I like swimming in lakes, but I haven’t always.
I used to think lakes were creepy, leech-filled and dirty compared to the big, beautiful and salty ocean I grew up swimming in.
Granted, parts of the ocean can be creepy and dirty too, depending upon the tide. We used to get an occasional red tide on the Long Island beach where I grew up; when that happened, it meant no one could swim for a while until it cleared up.
It’s funny – there are probably more people afraid of swimming in the ocean than there are who avoid lakes. I guess we all like what we’re used to – and since I wasn’t used to swimming in lakes, I thought they were a little gross.
Put me in the ocean and I will swim for hours. I love the buoyancy of salt water – it’s so easy to float! I love playing in waves at the shore, snorkeling over a reef or deep-water swimming off the back of a boat. I’ve swum in the Pacific off the Gulf of Mexico at more than 1,000 feet deep!
But ocean swimming opportunities are harder to come by these days. I live in land-locked Ohio with nary an ocean in sight. Do you know what we do have, though? Lots of lovely lakes.
I walk most mornings alongside Alum Creek lake and the sight of sunrise over the water is a balm to my soul. We go boating, tubing and swimming in Alum Creek lake several times each summer.
Swimming right from Alum Creek beach also feels great in hot weather; it may not be a white sand beach like in Hawaii or Florida, but it’s still a good time.
While the ocean will always be my number one love when it comes to bodies of water, I’m glad I’ve also developed an appreciation for lakes.
We’ve been to wonderful quarries, waterfalls, rivers and lakes around Ohio and had a lot of fun. I also adore the wild, freshwater springs in Florida.
I’m so glad I overcame my saltwater snobbery! There are many lakes I’ve loved swimming in, and many more I’d like to visit.
After all, I may be a landlocked mermaid these days, but I do still love to swim.
