Chill Out!

While some adventure seekers are heading to one of the high slide areas (right), you can just relax and float along in a virtual circle around the Schlitterbahn water park in Galveston.

At the time of this writing, a heat wave has settled across the northeastern United States like an unwanted house guest. No breeze. No cooling rain. And no sign of leaving.

Talk show hosts speak in awe of 80 degrees at 9 in the morning while New York neighborhood pools are staying open late to answer the demand, “right until dusk” they say. The chant from concerned news reports remind people to wear hats, lightweight clothing and “hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.”

In Texas, we just have to laugh. We know how to handle the heat.

We have our to-go cup holders for iced-tea in the car, and a wardrobe of T-shirts, hats and sunglasses within reach. Everyone swims after dark here (after all, it’s often still 80-something degrees), and we scoff at the lightweights complaining about 95.

But we have to admit it, an escape from the heat, would be nice. Packing up the family and heading for the mountains of Montana about now would be fine.

For most, that’s just not possible, so we complied a list of local or one-day escapes from the heat. There are some very “cool” things to do in and around Houston, some expected, some not so predictable.

Make a splash

For example, just off Interstate-45 North in Spring, families will find Splashtown, a water park of Texas proportions. Here, visitors will experience acres of water fun including tubing, water slides, wave pools and wading ponds. No one was left out in this design, there is something to entertain all members of the family. Expect to have fun, to come home exhausted and waterlogged and don’t forget sunscreen. Visit www.splashtownpark.com for more.

Cool museums

Museums are notoriously cold and there’s one north of Houston that lends new meaning to the word. It’s the National Museum of Funeral History beyond Airtex on Interstate-45. This cavernous space offers hours of interest. Learn about funerals of the famous, the death of popes and wander caskets from the centuries. The collection of hearses from history is worth the trip alone. While not recommended for the youngsters, teens are usually dying to see this museum, and it’s cold in there. Visit www.nmfh.org. And Houston’s Museum District is full of nice cool places to hang out. Most have special summer exhibits as well.

Showboating this summer

A cool evening of family fun can be had at the Showboat Drive-in in Hockley.

Here families enjoy the classic drive-in experience: a playground for the kids, open until dusk, and an evening’s entertainment. New technology allows for the sound to come through car radios so there is no need to tether to a pole, and there are two screens. Film-going families frequently bring lawn chairs and sit outside, making memories that will last a lifetime while enjoying the tepid evening air. Visit www.theshowboatdrivein.com for more.

Head West

To the west of Houston there are some interesting things to combat the climate. How can you beat a day in the heat at Seaworld in San Antonio? Giant water creatures delight onlookers with drenchings and live sharks will send a chill up anyone’s spine. But it’s the penguin exhibit that is the coolest. Here, the air temperature is 30 degrees, the water is 45 degrees and 6,000 pounds of snow falls a day. It’s beyond cool, it’s Arctic. See www.seaworld.com for more.

Just a few miles north of San Antonio, travelers will find Natural Bridge Caverns, a system of natural underground caves and rock formations deep beneath the ground. Families can hike through this wonder with its many mysterious shapes and gigantic underground caverns. This outing requires some physical activity, but if you’re worried about the heat, don’t. One-hundred feet beneath the earth’s surface it’s a cool 70 degrees year-round. Visit www.naturalbridgecaverns.com.

Be a beach bum in Galveston

South of Houston can be pretty cool too. Who doesn’t love a trip to Galveston and a dip in the surf? But for those wanting to escape the inevitable sandy bathing suit and sunburn, Galveston also offers Moody Gardens.

You’ve heard of it, but have you been there? Have you wandered through the blue water tanks in the aquarium or the climate-controlled, 10-story Rainforest pyramid? And did you know that Moody Gardens has not only a very cool 3-D Imax theater, but a 4-D theater? The latter offers 3-D plus smell and touch, including smoke, leg ticklers, seat buzzers and lightning? Pretty darned cool. Visit www.moodygardens.com for more.

Chilling out around Houston

Don’t have the time or the cash to leave Houston? You don’t have to.

Ikea Houston has a wonderful solution to a hot afternoon and a shortage of cold cash. This beautiful, recently remodeled store offers some of the best prices in town for home furnishing, and miles of aisles of fascinating Euro-retail. There’s also a cafe for relaxing, and a play area for the kids. Childcare attendants carefully watch the children in the air-conditioned “Smaland,” designed so that adults may leave for up to an hour while browsing the store. And there’s no cost... That is, unless you consider the purchase of that lamp you just had to have. See www.ikea.com for more.

An afternoon of meandering beneath the dense, cooling canopy of tall trees at the Houston Arboretum & Nature Center may be the perfect activity for a summer afternoon. With the temperature averaging nearly 10 degrees lower than the surrounding city, it’s really cool to see our landscape as it would occur naturally, before the introduction of pavement and parking meters. In fact, recent thermal imaging of Houston determined that the arboretum is the coolest place in the city ... literally.

Located on the edge of Memorial Park, this 155-acre urban nature sanctuary offers five miles of nature trails, including forests, ponds, and wetlands. The lush grounds are open daily and admission is free, but be sure and ware insect repellent and watch for alligators and snakes.

Alligators and snakes? Now, that’s cool! See www.houstonarboretum.org for more.