Weekend 3 way: hot stuff

Summer is officially here -- the kids are out of school (sorry, Jacquie), Memorial day is a distant memory, and the summer solstice has passed, which means the days are already getting shorter (but we won't dwell on that just yet).

Summer means swimsuits and sand and sunsets and sangria, and well, sweating, sometimes.

So when the temperature rises, what are your favorite ways to beat the heat? And if you can illustrate your methods via photo, all the better.

Ellie:
I love the heat. So instead of trying to beat it, I embrace it. Summer is such a fleeting blink-of-an-eye season in these parts, it would be downright silly to try to wish it away. Plus I believe one can complain about either the cold or the heat, but not both. I choose to complain about the cold.

That said, there is nothing, nothing like a bike ride or Westy ride down to Ocean Beach, 2 miles away, on a hot sultry summer afternoon and a dive right into the water. Ahhhhh. Then there is nothing like sitting on a beach chair and opening the cooler to see what it brings. Beers? Chardonnay? Vodka and ruby-red-grapefruit?

Ahhhhhhh.

Beth:
I love the photo, Ellie! And I agree with you, who the hell wants to beat the heat? Not me, well very rarely anyway. (So why did I pose the question? A lack of imagination, that's why!) It has not yet even begun to get too hot in these parts. In fact this morning is gray and cool.

But I love summer. I can't wait for it to heat up. My very favorite thing about summer is when it's so warm that you can stay outside in your tank top at night. Sadly, that's only about a week or two around here, but I eagerly anticipate it every year.

If it does somehow get too hot to handle, I too, love to go to the beach, Ocean Beach (west), or otherwise. That ocean breeze takes the temp down at least 10 degrees, although I'm such a wimp that actually going into the ocean is reserved for child rescues and bladder emergencies.

And a cooler of cold, cold beers always helps (most everything, really). And if all else fails, I can sneak away into the evil air conditioning of my bedroom, which my husband insists on having, and which I relentlessly bitch about, except, of course, if I'm too hot. And I am hot.

Jacquie:

As Beth said, it really hasn't gotten hot yet around here. These are the days that give San Diego its reputation for having the perfect climate, it's lovely and sunny and comfortably warm. I do not like those fleeting weeks Beth speaks of, those too hot to sleep (if your room is not air conditioned) nights. I like this. By the time my kids do get out of school, it will be time to beat the heat. I live by the fans, either on the ceiling or pointing at my face. I firmly believe that hydration keeps me cool, so I like to have plenty of cold beer on hand. And I keep as much of my body submerged as possible, we spend most summer days in the water either at the beach or a pool. It's mostly about the beer, though.

Ellie again:
Beer? Did somebody say something about a cooler of beer? Here you go, girls. Have one on me.