For some, Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start of summer. There were some schools whose semesters end very close to Memorial Day. Most people were just happy to have a three-day weekend, particularly as late spring is when the weather is often optimal. Which is why so many public pools become open on this weekend.
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Being a polar bear, Polly was particularly adapted to spending a lot of time in the water. Actually, as the weather was getting warmer, she was probably going to spend a lot of time swimming in order to cool off. The Ice Haus is a particularly good place to chill when the heat was getting unbearable. But Polly also liked to stretch out at the swimming pool. And since she was double-dosed, she could now stay in the pool during adult swim. Which often meant floating on the surface like a big, curvy iceberg.
Polly was almost dozing when she felt someone swimming underneath of her. She rolled and put her feet on the pool floor to face the swimmer. The swimmer soon surfaced, revealing herself to be a dog Animalian. Particularly one of the thinner sighthounds. She had her hair bound up in a ponytail, showing that she had been human before converting. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," said the dog Animalian.
"It's ok," said Polly, "I don't think I've seen you around here before."
"Well, I converted a month ago," said the dog Animalian, "My name's Louise, I'm one of Layla's friends."
"I think I might have heard of you," said Polly, "Mostly that you and others came to see Layla and one of you became a horse."
"That would be Mary," said Louise, "She went back to Iowa, though I hope we'll meet up again this weekend."
"So you became a greyhound?" asked Polly.
"Actually, I'm a whippet," said Louise, "It's a smaller breed, but they're very fast. They're my favorite dog breed."
"So did you sign up for the IAC?" asked Polly.
"Unfortunately, no," said Louise, "I didn't covert early enough. But I'll be rooting for the greyhounds."
"Is there a lot of difference between greyhounds and whippets?" asked Polly.
"Mostly size," said Louise, "Also, greyhounds tend to be more sensitive."
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The pools weren't the only places making big splashes. Late spring/early summer is the best time to be going to the seashore. And it wasn't just the island-based Animalian colonies that were enjoying a boost in tourism. There was a section of Venice Beach in San Francisco where some old building were demolished in order to make room for more Animalian-scaled buildings. The section, now being called Animalia Beach, has been completed and aquatic Animalians have been moving in. There was a bit of debate of whether this would count as a colony or merely a district for Animalians. There were 'woke' commenters online who were saying this was more like a ghetto. The response to that was an amusing rap video by Animalians to show off their new territory and neighborhood.
But there were still plenty of people going to Animalia's island colonies, especially Mieni Atoll and Ao Guang Island. It wasn't just for the beaches. There were plenty of IAC events going on, including a modeling competition on Mieni Atoll. Also, there were plenty of rumors that some certain serpentine newlyweds will be going to those two islands for their honeymoon, though who's going where has yet to be revealed.