According to every weather official in southeast Michigan, a real live Heat Wave is hitting us hard this week.
They may as well just say to hell with a forecast and flash a few giant words across the screen: "It's gonna be hot. Stay inside. Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, the heat be snatchin' errybody up this week."
Needless to say, I haven't been outside to run since the Escape to Belle Isle 10k on Saturday (and thank you, kindly, for all of the very lovely comments & congrats you left me!).
However, I did get outside yesterday to get my sweat on - while sitting wave poolside at the water park yesterday.
My 11-year-old nephew Zach (who I watch a few days a week in the summer) and I went to Red Oaks Water Park in Madison Heights, which is about a 35-drive from where I live. He'd been dying to go since the day school let out, so with the Heat Wave in effect, we headed out yesterday.
A few need-to-knows if you're in the Detroit area and want to head to the park one hot day:
- Entry fees are a bit pricy, IMO: weekday passes are $10 for Oakland county residents, $13 for non-residents. Weekend rates are $12/$16. Plan on staying for the day, though, and it's worth the money.
- Discounted tickets can be purchased in advance by visiting Oakland county recreation departments.
I totally saved money by doing this.Must remember to do this next time. - Park visitors can bring in their food and drinks. Concessions are available but can be costly like most concession stands are.
- Covered picnic tables, lounge chairs, and pool tubes are all available for free use. Get their early to snag a good spot and remember to bring towels!
Red Oaks has several attractions to keep everyone cool and occupied. The above photo is of the giant wave pool, with giant waves setting off every 20 minutes or so.
Visitors can also make a splash on the triple water slide or veg out in the lazy river. Kids can get drenched at the Soak Station water playground, and even the littlest toddlers can find fun at the Spray 'N Play splash pad.
Zach loves zooming from water feature to water feature, and I adore hanging out in the sun and taking the occasional dip in the wave pool or lazy river.
We stopped our day only to nom on some food from home.
A pizza Lunchable for Z:
And a chicken and cheese pita for me:
I also tested out another new drink, Zevia soda. Verdict: super tasty, and made with Stevia. Zero calories! Much better than the coconut water after Saturday's race.
We picked up a soda for Z at the concession stand (Another error on my part. Bring more drinks from home!)
And I did a whole lot of this:
We stayed at the park for nearly 4 hours before heading home just in time to beat the mid-afternoon summer storm that had quickly approached the area.
Since today's another hot one, we'll be camping out indoors for the beginning of a Harry Potter movie marathon by watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Yeah, I'm like 12 years behind in my HP movie watching, but since I'm reading the books, and Zach's read a few, we decided we'd see all of the previous movies at home this summer before ending our vacations with a trip to the theater to see the finale.
-How are you beating the heat this summer?
-Have you seen the latest HP movie yet? Did you likey?