A trip to take a friend and our three kids swimming last weekend turned into an hour-long journey from …well, you get the point.

I was excited to introduce her to one of my favorite East Bay kid-friendly swim spots, the toddler pool at Cal High in San Ramon.

I love the gradual beach entry to the tot pool (left) and am in awe of the designer who thought up cool features like huge mushrooms sprouting gentle rains and buckets that randomly fill and spill upon unsuspecting swimmers.

But that outing was not to be. A broken water main had lifeguards turning us away before we even parked — not a good feeling when you’ve got three kids all suited up and clamoring for some hot summertime fun.

The pool staffers got points, though, for thinking fast. They handed us a photocopied map to the Dougherty Valley Aquatic Center just a short drive away, near Venture High School up in the eastern hills.

I love spending the summer with the kids in the water. So far this season we’ve been to Lake Del Valle, Alameda Beach and the Pleasanton Aquatic Center on Black Avenue. For indoor fun, check out the Silliman Aquatic Center in Newark. And for a real lake feel, Temescal in Berkeley is a gem.

I was excited to check out yet another swim spot. After parking on the wrong side of the huge complex and having to walk a ways to the entrance, we had hope. We verified with the staff that there was a toddler area (our kids are 4, 5 & 6) and paid the fee — at $10 for two kids and one adult a little pricier than your average public swimming hold.

After a sunscreen and potty stop, we were finally ready to take the plunge and were happy to see through the fence that there was a similar beach style-play-structure-in-water design as the San Ramon pool!

But we were stopped cold at the gate. “Toddler pool at capacity” was the reason. Uhhhh, well, that would have been nice information for the front desk to share with us, given that we ASKED about a toddler pool, but nevermind. We decided to wait.

It looked like the wait wouldn’t be long but then we were informed that our swim bags were not allowed inside the pool area. This was a little much. Anyone who goes to a pool with kids brings snacks and water and other junk in a bag. Hello!! You’re in the hot sun doing physical stuff. Kids need snacks and water. Arggggh.

The guard said we could leave our stuff on the deck outside the toddler pool, but the thought of having to come out of the pool to get something (and leave our kids unsupervised???) was aggravating. Plus, what if the pool was at capacity?? Would we not be allowed back in?

We left, quite unhappily I must say, and were given “rain checks.” No refunds. Of course! Why would we get a break.

The policy regarding bags makes no sense, and I haven’t encountered that at any other pool. Not very kid friendly for sure.

With an hour invested, we couldn’t give up, even though all mayhem was breaking out in the back seat. We went with a sure thing, the Dublin Swim Center next to Village High.

This spot doesn’t have the fancy amenities. No raining ’shrooms or dumping buckets or beach entry. But it does have a very shallow narrow water alley leading to the baby pool that the kids for some reason think is the coolest thing in the world. It had a grassy spot for our chairs, and we didn’t have to leave our bags at the door.