Ahh, this is a special set of 11 pools, as it encompasses my first few months settling into our new life in Canada. We crossed the border on January 2nd, 2019 to start this grand adventure, and was already in my first pool by January 5th.
Swimming-wise, I got off to a great start as we set up house in Richmond Hill ... but it was completely by chance that I settled into a great swim town.
We rented an Airbnb for our first few months, so we could get the lay of the land and figure out a longer term home. Literally, there was only one place on Airbnb that both had availability for multiple months and would accept us with our two dogs. As it turned out, the location was a 10 minute walk from Centennial Pool in Richmond Hill ... a fine pool, but more critically, the home to the Richmond Hill Masters Swim Team.
Now, I have almost universally been welcomed when I drop in to visit Masters swim teams, but the gang in Richmond Hill was especially warm. I trained with them all of January, February and into March before we moved up to Barrie. Not only were the workouts good for my body, the camaraderie of this group was great for my soul.
Aside from one business trip to Orlando that allowed me to get in a cool 50 metre pool, this was an All-Canadian set of pools. Check the pictures out here.