strip is still there, pretty much same as it's ever been.

[debm55]

24. Yes, the last time we were there they were putting the marina in, We stayed at the strip. Is Ashtabula still around.

[Diamond_Dog]

26. Yep, Ashtabula hasn't gone anywhere.

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

[debm55]

31. Thank you , Diamond_Dog for sharing that info.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

8. Dad started teaching me to swim in the Delaware River.

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

[debm55]

12. Thank you very much, discntnt_irny_srcsm. The Monongahela River that flows into the Ohio River. Runs past my house. I

would never swim in it. Pool for me.

[Diamond_Dog]

25. I got pinkeye from swimming in a lake once. ☹️

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

[Polly Hennessey]

9. Pool, with sunscreen and boys nearby. 🥰

[debm55]

13. Thank you very much for sharing with us, Polly Hennessey.

[Niagara]

10. Pool to swim in, both fresh and saltwater pools generally contain chlorine levels that kills germs

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]

14. I agree, Niagara. I swim in a pool, But sit on the beach when we went to the Lake or Cape Cod

[LoisB]

15. We swam in a creek.

[debm55]

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

all the nasties in the bottom.

[True Dough]

16. Heavy water

Doesn't that look inviting?

[debm55]

19. I am sorry. True Dough, but I have no idea what that is.

[True Dough]

22. It's a

nuclear reactor! Come on in, deb! The water is fine!

[debm55]

28. HAR, HAR, HAR, True Dough, I had no idea what it was.

[True Dough]

30. My apologies

if I caused any con-fusion!

[debm55]

32. Apology accepted

Last edited Sun May 31, 2026, 05:36 PM - Edit history (1)

[genxlib]

18. Nothing beats a freshwater spring

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

One of the only really great things about Florida.

[debm55]

20. Oh, that sounds so very nice and refreshing. Thank you genxlib.

[Phoenix61]

23. Spring fed lake, specifically Lake Lily where my grandparents lived.

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.

[debm55]

35. That sounds wonderful. Thank you very much for sharing.

[EarthAbides]

27. Pool

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.

[debm55]

42. Thank you very much for sharing, EarthAbides.

[Walleye]

29. The Bay, Delaware or Chesapeake

Also the Atlantic Ocean beaches.

[debm55]

43. Thank you very much for sharing with us, Walleye.

[MiHale]

33. Lakes and rivers...

Pools smell funny. It’s the chlorine.

[Cirsium]

37. except it's not

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

[MiHale]

40. Yeah, and that!...

[debm55]

47. WoW, What a informative post. Thank you very much for sharing with us. Cirsium.

[Cirsium]

50. My pleasure

[Kali]

74. yep

if you smell "chlorine" it generally means there is not ENOUGH chlorine to burn off the actual contaminates in the water.

rashes and other problems people think are from chlorine are also caused by chloramines

[debm55]

44. Yes, it does but it doesn't have creatures in it. Thank you very much for sharing, MiHale.

[Cirsium]

34. Walking

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).

[debm55]

45. Thank you very much for sharing with us. Cirsium.

[waterwatcher123]

36. All of the above (including rivers and streams).

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]

48. Thank you very much for sharing waterwatcher. My husband is from Boston. on our yearly trips there, we would go down to

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]

38. I like the Caribbean Sea, I like Lake Michigan,

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.

[debm55]

56. That sounds beautiful , Americanme. Thank you for sharing.

[electric_blue68]

77. Soinds lovely!

[CTyankee]

39. Chappaquiddick Island. Walking on the beach at night to look at the stars.

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

[debm55]

57. That sounds wonderful, Thank you for sharing your wonderful view of the stars. CTyankee.

[some_of_us_are_sane]

41. None

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.

[debm55]

46. Thank you , some_of_us_are_sane. Great post.

[Morbius]

49. None of the above.

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]

58. Thank you Morbius. You have every reason not to like swimming.

[pansypoo53219]

51. had a chilly n wis family lake cottage. spring fed lake.

