JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – With temperatures topping 90 degrees Thursday and the Fourth of July weekend expected to push into the mid-90s, Jacksonville residents are looking for ways to stay cool and keep kids entertained.<\/p>\n
Some parents are turning to local splash pads to beat the heat. Jacksonville resident Summer Fredrick said she heard about the spot from others in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people who have been stationed here have told me about the place, so I decided to come out and give it a shot,\u201d Fredrick said.<\/p>\n
Tiffany Edwards, a chaperone with Excel Camp, said the group typically keeps kids indoors during extreme heat \u2014 but made an exception Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the summer starts, we go through and do field trips each week so they\u2019re not stuck in a building \u2014 we go to the splash pad, the park, and we went to the marine museum last week,\u201d Edwards said.<\/p>\n
Others are turning to cold snacks to cope with the heat. Clint Hatcher, owner of Pelican\u2019s SnoBalls, said the combination of high temperatures and the holiday weekend is expected to boost business.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, the rain, the cloudy days, and the cold are our enemies. But with the heat and the holiday weekend, we expect business to increase,\u201d Hatcher said.<\/p>\n