Swimming in LA...and a few other places

I posted this in the Southern Pacific LMCS section down below, but either no one on this forum swims in LA, or no one checks those discussions. Anyways, is anyone around here familiar with swimming in Los Angeles? I'll be there next week for work and staying downtown. I found a YMCA near my hotel (Sheraton Downtown- Hope St) but am not sure if it is ok to walk there from my hotel, if they still have a masters team, etc. I won't have a car so likely won't make it out of downtown so if anyone has any advice on swimming there, please let me know!!! Other places I'm looking for a master's team... White Plains, NY- A few days in April/May Honolulu- mid-May Austin- late-May (Memorial day weekend) San Diego- late-May/early-June Houston- not sure exactly when Philadelphia- mid-June I'm traveling for work for three weeks in May and I can't wait!!! I've already researched teams in these areas, but any advice would be greatly appreciated!!! I'd love to meet some of you while I'm on the road! I swim at the downtown YMCA (Ketchum) quite often when I travel to LA as we stay downtown for meetings. It is a nice pool, I believe 5 lanes 25 yards. The only recommendation I can tell you is to get there early if possible. The lanes can fill up pretty quickly with floaters, if you are swimming before they get there, they don't bother you. It is really the only place to swim if you are downtown without driving at least 20-30 minutes. No real organized program there though, so bring your own workouts. In Houston, check out The Houstonian, it is near the Galleria www.houstonianclub.com/.../AquaticsClassSchedule.shtml. Somewhat pricy for a guest fee, but awesome pool and facilities. 25MX25Y and beautiful set up. Also check out http://www.h2oustonswims.org/ Emmitt Hines runs a god program and they workout close to downtown at Lamar High School (at least they used to). In Austin, if you swim anywhere, go to Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center. Home of our esteemed Ande Rasmussen. Not a better place in the country to swim, and hopefully you get to see some of the best swimmers in the world working out if Eddie and company are there. It can be a bit difficult for guests to get in there. Contact Ande, he might be able to pull some strings. UT is located right near downtown Austin.

I posted this in the Southern Pacific LMCS section down below, but either no one on this forum swims in LA, or no one checks those discussions. Anyways, is anyone around here familiar with swimming in Los Angeles? I'll be there next week for work and staying downtown. I found a YMCA near my hotel (Sheraton Downtown- Hope St) but am not sure if it is ok to walk there from my hotel, if they still have a masters team, etc. I won't have a car so likely won't make it out of downtown so if anyone has any advice on swimming there, please let me know!!! Other places I'm looking for a master's team... White Plains, NY- A few days in April/May Honolulu- mid-May Austin- late-May (Memorial day weekend) San Diego- late-May/early-June Houston- not sure exactly when Philadelphia- mid-June I'm traveling for work for three weeks in May and I can't wait!!! I've already researched teams in these areas, but any advice would be greatly appreciated!!! I'd love to meet some of you while I'm on the road! I swim at the downtown YMCA (Ketchum) quite often when I travel to LA as we stay downtown for meetings. It is a nice pool, I believe 5 lanes 25 yards. The only recommendation I can tell you is to get there early if possible. The lanes can fill up pretty quickly with floaters, if you are swimming before they get there, they don't bother you. It is really the only place to swim if you are downtown without driving at least 20-30 minutes. No real organized program there though, so bring your own workouts. In Houston, check out The Houstonian, it is near the Galleria www.houstonianclub.com/.../AquaticsClassSchedule.shtml. Somewhat pricy for a guest fee, but awesome pool and facilities. 25MX25Y and beautiful set up. Also check out http://www.h2oustonswims.org/ Emmitt Hines runs a god program and they workout close to downtown at Lamar High School (at least they used to). In Austin, if you swim anywhere, go to Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swim Center. Home of our esteemed Ande Rasmussen. Not a better place in the country to swim, and hopefully you get to see some of the best swimmers in the world working out if Eddie and company are there. It can be a bit difficult for guests to get in there. Contact Ande, he might be able to pull some strings. UT is located right near downtown Austin.