(By James Kille)
Splashing in a swimming pool to cool off used to be easy. My apartment complex had three to choose from. That was years ago; now I own a house, and we forgot to put in a pool. During this record heat wave, having a pool would really help.
We saw a small listing in our newspaper about free outdoor movies, and one was Dive In at the Fairmont. The Fairmont Hotel sits in downtown Dallas and is pretty fancy. They show a free movie at their rooftop pool every Friday night during the summer. We decided to check it out since it was free.
After walking through the long, fancy lobby, we took the elevator to the Terrace level and found the pool. It wasn't crowded yet; just a few kids splashing and playing. We found the complimentary towel stand and picked out two empty lounge chairs. It actually felt cooler by the pool than the sizzling 105 degrees it was supposed to be, but we didn't want to spend all our time lounging in the sun. We pushed little kids out of the way as we jumped into the shallow end, and then took their inflatables to float on. Actually, no kids were in our way, and there were several abandoned floating devices in the pool. We splashed around and swam to the deep end, where we were all alone. You can't hear the downtown traffic, but you are surrounded by skyscrapers, so you can't really forget where you are. The biggest noise is when the huge A/C fans for the building close by start blasting. The first time I heard it I thought a helicopter was flying by.
We made sure to get there early so we could have lots of time in the pool, and of course claim some good seats. The tech guy wheeled out the DVD projector about 8 pm, and then it started getting crowded. Some people just wanted a table and something to eat. A couple next to us got a whole meal with drinks brought out. Sodas are 5 dollars, and drinks from the bar start at 10 dollars. Glad I brought my water bottle.
The guy was still taping down the power cord as more families showed up. Kids with floaties were everywhere. Squealing led to screaming. I took one last dip in the deep end to cool off and get away from the noise. As I dripped dry on the lounge chair, the movie began and people started sitting at the edge of the pool for a good seat. Linda and I had a perfect view from our lounge chairs. The movie was Top Gun, and it brought back lots of memories of when I had first seen it.
The best part of the experience was the swimming. It's a very nice pool and all are welcome (not just hotel guests). We left the hotel that evening feeling like we had gone to a big pool party. It is definitely worth the drive to enjoy the atmosphere and cool water.
