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  1. All Eyes

The pool makes summer cool

There was no better place to be as a kid
Masson Ocasio, 4, swims underwater at the Brentwood Hills community pool. [CHRIS URSO | Times (2016)]
Masson Ocasio, 4, swims underwater at the Brentwood Hills community pool. [CHRIS URSO | Times (2016)]
By Martha Asencio-Rhine
Published Jul. 1, 2019

When the sun is beating down and the humidity is thick there is nothing better than the sweet relief of a clear, cool pool. Remember those long summer days spent at the community pool? We’ve pulled some images to make you nostalgic for sun block and chlorine-scented skin, red-rimmed eyes, toasty skin and tan lines. Having a private pool can seem like the ultimate Florida dream, but luckily there are plenty of public pools in Tampa Bay where children and adults alike can swim.

(From left) Isabella Short 9, Kaydee Zechariah 5, and Isabella Rodriguez 7, learn how to kick paddle while Mayor Jane Castor looks on during the The World's Largest Swimming Lesson at the Sulphur Springs Pool in Tampa, Florida on Thursday, June 20, 2019. [OCTAVIO JONES | Times]
[MICHELE MILLER | Times (2018)]
[Times (2017)] Jordan Chambers, 5 jumps into the arms of her martial arts teacher Jason Shoopak at Northwest Pool in St. Petersburg.

Related: Joe Henderson: Re-open community pools in West Tampa and Seminole Heights

22-month-old Savannah Jackson, left, laughs as she prepares to flip over during a swim lesson with certified infant swimming resource instructor Deirdre Semeyn, right, at the South Tampa Family YMCA. [JAMES BORCHUCK | Times (2014)]

For a list of aquatic centers near you check your city’s park and recreation web page. Tampa and St. Petersburg have quite a few facilities available for public swimming.

[Times (2015)]

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