Swim #10: Barney's Joy Beach, South Dartmouth, MA

July 5, 2010 --  Barney's Joy is a private beach, and you can't even pay to join -- you have to have been born into the right family.  Fortunately Dan and Faith, our next-door neighbors in South Dartmouth, happen to be one of those families, and they generously bring us along every now and then.

Barney's Joy is gorgeous and never crowded (see above membership restrictions).  To get there, you have to drive through a working farm, so you are likely to end up with a very large steer in your path.  Then you park and walk over the dunes, and are faced with this beautiful, long stretch of beach.  Although it is not far from Round Hill Beach, it faces a different direction and therefore has the waves that Round Hill does not.  Here's Benjamin --

Swim #9: Round Hill Beach, South Dartmouth, MA

July 3, 2010 -- We are spending the holiday weekend at our beach house in South Dartmouth, MA.  Round Hill Beach is a mile from the house;  a lovely town beach in Buzzard's Bay.  No heavy surf, just beautiful water for taking long swims.  Here I am with my friend Phyllis (left), another avid swimmer.  In the second photo, you can see Martha's Vineyard in the distance.

The best thing about South Dartmouth is that no one knows where it is.  I say it's near New Bedford, and people kind of wrinkle their noses and look confused.  That's okay -- more room for us!

There are several buoys out in the water, marking the guarded area.  Benjamin and I frequently swim laps together, measured in the number of buoys we swim past.  On this particular day, Benjamin was not with me - so I was especially glad to have Phyllis!

Swim #8: Lake Mansfield, Great Barrington, MA

July 2, 2010 -- My friend Judy and I have driven out to pick up our daughters after their week on the Appalachian Trail.  Judy introduces me to the very sweet Lake Mansfield.  It is very small, with a roped-off area for swimming.  I immediately ducked under the rope for a longer swim, but was immediately faced with huge underwater plants - a strong deterrent for me.  Instead, I swam laps back and forth along the rope.

Swim #7: Goose Pond, Lee, MA

June 27, 2010 -- Summer is here and it's time to get into high gear on accomplishing these swims!  We have just delivered Leah to an AMC outpost in Great Barrington, where she will spend a week doing trail maintenance on the Appalachian Trail.  Feeling energetic, Harvey and I set out to hike the Jug End trail.  It starts as a lovely ramble through a meadow, filled with wildflowers and waving wheat, but soon turns into an almost-straight-uphill climb.  We did great, but by the time we arrived at our friends Judy & Charlie's vacation house in Lee for a swim, we were complete mush.  I did get into Goose Pond, and did my best to swim about halfway across and back.  It was a delightful spot and I'd love to go back!

Swim #6: Outdoor pool at the JCC, Newton

Summer is finally here!  One of the happiest days of the year is the day the outdoor pool at the JCC opens for the season.  Finally, I can swim my laps outdoors in the sunshine.

Benjamin, Leah and I spent many, many happy days here in summers past.  Leah learned to swim in the kiddie pool, and both kids spent endless hours swimming and playing here.  Nowadays, I walk all the way to the far end, where there are no children, just adults quietly reading books and lying in the sun.  I swim my laps, then sit and read for a while.  It is a perfect way to end the day.

Swim #5: Crystal Lake, Newton, MA

Crystal Lake is a Newton treasure.  The water is spectacular, and the lake is the perfect size.   On the day of Swim #5, I have my son, Benjamin, with me.  He's a great swimmer as well, and we have a delightful swim together.  This was early in the season, and the water was still a little nippy.  Later in the season I had an equally wonderful swims in somewhat warmer water with my good friends Judy and Rose.

Swim #4: Grove Park Inn, Asheville, NC

It is school vacation week, April 2010, and we are on a college tour in North Carolina.  But no college tour would be complete without a little R&R at a nice resort.....right?  We headed to the Grove Park Inn in Asheville.  If you are ever in the area, we highly encourage a visit.  It is spectacular.  Gorgeous grounds, views, food, and to top it off, a fabulous spa.  We spent the better part of a day just hanging out at the spa.


There are several pools, and although I entered multiple pools, I am just counting this as one swim.  The pools are designed for relaxing more than lap swimming, but I did manage a good swim in the largest of the pools, and a long, relaxing "float" in another.

In addition to the "swimming" pools, there were two "massage" pools. You climb in, sit under a thundering waterfall, and let it pound you with water (photo below).  It's pretty intense and very loud -- but it does get at those upper back/shoulder muscles!  In the locker room there are side-by-side hot and cold tubs -- the idea is that you alternate between the two, ostensibly boosting you immune system.  I loved it -- plunging into the cold tub was absolutely exhilarating.

It is difficult to describe how beautiful the Grove Park Inn is --- not to mention Asheville itself, which is now at the top of my list of places to return.  Take a look at Grove Park's website --- http://www.groveparkinn.com/Leisure/ --- and if you still aren't convinced, let us just tell you that as we were leaving, our President and First Lady were arriving for a long weekend.