Jul

08

Well, it is official.  June 2010 was the hottest month on record for many cities in the US.  As I write this, we are in the midst of another stretch of stiffling and dangerous heat with the temperature forecast to hit the high 90’s for our town high in the usually cool Blue Ridge Mountains.  Crazy, is’t it?  After a winter that broke the records for snow and cold, we are at the other end of the spectrum.  If this keeps up, July and August will be like taking a trip to the underworld. 

What is a person to do?

Well, I have been thinking of ways to cool off and have come up with a list of 3 ways to attempt to enjoy (or at least survive) the heat.  Here goes:

  1.  Go Quickly to the Nearest Body of Water:  Even if it is your bathtub, there is always a way to immerse yourself in something wet.  Where I live, we are blessed with cool, mountain streams.  My favorite thing to do with friends is to take the Kelsyus River Rider Floating Tube to the river and get dropped off upstream.  Then, we all float to our favorite swimming hole where we make use of the built in cooler.  Most towns have a local pool where you can go and just float around in one of our many Pool Floats.  Go after work when the kids have worn themselves out and it is a little less chaotic. 
  2. Spray Yourself:  Everyone has a hose.  Take time out for an old fashioned family water fight.  Take turns passing the hose around so everyone has a chance to be sprayer and sprayee.  Purchase one of the garden sprayers that have multiple spray settings.  You can switch easily to the spray that is needed at the time; Jet Spray for long distance, Cone Spray full body coverage, etc.  If all that running around is not for you – then set up something like our Parachute Hammock, or any or our Hammocks & Hanging Chairs.  Next, attach the sprayer on Mist above you to a post or tree and then lay there in misted heaven.  One caveat:  Reading is not an option, books get soggy and Kindles tend to short circuit.
  3. Head for Air-Conditioning:  Go to a library, movie, restaurant, mall or anywhere that they tend to turn up the air conditioning to entice people in the door.  I have found convenience stores usually have the AC turned up to near freezer temperatures.  Get an Icee while you are there.  The only problem is that the seating in these places are usually not that comfortable.  Just take along one of our ultra portable chairs, find a corner and have a seat.  We carry an entire line of comfy chairs that fold down to the size of a laptop bag: Pico Compact Telescoping Arm Chair, The Larry Chair, and The HowdaSeat. Just ignore the people staring, they’re just jealous….