With local temps flaming above 100, and predicted to punish similarly until Sunday, Baltimore Fishbowl contributors got together to swap high-heat survival strategies. Here’s what our literally fevered brains came up with, and please share your own stay-cool tips below!
“Staying in bed all day, computer on lap. Naked. [Plus extra-large headphones.]” –Arlo Shakur
“Tomorrow is my wife’s birthday–we will be wandering around the artificially cool BMA, which is better than a movie because it’s free and you can stay longer.” –Robert O’Brien
“If you can’t beat the heat, just embrace it. Hang your laundry outside to dry, build a sauna out of sticks and Saran Wrap, and fry eggs on the sidewalk. Or alternately, do not, under any circumstances, leave the pool.” –Marta Randall
“Our whole neighborhood treats the pool on Wyndhurst like a communal dining room: Breakfast, lunch, cocktails, and dinner are served out of the kitchens of Evergreen and Roland Park and onto the umbrella tables. I think Papa John and Mt. Washington Pizza run dedicated delivery cars. We all just live there, and go home after dark, straggling down the street in our wet towels.” –Marion Winik
“I LOVE this heat. It keeps reminding me I’m not in England anymore!” –Mikita Brottman
“I’m a fan of taking my dog to any of the swimming holes in Patapsco State Park. There’s ample tree cover, so you’re not on the water in direct sunlight like you would be in a pool.” –Sara Lynn Michener
“I took the kids to the Gunpowder [Falls State Park]–a secret little spot where we like to dangle our toes, and drift on tubes. The air feels so much cooler under the tree canopy!” –Elizabeth Frederick
“I spray Solarcaine on my sunburned shoulders and chill out reading fiction or Googling celebrity nonsense, very close to the AC unit.” –Betsy Boyd
“At least today I don’t feel guilty about both cranking the AC and letting the kids watch TV. We are going nowhere. I did take them to get frozen yogurt for lunch–yes, that was our lunch.” –Susan Dunn
“I don’t have AC, so I spend a lot of time telling myself that not having it has helped me adjust to the heat. Also, dotting peppermint essential oil on my wrists/neck seems to help. Also, fleeing to the frigid Barnes & Noble in Charles Village, and staking out a seat for as long as possible.” –Rachel Monroe
