Cloudy Day at the Beach / Keeping Cool
Cloudy Day at the Beach
The first two days that we spent at Cocoa Beach last week were cloudy days. Overcast and gray all day. Not much sun. Even some rain in the afternoons.
But that was okay. Because of the clouds, it wasn’t nearly as hot out. I know you want it to be hot at the beach, but sometimes the heat can be almost oppressive. So these cooler days were a nice break. And also because of the clouds, we didn’t have to worry quite as much about getting burned by the intense Florida sun. Which was especially better for the one of us who is more fair skinned and burns more quickly. Which would be me. Apparently, I was well named.
And besides, after those two cloudy days, we had bright sun for the remainder of our stay!
Photo location: Lori Wilson Park, Cocoa Beach, Florida
A three-exposure (-2, 0, +2) HDR tonemapped in Photomatix, edited in GIMP
Keeping Cool
I don’t know about where you live, but around here where we live, it’s hot. Not warm. Hot. Now I’m still quite firmly a summer kind of guy. And I would much rather have this excessive heat than the cold of winter. So I’m not complaining at all. Just stating the facts.
But if you are one of those who can’t seem to stand the heat, here are a few tips on how to stay cool on these hot days.
- Carry a fan. Of course, on these hot days those little battery-operated handheld fans you can get just won’t do it. So I suggest a big box fan. You will need a long extension cord if you plan to do any walking or stray very far from your house, so be careful that you don’t trip over it.
- Hire a fan carrier. If carrying around that big fan isn’t for you, you could always hire someone to carry it for you. How they keep cool is your problem. You aren’t paying them for that.
- Paint yourself bright white to reflect the sunlight. Dark colors absorb the heat, just making you hotter. Who needs that?
- Wear sunglasses. Because sunglasses always make you look cool. And looking cool is the first step to being cool. But if you wear sunglasses at night, be sure to watch out for walls and other things you might run into. That isn’t cool.
- Keep ice in your clothes. Ice will make you cooler. Of course, it will melt, making your clothes all wet. But wet clothes will probably still make you feel cooler.
- If you don’t want wet clothes, get some of those freezer packs that people use in their coolers and put those in your clothes instead. Sure, they will give you a bit of a lumpy look. But maybe no one will notice if you have your cool sunglasses on.
- Climb in the ice cream freezer at Baskin Robbins. It’s probably best to do this with a friend who can act as a distraction while you are in the freezer. Of course, you will do the same for your friend when it’s his turn, right?
- Carry around a big pitcher of water to pour on your head every few minutes. Unfortunately, the wet head is dead. Again, sunglasses.
- Move to Antarctica. If all else fails, a change of climate is in order. Might as well make it a drastic one. Just don’t expect me to come visit you there. I’ll be right here where it is still nice and hot.
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. - Genesis 8:22
