Milwaukee will be under another heat advisory this coming week. Forecasters predict a high of 98 degrees on Monday and 100 degrees Tuesday.
Sure, there are things you can do to avoid being scorched, like running cold water on the inside of your wrist. Apparently, your wrist is a quick-cooling spot because your blood vessels are close to the surface of your skin and will cool your body temperature when it's in contact with cold water. (Thanks, Mom!) So, yeah. Just sit there. With cold water on your wrist. Watching the day wane. That sounds pretty lame to me!
I guess you could also sit in front of a fan all day long. Maybe work on your Darth Vader impression by talking into the whirling blades. "Luke, I am your father!" Even the geeky side of me doesn't find that remotely amusing.
Just because it's obscenely hot outside doesn't mean you have to stay indoors without having any fun. To prove this theory, I've compiled a list of 15 things you can do to stay cool during a hot spell this summer in Milwaukee. Oh, and you're welcome.
1. Take a dip in one of Milwaukee County’s pools. Pool and splash pad hours have been extended this week to offer relief from the blazing heat. The Journal Sentinel has a complete list of locations and times.
2. Procure a bowl of healthy-ish fro-yo at (insert any one of the many frozen yogurt shops to recently open in Milwaukee here).
3. Sip on a refreshing island drink while basking in the shaded comfort of your cabana on Bradford Beach. So you don't get caught in the blistering sun, you can actually reserve your cabana online by heading over here.
4. Get off the shore and out on the refreshing water. Jet ski rentals are available all summer via Hands-On Science, located south of Bradford Beach and north of McKinley Marina. It costs $45 to rent one for a half-hour. Instructions, fuel, life jackets and wetsuits are provided.
5. Stop in for happy hour at Barnacle Bud's. A bucket of cold ones on the river should do the trick!
6. Cool off with a scoop (or two) of Milwaukee's very own Purple Door ice cream found within Clock Shadow Creamery. You can also bring home a pint of your favorite flavor from Beans & Barley, Outpost Natural Foods, Riverwest Co-op, Whole Foods and select Sendik's locations.
7. Screw the outdoors altogether and instead check out Posters of Paris on display within the air-conditioned Milwaukee Art Museum.
8. Hide out in the historic Miller Caves on State Street in Miller Valley. At 60 feet below ground level, the Caves are where beer was stored back in the mid 1800s to keep it cool prior to distribution. These natural refrigerators are probably the perfect place to escape the scorching temps.
9. Sit back and enjoy the breeze off Lake Michigan from the deck of a Catalina 34-foot sailing yacht operated by Sea Dog Sailing and departing from Milwaukee's lakefront at the McKinley Marina.
10. Ride along the lazy river at Schulz Aquatic Center and "accidentally" fall out of your inner tube.
11. Knock back some ice-cold microbrews from Milwaukee Ale house, Lakefront Brewery and Rock Bottom while coasting down the Milwaukee River during a guided brewery tour. Once your drunk sweats begins to accumulate, you won't even realize your body is melting!
12. Play a session of Bingo at Potawatomi and, maybe, win enough money to buy a plane ticket to Australia (FYI: It's winter there).
13. Kayak or canoe by way of Milwaukee's Urban Water Trail, a 35-mile "liquid parkway" that runs through the urban portions of the city's three rivers: Milwaukee, Menomonee and Kinnickinnic. Laacke and Joys offers kayak and canoe rentals and you can put them right in the water on the river. The Urban Ecology Center also has kayaks and canoes available for use to their members.
14. Rent a pair of ice skates and do a couple loops around the Pettit National Ice Center's 400-meter indoor skating oval. You actually might have to don a knit hat.
15. Suck down a custard shake at North Point Custard on Milwaukee’s lakefront. The brain freeze you’ll surely get you thinking chilly thoughts.
Original photo from Flickr.com (Creative Commons) by Purple Slog
love this list. so much that i might hang it on my fridge.
the petit in the summer is one of the best kept secrets. the rink feels so nice when it's 100 degrees out.
Posted by: sara | July 18, 2012 at 05:31 PM
Wow, that's quite the compliment. Glad to hear it! I must admit, I had to rack my brain to come up with some of these.
Posted by: BTBMKE | July 19, 2012 at 11:47 AM