[debm55]

59. Thank you pansypoo53219. That sounds lovely.

[pansypoo53219]

78. it was. aunt + her husband rebuilt it. grandparents rescued the old wood stove + it was used til the aughts.

great-great grandpa bought about 1/4 of the lake + each of his 8 kids got a pie.

[debm55]

79. Thank you very much, pansypoo53219

[CozyMystery]

53. Ocean - the Gulf of Mexico especially nt

[debm55]

60. Yes , It is very beautiful. CozyMystery. I swam and boated in the Gulf of Mexico. So enjoyed it.

[enid602]

54. Hot spring

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

[debm55]

61. Thank you very much, enid602. I have never been in a hot spring. But I would love to try it.

[applegrove]

55. Grew up in a lake with no slugs or brain eating amoebas. It was heaven.

An hour north of Ottawa in Quebec.

[debm55]

64. Thank you very much for sharing with us, applegrove. Sounds like a wonder place to swim.

[orleans]

62. when my daughter was little we had one of those small kiddie pools & when she got a bit older we

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.

[debm55]

65. Thank you very much, orleans. It brings back many memories of my son's pools as he was growing up.

[orleans]

69. i gotta tell ya -- i miss those years of my daughter's childhood so much

[debm55]

71. I know how you feel.

[Mad_Dem_X]

63. To swim in : Pool. To sit and watch: Ocean.

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.

[debm55]

66. Same here, Mad_Dem_X. When I was younger I took my chances and swam and waterskied in the Gulf of Mexico. Would I do it

now----no.

[hunter]

67. The Pacific Ocean with no close second.

For swimming when the water isn't cold enough to kill you, for watching when it's stormy, and for calming myself down when I'm stormy.

I also enjoy the wilder streams and rivers of the Sierra Nevada.

[debm55]

68. Thank you , hunter. I always wanted to see the Pacific Ocean. Thank you hunter for sharing with us, my friend.

[wnylib]

70. Lake water. Grew up in Erie on Lake Erie.

There's a state park there with seven miles of 11 different beaches. Free admission.

[debm55]

72. Thank you very much, wnylib. I agree. I have lived in the Pittsburgh area my entire life. Erie was a frequent trip.

Loved it.

[u4ic]

73. Lake

Sans blue green algae or leeches, of course Or nasty pollution, I grew up on the shores of Lake Ontario and the stink from the dead and rotting fish that would wash up on the shores...no way I'd venture into that, at least not back then. (now it's blue and you can actually swim in it!)

I miss the beautiful and plentiful lakes of Ontario, here in Alberta there are so few. Some nice ones in BC for the short time I was there as well.

Swam in the ocean once, off the coast of Vancouver Island - eek! Was SO cold that my limbs froze, even though it was 34C out. I took me about 1/2 hr to warm up. Swam in the Mediterranean off the coast of Nice, water was a lovely temperature and colour but the rock beach wasn't. Even warmer spots, too many critters want to kill you, so I'll pass.

A pool would be second choice but only if there were few people there.

[debm55]

80. Thank you very much for sharing u4ic. I agree with the critters. When we go to the ocean or lake. I sit and watch.

[electric_blue68]

75. It was always the pool for me...

In our gigantic nearish by neighborhood pool when I was a tween I used to love "dive down" and skim along the bottom. Wasn't looking for anything, but it was fun!

I like to see where I'm swimming. We went to a lake as a almost & tween.

I do love sitting by the ocean, walking along the edge of the water, and going in up to near my knees. The ocean waves aren usually so soothing to watch and listen to!

[debm55]

81. Thank you very much, electric_blue68. I am righ there with you.

[Kali]

76. any with the caveats

no leaches, no dangerous jellyfish, and if a pool it needs to be properly taken care of, chemistry-wise. love water, love to swim

love sitting near ocean and rocky streams, pools are kind of boring - unless you are in them, to me

[debm55]

82. Thank you , kali, I agree with you. At my age, I love sitting on the beach.