Summer officially arrives at 6:09 p.m.
For the third day in a row the steamy weather has sent people flocking to area beaches in search of some relief.
"Sitting in the water, laying in the water. Not just your feet," said Antonio Rice.
Plenty of people at North Avenue Beach had the same idea: alternately seeking relief in the water or under any shade they could find.
"The wind going through my hair, whatever is left anyway, it feels great. In a little bit I'll go in the water," said Manny Soriano.
Then there were the hard core runners and cyclists who weren't willing to let the heat and humidity get in the way of their workout.
"I'm feeling terrible actually, but I'm stopping as often as I can, sweating it out," said Ted Ganschiff, runner. "To some extent the sun feels good. And I mean it. We live through such hard winters here this actually feels good as bad as it feels, if that makes sense."
And while some play in the heat, others see it as a business opportunity. Derek Webb has been selling up to three times as many water bottles at this wicker park intersection as he usually does.
"The last few days I've been selling 60-68 bottles of water. That's good money," said Webb. "The heat is good. As long as it stays 80 and 90, it's good for me."
Also benefiting are cooling specialists. With residents running their air conditioners on overtime, repairmen are swamped, struggling to get from one call to another.
"It's been long days, long hours. I start at 7a.m. and get home at 10 or 11. It's expected for this time of year," said Randy Szymanek, Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning.
If you're having trouble with your air conditioning, Szymanek suggests you clean the blower, check the filters and refridgerant levels. Those are most often the cause of people's troubles, he says.
