Finding a place to swim is one of the challenges of summertime in Dallas. We haven’t got a Barton Springs Pool like Austin or rivers cold and wide like in the Hill Country and South Texas. We are so far from any beach.

We do have public pools though. The pool at Kidd Springs park was closed two years ago because of budget cuts, but it is open this summer.

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So when I heard that the Kidd Springs Park pool would be open from 5-8 p.m. Sunday for adults only, I thought that was really good news. Children are great. I like them, but I don’t always want them in my pool.

It was hot Sunday, high of 101. But my pal Erica and I decided to ride bikes over to adult swim at Kidd Springs from her house near W.E. Greiner Exploratory Arts Academy. It’s only about a mile and a half.

The Kidd Springs park pool at 5 p.m. Sunday.

As we approached the park, we noticed the pool was virtually empty. Awesome. Erica turned to me with a big grin and said, “We should make a Facebook invitation and get all our friends to come out next time.” Then she pointed to nearby picnic tables. “And we can cookout too!” Yes, adult swim at Kidd Springs Park could become a thing, I agreed. It only costs $3, and you can bring in food. Alas, our hopes for starting the new Cliffster craze were dashed when we approached the cashier.

Erica forgot to bring her ID card. “It’s 18 and up only. I can’t let you in without ID,” the cashier told us. “I have to do everyone the same way.” He wouldn’t let us in. We pleaded. “We’re on our bikes,” Erica told him. “I’m so hot and tired, there’s no way I can ride all the way home right now. Please.”

But no. He would not let us in. It doesn’t matter if you’re 80 or 18, you have to have ID to get into adult-only swim at Kidd Springs Park, according to this guy, the one on the right, wearing flip flops with socks. His name is Dwight.

So I started to get hyper with Dwight. I argued. I almost lost my temper: “You have been very unpleasant. Thanks a lot for letting us use our pool that we pay for.”

We sat on a bench outside the pool, resting for our ride back. I was mad as a wet hen. Then I realized: This is the perfect example of why Dallas is not cool. It’s what’s wrong with city government and every bureaucracy. A pool cashier apparently doesn’t think he has the authority to allow a 29-year-old woman to swim without ID. Weak sauce. Dallas is lame, again.

The pleading about being too hot to ride was real. Erica couldn’t make it all the way up the hill on Canty to Tyler. She was starting to become confused. She wasn’t sweating. So we started walking, and then we decided to stop.

Yes, she’s young and beautiful. And she turns 30 on Sept. 16.

Luckily, it’s Oak Cliff, and people will help you here. So this guy, Matt from Oak Cliff Bicycle Co., came to our rescue. He picked us up with our bikes and gave us a ride back to Erica’s.

Once we cooled off and drank some water, we decided to go to East Dallas and the Fraternal Order of Eagles pool. It costs $7 to get in there, $4 more than the pool that rebuffed us. The cashier fitted us with “Over 21” wristbands without asking for ID.

Later, I overheard Erica telling her mom the story about Kidd Springs pool. And I could hear her mom on the other end of the phone: “Well, you should’ve had your ID, then.”