July 17, 2009
flickr photo by paulotavio
Well, LilSis, the horse races sound like a lot of fun. Unless of course, you're here in Texas where it's AFRICA HOT! We have horse races here too, but there's no ding dang way I'm going to the track when it's 104 degrees like it has been this week. Sure, you can watch the horses from the air-conditioned indoor area, but where's the fun in that? I like to be down on the rail where you can feel the dirt flying and hear the horses breathing.
Surely, surely, there is no-sweat summer fun to be had in Texas (and other sizzling places) that won't involve a call to the paramedics and a trip to the hospital for heat stroke! Surely! You can only sit in the house playing Wii and watching the “Real Housewives of New Jersey” for so long.
Here's what I came up with. If you have other ideas, please share them! We're desperate out here, folks!
- Check out one of the blockbuster summer movies.
- Hang out at the pool IN the water, not just near it.
- Spend the day at a water park. Don't forget the sunscreen!
- Go to the mall and shop the summer sales. Don't go in any store that has winter clothes displayed already!
- Investigate your local museums – besides art, you may have a science and history museum or something else interesting that you never think of visiting.
- Whip out the Slip N Slide.
- Play in the sprinkler – do kids even do that any more?
- Make homemade ice cream. We used to love homemade banana and homemade coke ice cream. And vanilla, of course, with chocolate syrup.
- If your car has working a/c, drive to Starbuck's and get a frappucino.
- Go to a restaurant where you aren't sad to not be dining al fresco. Have a cold beer or an iced tea with a cool salad, and some sherbet.
- Visit the library…you remember the library, right? That's what we had before Barnes & Noble and Amazon hit the scene.
- Shop at the farmer's market for all of the season's bounty…but go early, early, early before it gets hot, hot, hot!
- Make a big bowl of guacamole and eat it with the crispiest chips you can find and the iciest margarita you can blend up.
- Watch movies with lots of snow. How about “Snow Dogs”?
- Get a frosty fruit smoothie for breakfast from your local smoothie shop. What the heck; have one for lunch!
That's it for me. If you've got a cool idea, let me know. We're melting out here!
~BigSis- Leave a Comment (12)
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July 17, 20098:41 am
Okay now I must have guac. And yeah the sprinkler thing…my kids have no idea! We’ve always had a pool but now in Oregon we don’t. I might have to let them have some sprinkler fun.
July 17, 20099:09 am
considering that i tend to break a sweat moving from the couch to the bathroom, i’m all about doing things indoors. don’t get me wrong, i like being outside too, but only when other people are as sweaty as me. 🙂
great suggestions, and hooray for ice cream.
July 17, 200910:30 am
I’m such a wimp now that I’ve lived in California for 7 years. We think it’s blazing hot when it’s 85! Of course, we don’t run our A/C because California electricity ain’t cheap! You could seriously have an electric bill as high as your mortgage payment if you ran it every day like we used to in Texas.
We just grin and bear it. Or go to the beach! 🙂
July 17, 20095:30 pm
Hey Noble Pig, those sprinkler days were so much fun. I can still remember how the water smelled. I bet your kids would love it, maybe in kind of a retro way!
July 17, 20095:30 pm
Hi Grace, you’re so funny! Hope you’re having a good summer! Indoors or out!
July 17, 20095:34 pm
Hidey ho, LilSis. I WISH we had a beach to go to when it’s 105! Oh, we have beaches in Texas, but I wouldn’t call them beautiful (sorry) and it would be at least 5 hours to get to one. We make the best of it though!
July 19, 20092:48 am
“make homemade ice cream” is my favorite on this list!
July 19, 20096:56 am
Hi Glenda,
You can’t go wrong with homemade ice cream, can you? Have a good summer!
July 19, 20091:37 pm
The problem with Texas beaches is that unless you live near the coast, it’s a 4 or 5 hour drive to get to one! We have lots of lakes, though. Then again, I’d rather hang out at Borders. Fuzz and I have been spending lots of time at bookstores.
July 19, 20092:08 pm
Hey Anna! You have a super-nice lake in your area. I agree about the Texas beaches. Once you make that long drive, it’s not that big of a deal. Not like the pretty beaches in other places. There’s no place like a cool bookstore on a hot muggy day! I almost went to Barnes & Noble today, but I knew I’d spend too much money! I hope you’re having a good summer!
July 19, 20098:54 pm
I can remember it taking something like 12 hours to get to South Padre from Dallas…we could have driven to Destin, Florida in the same amount of time. I think the lakes are the way to go in Texas. I LOVE Lake Travis!
July 20, 20094:35 pm
Exactly, LilSis. And once you get to Padre…brown water, brown sand, not my idea of a pretty beach. I’ve never been to Destin but the pictures I’ve seen of it look nice. Texas lakes freak me out a little…too murky! I’m always afraid of what might be lurking under there, like a 600 pound catfish! Not like Lake Skaneatles where you can see the bottom of the lake through the crystal clear water.