Attention: Texas summers feel like a sauna and a furnace had a baby swaddled in thermal blankets 😑 No more playing Russian Roulette for shade! Between suffocating temps and dodging tiny flying vampires (mosquitoes), I have come up with a list to keep my wits and my cool this year.

My equation is simple:

Free A/C + Low Stakes Entertainment = Sanity Saving Fun

Although we’ve been keeping busy, my brain short circuits anytime I get asked what we’ve been up to all summer (I blame the heat 😒) For my own sake I figured it best to write out our adventures in case anyone else wants to boycott this weather. 

Here are five places saving my life (and my electricity bill) this season:

1. DFW Car & Toy Museum

If you’ve ever driven past that building with a yellow Mini Cooper parked in the tree branches and wondered what was inside—you’re in for a treat. It’s over 150,000 sq. ft. of wall-to-wall vintage cars and retro toys. And the best part? Entry is completely FREE.

You’re welcome.

2. Fort Worth Library Chess Club

I know, I know—I shouldn’t use libraries just for their deliciously cold air… and I don’t.

I brought the kiddos in for the weekly chess club and they actually had a blast (pun intended lol). Learning strategy, keeping quiet, and freezing A/C? Automatic bonus points.

3. Target Toy Aisle “Window Shopping”

Every time we run into Target, the kiddos beg to peruse the toy aisle. Instead of doing my usual sprint through the store, I decided to make “dream shopping” the actual destination.

They get to build their ultimate wishlists, we soak up precious A/C, and I gain 20 minutes of peace before the dreaded heat-wave scurry back to the car.

*Mommy Hack: I use this at Walmart, 5 Below, The Mall—anywhere with toys. 

4. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing

More money, more problems? Not at the BEP.

We enjoyed a completely problem-free afternoon watching how actual US currency gets made. The kids were taken in by the massive printing machines and high-security features, and I was mesmerized by the aggressive, industrial-grade climate control.

Win-win.

5. Apple Camp

Apple is brilliant, and Apple Camp proves it.

The kiddos spent a couple of hours in-store learning how to design superheroes on iPads—completely for free. The best part? Because Apple has to keep hundreds of high-powered computers from overheating, the store’s A/C is maintained at near-arctic levels. Pure genius.

Hopefully this list proves helpful in adding free A/C friendly escapes during this Texas triple digit heat. At least now if someone says to “Chill out” we all know a few places to do just that 😏

Thanks for reading!