Mermaiding at the Bel Air Athletic Club

I got a free pass to the Bel Air Athletic Club, so I spent New Year's Eve there, as a mermaid. I originally went to test out my fancy new mask and snorkel set and waterproof phone case, (both of which work excellently, by the way).

  The club was excellent, and I had a whole lot of fun. Alas, I don't think we'll be joining right now, but I'll definitely consider it for the future. The indoor pools and surrounding areas were lovely, I had an awesome time. Unfortunately, I forgot it was NYE and thus the club closed early, so I didn't get to check out any other areas of the facility.

 It was also a great opportunity to socialize with some kids. I love entertaining them in character, and you can see how excited they get. It's adorable! I hung out with four of them for around two hours. I asked their parent's permission to take and upload the following photo. It was taken by another child, whose parents didn't want her picture online.

  It was fun, and there were some hilarious moments. My favourite was when I was in the larger lap pool, and the kids reaaally wanted me to come in the shallower wading pool. Luckily, it was deep enough at the deep end for a mermaid. On the other hand of that luck, I had no way of getting to it, as I'm completely immobile out of water. I explained to a lifeguard that I am a mermaid performer, and can't break character while there are kids around. He understood, and carried me to the other pool. He was really cool about it. As he was carrying me, he said "...Well, this is a first". It was hilarious!

The picture was taken by one of kids. 

 . My case worked so well! I love it, and the kids loved taking pictures, so I found that's a good way to engage them, and get some blog content, too. :) Of course, any photos with children are taken and uploaded with the parent's permission. Two little girls also braided my hair for me! :) 

  This was the encouragement I needed to finalize the fact that I absolutely want to do some professional mermaiding on the side of my other endeavors.  Specifically birthday parties, but I'll look more into that when it gets a little warmer. I know for certain that I'm eventually going to invest in a silicone mermaid tail, but I don't have an extra  $3k+ to spend right now. I'll start an online funding for that in the future. We'll see how that goes!

Until next time!