Get outta the fountain you clowns!

Get outta the fountain you clowns!
Originally uploaded by liz bernunz

I love Peninsula Rose Garden, in North Portland at Albina and Ainsworth. A funny aspect of the park is the fountain you are not supposed to swim in. There are small signs on the light posts around the fountain stating that you are not allowed to wade or swim in it, but as most of us know, people don't really read signs. And the signs are only in English. The smell of chlorine as you walk by the fountain signifies to me that the city knows people swim in it anyway, and they probably add chlorine to avoid any possible lawsuits or other disputes. What is amazing is the close proximity of an actual wading pool to this fountain, in the other part of the park, closer to the community center. I have been at the park and witnessed people getting kicked out of the fountain a couple times now. Every time I see people going in the fountain with their children and dogs, I think of all the things that could possibly be in that water and hope that the chlorine works! Ew!