Natural Perspectives:This is a good place to stay cool

As temperatures soared this past weekend, Vic and I tried to think about pleasant things, like how good it is to live in Huntington Beach. It was hot here, but it was even hotter elsewhere ? 103 degrees in Yorba Linda, 108 in Riverside and 122 in Indio.

We have much for which to be grateful. Most of the year there is no need for air conditioning in Huntington Beach because we benefit from nature’s big natural air conditioner ? the Pacific Ocean. The farther inland one travels, the less effect the ocean has and the hotter it gets. We’ll bet that most people in town are like us ? they have no air conditioner. Using an air conditioner can more than double a household electric bill. Think of all the electricity that people save by getting by with only fans.

I grew up in Indianapolis, where summers were cloyingly hot and humid. During the early part of the 1950s, our family of four lived in a tiny, two-bedroom cinderblock house that my dad built. Summers were unbearably hot. On sizzling July and August weekends, my dad would buy a 50-pound block of ice, put it in a galvanized tub, and let a fan blow over it.

In 1954, we moved to a larger house built of stone. While the trees that my dad planted were still too small to cast much shade, the house heated up like a brick pizza oven. In the evenings, my family gathered in the living room to watch Westinghouse Theater. When Betty Furness swung open the doors of those big refrigerators and freezers, you could just feel the cold air whoosh out. Sitting outside on the patio in the evening brought no relief, because in those days mosquitoes swarmed us the instant we stepped outside.

Vic grew up in Redwood City, Calif., where daily fog kept summers downright chilly. We can consult him if we need to know how to stay warm in summer.

Vic and I cooled off on Saturday by taking an afternoon stroll under the pine trees in Central Park. Cool ocean breezes swept past us, making us forget the heat wave. Some afternoons we go to the beach, using our annual beach parking pass. If it gets unbearably hot at home, I sit and read in the beautiful air-conditioned library by any one of the soothing and cooling water features inside.

This really is a fabulous time and place to be alive. We have a huge Central Park in our city with four separate lakes. We have wonderfully shady Shipley Nature Center that is open six days a week, Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Friends of Shipley Nature Center have summer hours of 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursdays for pleasant evening strolls under oaks and sycamores. Something is always in bloom, and there are always interesting birds, butterflies and other critters to enjoy.

Some days we have breakfast or lunch at Alice’s Breakfast in the Park by Huntington Lake or the Park Bench by Talbert Lake. We enjoy seeing ducks on the ponds at Carr Park at Springdale and Heil, and at Greer Park just southwest of Goldenwest Street and McFadden. We can take a morning hike at Bolsa Chica along the Mesa Trail or look for stingrays off the boardwalk. Soon the loop trail will reopen and we’ll be able to see the tides flow back and forth through the newly restored wetland.

Summer entertainment for us includes late Sunday afternoon concerts in Central Park. We had a delightful time this past Sunday, picnicking on the lawn north of the library and listening to the Los Angeles Police Department Swing Band.

Some Sundays we pack an elaborate repast, but this time we just got some chicken to go. We met Margaret and Dave Carlberg; Jennifer and Jim Robins; Shirley and Bob Dettloff; Christy and Steve Hess; and Olga and Al Wrobel at the park. We spread our blanket and set up our collapsible camp chairs with drink holders. We even put up folding footstools to maximize our comfort while listening to “Georgia on my Mind” and other old favorites from the big band era. A relaxed crowd of about 1,000 people were scattered over the lawn, tapping their toes to the music. Some even danced.

This was the fourth concert in a 10-concert series. Keep your Sundays at 5 p.m. open the next few weeks so you can enjoy relaxing to big band sounds in the park.

One key to staying cool at home is to plant shade trees. They not only cast cooling shadows on your house, they take up carbon dioxide and combat global warming. If you don’t have room for any more trees, donate to the Huntington Beach Tree Society. Jean Nagy and her crew of volunteers are doing a heroic job of planting thousands of trees in our area.

Drink plenty of water on these hot days. Trees, fans and water are all good ways to stay cool without using air conditioning. But be sure that you do stay cool, because heat can kill.