By Hally Joseph, staff writer
Summer is coming. Though it may not feel like it after this freakishly cold, wet spring, 100-degree days are right around the corner. Typically summer here starts in April and lasts through Halloween; it’s anyone’s bet if you’ll be wearing a coat over your costume come October. With a late start on those high temperatures, we may be wise to plan for the worst: strings of hazy summer days, sky-splitting thunderstorms and record-hitting temperatures paired with record-hitting air-conditioning bills.
For those of you who are experiencing your first summer in Georgia or perhaps need a refresher course, here is a quick survival guide for the coming months. Follow this advice and, cold beverage in hand, you’ll know every chaise lounge in the area.
Become fast friends with sunscreen.
Whether you think you’re spending the day outside or not, carrying sunscreen on you is as essential in summertime as Chapstick is in wintertime. You will always have that friend who chooses to sit on the restaurant patio regardless of the climbing temperatures, and you may find yourself baking in the sun for longer than intended. Come prepared and avoid the sunburn.
Cross your fingers for a friend with a pool or lake house.
I spent my childhood desperately hoping to have a friend with a swimming pool, the ultimate pawn in Georgian friendship. After a long day at the swimming pool, food tastes better and sleep comes more easily. Being able to duck under the surface of some cool water on a hot day is the perfect way to revel in summertime without getting burned out. No friends with pools? Try the public pool at Piedmont Park, which is open May 26 – Sept. 2. C’mon, it has a current channel/lazy river and a whirlpool.
Wear prints and invest in the perfect pair of flip-flops.
No matter how much you pray to your body not to, you’re going to sweat. When you wear a print or pattern, the damp patches on your clothing are less noticeable. Florals and plaids in bright colors already fit the season, but they also camouflage your sweaty discomfort in that horrible “family cookout picture” your aunt forces every year. Flip-flops, the shoe of the South, are a worthwhile investment. Skip the cheap plastic ones and find ones you can live in until the leaves turn orange.
Resort to reverse hibernation.
One day you’re going to walk outside and realize you can’t exist out there anymore. It doesn’t matter that you’re wearing the smallest amount of clothing societally acceptable, or that you just got your hair cut so it’s completely off your neck, or that you just drank a gallon of icy water. You will wade through the air, pushing the humidity aside like clouds of soggy wool. On days like this, take your summer adventuring indoors to movie theaters, the aquarium, bowling alleys or the comfort of your own home. If you feel you must read guilty pleasure books like “Fifty Shades of Gray,” today is the day to do so, preferably in front of a fan. Hollywood makes fun summer movies like “Star Trek” (May 17) and “Man of Steel” (June 14) for a reason: there’s air conditioning in there! And bubbly cold drinks!
On that note, choose your summer beverage.
If there was ever a time to add fruit to your alcoholic beverage, now is that time. Pop slices of lemon or orange into your beer for a zesty summer touch. Once I learned how to make white sangria, it became my go-to choice for a chilled, refreshing drink. Looking for something non-alcoholic? Mix sweet tea and lemonade together for a classic Arnold Palmer. Native Georgians own lots of ice trays: seize the day with some unique ones for backyard barbecues.
Your car is now a mobile oven.
This is not a piece of advice, but a statement of fact. After sitting in the sun for a couple hours, your car will become a convection oven meant to incinerate you. The black leather seats you’re so proud of in winter become conveyor belts of pain, branding your legs with white-hot heat as you sit down. The only perk is that your car will keep your dinner leftovers warm on the drive home, just in case your appetite has a second surge upon arriving. Expect to run the air conditioning full-blast until it returns to livable conditions, or roll the windows down and turn on the radio: there’s always a summertime hit that’s about to become your driving-in-a-hot-car theme.
