Welcome to our DC Heat Survival Guide! If you’ve been keeping up with D.C.’s weather superheroes, the Capital Weather Gang, you know that this weekend is going to be rough. Very rough. Dangerously rough. Try not to go outside at all because “extreme heat is the deadliest form of extreme weather in the United States” rough.
To help you make it through a weekend of 95+ degree days, we pulled together this little guide that is full of ways to beat the heat. From pool schedules to ice cream recommendations to bars that don’t have patios, here is everything you need to have a fun weekend without suffering through the heat.
But before we dive into all of that goodness, let’s not forget how seriously dangerous heat can be to the elderly, people working outside, children and people without homes. Here is a link to hypothermia / hyperthermia guide from D.C.’s Department of Human Services. Cooling centers and shelters will be open this weekend (and location information is included in the link above). Check up on your neighbors. Be kind to each other.
With that being said, here’s all the fun stuff:
DC Pool Guide
From what to watch before you head out, what to listen to while you’re submerged, what to read when you’re drying out, what to do while you’re in the water, what to wear for all water-related activities and where to actually find water, we have you covered. There are also great indoor pools in D.C. if that’s more your thing! Jump in, the water’s fine! And don’t forget, select D.C. pools will be open until 9 p.m. this weekend. Our guide has been updated to reflect the new hours.
La Croix / Sparking Water Taste Test
The BYT staff blind taste test 51 different La Croix’s, sparkling waters and club sodas. Everyone drank the bubbles. Everyone felt the bubbles.
La Croix is having a moment. Why? It’s been around for decades. Flavored sparkling water is not new or different than it was years ago. But its presence is spreading. Rather than try to rationalize the rise of flavored bubbles, we decided to rank everything we could find on Whole Foods, Safeway and Trader Joe shelves.
Basement Bars of the District
There are some people who want to spend the evening outdoors, on an elegant patio, or a lofty rooftop, under fairy lights or strung-up bulbs, to drink and socialize al fresco, with a rosé in one hand, a cigarette in the other, the breeze in their hair, and the setting sun on their face, chatting madly about their weekend trips to wineries in Virginia.
Not me.
Low Calorie Ice Cream Taste Test
Eat ice cream! Or try to stick to your diet and eat almost ice cream!
We taste tested all of the Breyer’s, Enlightened, Halo Top, Open Nature, Simple Truth, Slim Twin we could find at Harris Teeter, Safeway and Whole Foods. We had five ice cream eaters blind sample whatever they could stomach.
Murder Mysteries to Binge Watch
Staying inside and watching TV is always a good idea. Fun fact: for the fifth year running our Murder Mysteries to Binge Watch NOW was the #1 clicked story on BYT. And no wonder. Some of the best shows on TV are mysteries and your Netflix/Amazon Prime /Hulu/ Acorn / MhZ Choice / Masterpiece / HBO GO / ETC recommendations/queues are BRIMMING with murder, mayhem, AND amazing accents solving those murders and mayhem.
Margarita Mix Taste Test
It’s seasonally appropriate to drink margaritas. Before you purchase a few liters of sugary, limey liquid, you may want to know what our expert drinkers think. Nine BYT staffers, as young as 21, as old as almost 40, tasted eleven of the most available mixes.
Yaaaass Beach! At Jack Rose
The upstairs of Jack Rose is turning into a beach bar every Wednesday through summer. A chat with mixologist/bartender Andy Bixby about the beach-y drinks. Take a peek at some of BYT photographer Nicholas Karlin’s excellent photos of the cool drinks…
Trader Joe’s Rosé Taste Test
Summer in D.C. means it’s time to drink rosé. Drink it in bars, drink it in the ballpark, drink it on a blanket at an outdoor movie where you’re not supposed to drink it and, most importantly, drink it at home. But what kind of rosé should you drink? When everything is pink and you’re not sure why most every bottle is the name of a town in France, what should you buy?
Weekly Mini Movie Guide
Hide out from the heat in one of D.C.’s many (but not as many as there used to be) movies theaters. Here’s where you can read what we thought of the film you’re about the see.
