If you can’t tell it, we’ve been waiting for this. Happy heat wave, Capitol Hill:

This year it will be very easy to note the start of summer in western Washington—it will be Tuesday, July 7th (sic). We are just about to make the big summer transition and the change will startle you….somewhat like a meteorological slap to the face.

Does it start Tuesday or Wednesday, Cliff? No matter. You’re excited too. Here are some details and lists to keep you happy during the upcoming warm days, too. Any tips we missed? Add a comment.

• Wading pools and water features: Parks cut-backs have hobbled the city’s wading pool system but Capitol Hill still has valuable assets to deploy when its rugrats begin to overheat. The grandaddy of Hill wading pools is fully operational. The Volunteer Park pool is open daily from noon to 8 PM through September 6. Cal Anderson’s pool is on a more limited schedule operating from noon to 6:45 PM on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only. And don’t forget about the Miller Community Center fountain. It operates daily between 11 AM and 8 PM through October 15.

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• Ice cream, etc.: In the olden tymes, CHS had to cobble together a ragtag list of places you could score ice cream as part of the business’s side trade. Now there’s an army of Hill purveyors like Molly Moon’s, Old School Frozen Yogurt Custard and Blue Bird who make frozen treats their primary mission. Times change.
• Madison Park Beach: The Capitol Hill hipster’s Caribbean.
• Swimming on Broadway: Yeah, it’s a tease, but it’s true. For $199 — or whatever their current nightly rate is — you could be in a swimming pool at the corner of Broadway and Madison. More entertainment: Sit in dark, cool place and scour Google Earth for backyard pools on the Hill.
• Crowd-sourced bars on the Hill with A/C: CHS likes to sweat for the first few days. But, eventually, we need relief. Here’s a list of 10+ on the Hill with a flow of cool air. If you walk there, you offset the whole environment thing, we’re sure. But you can also ask about whether the establishment is utilizing a heat pump if you’d like to be conscious about the environment while you’re keeping cool.
• Outdoor seating: We defy you to find the Capitol Hill bar or restaurant that has not yet applied for an outdoor seating area. Here’s a search of our coverage of recent food and drink patio news.
• Hyperlocal weather report: Want to know what the temperature is on Capitol Hill, not at the airport or downtown or wherever Steve Pool is keeping his thermometer these days? We feature this Volunteer Park weather station in our homepage sidebar.