Spring Grove. 6 years later.

Even though in less than 7 hours I have swim lessons I cannot sleep, so I am going to write.

I am writing this to those who come from the Spring Grove Swim Center Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spring-Grove-SWIM-Center/115662155142765.  Most of you only know me from signing up for swim lessons this summer or from lifeguarding (or on TV during a city council meeting), but I am not new.  In 2007 I lifeguarded at the Spring Grove Swim Center (or Family Swim Center, or Aquatic Center, or just pool).  2007.  6 years ago.  The lifeguard I work with now were only 10 or 12 when I was last there.  I may have even told them to walk...and now they are doing the same to me.

One of the lifeguards I worked with back then is even still at the pool now.  I even remembered her face so when I first met all the people I was going to be working with there was one familiar face.  Well two...one of them look a lot like one of the guards I worked with back then and I have trouble keeping the two names separate.

6 years and everything looks the same.  The umbrellas are the same color, light strips on top of the slides, same potholes in the road, same blue paint color, same lion mouth water fountain, even the same rescue tubes I think.  Only one thing is different (well there are a few but thats another story or two).

This year, I am pool manager.  Where is my cape and goggles?

I haven’t asked if I could use their names but I am working with some great people this year.  There is the other manager, who like me, just wanted to be head lifeguard and now we are in charge of everything from food to pool to cleaning out filters.  Poor frog.

We have 13 lifeguards and 5 concession workers and about to add a swim instructor (4 of the lifeguards including myself are also swim instructors).  We have things going on from 7am to 9pm most days and usually have more people offering to work than we do shifts (especially the 7-8 am lapswim/water aerobics)

Things are running a little different this year, the city of Spring Grove has contracted out to a company to help run the pool.  The goal is to save money, not many 90°+ days to make a profit, and there has been a lot of bugs, but every worker we started with for opening day has pushed thru the turmoil and is still with us, half way thru our first month and I am proud of them.

It’s also good to know that even though they could have decided to go somewhere else to work, maybe for better pay, maybe for less, and with less stress of all this new and different and confusing stuff, they are still here, to keep kids safe this summer.  If you read http://campinglifeguard.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-good-great-and-ugly.html, you know about the Baywatch guards, and we don’t have any of those this year, and that allows me to sleep at night, at least after my sunburn stops hurting.

I also learned a great tip from them, vanilla keeps away gnats.  I wonder if I could just pour some into the pool and just clear the city of those annoying bugs.

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

Jello!

Hello, I am Travis, the Camping Lifeguard. I know, an odd title, but thats going to be me this summer. I currently live in northeast Iowa, but this summer I am going to go back to where I use go to college in Ashland, WI. During the summers I have been staying up there to lifeguard and teach swim lessons. I no longer am going to college there (long story), but I will be going up this summer lifeguard and teach lessons. I am also going to do something different and new...I am going to go camping.

Yea, doesn’t sound too interesting, but wait! I am not camping for a night or two, I have done that the last two summers. No, I am going to camp ALL SUMMER! This sounds weird enough that I figured I would share adventure with you here. I maybe crazy, but that is how I am.

Not sure when I will be starting at the beach, but I will be heading up in June with my bike, camping equipment, and car, and staying through August. I will be living on private beach on Lake Superior in Odanah, Wi, half the time camping alone, the other half with a friend. I hope to bike to work every day, which is 16 miles to the beach on level terrain, and 2 miles uphill from the beach to the college pool, where I will teach swim lessons. I will be without power and probably running water. I don’t really know how to cook (I am afraid of cooking meat and not cooking it completely). I will have internet to make posts and check the weather via my cellphone, and thats it.

When I can I will share stories about camping, lifeguarding, swim lessons, the weather, and anything that just tickles me along the way. If you have questions about what I am doing (or computer question) just ask. Pretty much anything involving any of the things I am on the first post is fair game. Oh, by the way I am also going to be juggling online classes during this adventure.

Yea, this is going to be fun.

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...the camping lifeguard

Good Morning

Good morning swimmers, I am Travis, your… … …what am I? I am a swim instructor, computer technician, lifeguard, lifeguard instructor, meteorologist, farmer, camper, and student. I’m a son, brother, democrat, Unitarian, and use to be a roller DJ. Hmm...that’s a little long. Well I am no longer a roller DJ, so I can remove that. It doesn’t matter that I am a son, brother, democrat, or Unitarian. We prefer you don’t bring your computer into the pool, so even though I will happily answer computer questions, it doesn't matter that I am a computer tech. Since we are in the pool, I don't plan to farm, and since you aren't becoming lifeguards, we can drop that.

So where are we? I am a swim instructor, lifeguard, meteorologist, camper and student. I use my meteorologist skills when camping or lifeguarding, not during lessons, so ignore that. We are obviously not camping, so drop that. Well students, I am Travis, your swim instructing, lifeguarding student.

Wait, I am the teacher and your the student. I am Travis, your student lifeguarding swim instructor. I don’t like that either. Lets drop student; I am your swim instructing lifeguard. That still sounds odd. Hmm. Maybe I should use what I came up with in the shower, I liked that.

From the guy with his eye on the sky, Travis...