By: Anita Winter

Annapolis, Md., is known for being America's sailing capitol. During the 1700s Annapolis was an active seaport with ships sailing in to trade from all over the world. Today, you can take long walks along the waterfront and enjoy many more attractions, such as the Naval Academy and St. John's College, which are located in the historic district. Annapolis also lies within the humid subtropical climate zone, which allows for considerably hot summers and cool winters.

For all the outdoor summer activities that you could enjoy, having your own swimming pool during those hot summer months is at the top of the list for most families. There is nothing better than having an outdoor area that fulfills the need of having to go and spend extra money on something you can enjoy in your own backyard.

For one family living in Annapolis, building an outdoor pool area was a way to bring a family closer together. What was even more apparent to the owner was the need to provide proper shading not just for obvious shading purposes but inside the pool as well. This led our home owner to purchase this 9 fiberglass market umbrella made with durable Sunbrella fabric.

"We wanted a quality Sunbrella fabric umbrella with a high degree of resistance to wind damage". He made the right choice. Our fiberglass umbrellas are very conducive in high wind areas because they are flexible and made of a non-corrosive material. Like the material put into fishing poles and boats, these fiberglass umbrellas bend and give in heavy wind situations.

One evening, our home owner's fiberglass umbrella was put to the test. "We had a pretty severe storm recently that toppled some large trees nearby. I'd estimate the winds were at least 40 miles per hour. We'd forgotten to close the umbrella, but once the storm started we didn't want to take the chance of going outside and getting hit by lightning, so we left the umbrella up. We watched the umbrella swap and flex in the heavy winds, just as it should. The umbrella survived with no damage!" When you can actually see how strong and resilient these fiberglass umbrellas are, you become proud of your purchase and feel confident to recommend it to others.

This particular umbrella was made with Tuscan Sunbrella fabric and a black frame. "Our pool is saltwater, so we needed a stainless steel mounting mechanism to have the umbrella mounted in the pool. We purchased the stainless steel pieces from Umbrella Source. In fact, it was a web search for the stainless steel hardware that ultimately led me to Umbrella Source," he said. "The combination of color choices in the Sunbrella fabric, along with the choices in hardware color and configuration also helped make it an easy choice".

Choosing Sunbrella fabric is the wisest decision anyone can make. You not only get oodles of color options but you are given a 10 year warranty against fading, mold and mildew on awning grade fabrics. Another benefit of Sunbrella that you may not know about is its ability to filter out the suns harsh rays. In fact, The Skin Cancer Foundation gave its Seal of Recommendation to this fabric for its ability to block out considerable amounts of harmful UV rays. With all the worries of skin cancer, it's good to know there are products available to give you peace of mind.

This home owner was so pleased with his pool umbrella that he decided to purchase another for his pool deck. "It's nice to call a reputable source and have a custom umbrella made to order, vs. depending on what happens to be in stock year over year at the local department store. We plan to purchase a third one next year, for another area of our house." If you are looking for quality made products, custom is really the only way to go. For this home owner, he wanted the best investment for his family, and he found it at Umbrella Source.