Chill in.

Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard

When the going gets hot, as it did Monday, the hot get cool.

It's not easy when temperatures reach the mid-90s, as they did Monday in Eugene and Springfield, but it can be done.

So we went looking for ways to stay cool, without getting wet. We wanted to open doors and get hit with a refreshing blast of cold air. We wanted to feel air-conditioned breezes. We wanted gooseflesh on our forearms.

We started at Gateway Mall to check out its two theater complexes. Outside in the parking lot, our hand-held digital thermometer read 99 degrees at 1:45 p.m., plus or minus 4 degrees.

Officially, it got up to 96 degrees Monday at the Eugene Airport, according to the National Weather Service, and more hot weather is on the way. Highs are forecast to be in the upper 80s to low 90s today and Wednesday, and back up to the mid-90s Thursday before cooling to the low 80s on Friday, the weather service said.

Inside the mall it felt cool, but we wanted real cool, so we headed for the Cinemark theaters, where we found Kerry Burgott, 17, and three friends waiting in line to see "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

"We were bored and hot," Burgott said. "It's like the only thing to do in Eugene."

In the lobby, we chatted with two friendly managers, who told us we needed to call "corporate" in Plano, Texas, to find out how cool it was in the Springfield theater.

So we headed down to the Movies 12, where the manager helpfully offered to call corporate and get authorization to talk to us. Alas, we never heard back from him.

So we decided to look for other cool climes, and where better than The Cooler, a barnlike sports bar tucked behind the Coburg Road Goodwill building.

It was dark and cool inside, and the barkeep, Julie Wirth, was friendly and refilled our Diet Cokes. She told us the thermostat was set for 76, but it was really cooler than that. She said she actually had to turn off the air conditioning because some customers were complaining that it was too cold.

"I don't want to be sweating," she said. "That's why I'm inside."

Refreshed, we headed for the University of Oregon, where we hoped to soak up some culture, and keep cool at the same time, at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. We forgot it was closed Mondays, so we changed course and headed for the Knight Library.

That felt positively cavelike, and it was heartening to see those hard-working UO students filling their brains with knowledge. Librarian Heather Ward said it actually gets too cool for comfort.

"It's freezing in here," she said. "We keep sweaters at our desk."

Outside on the quad, it was warm, but a nice breeze cooled us off as we walked under the towering shade trees.

Next stop: the Ice Center at the Lane County fairgrounds. Why hadn't we thought of this earlier? They re-opened July 11 after some annual maintenance, and about 15 skaters were making turns on the rink Monday afternoon, some bundled in sweat shirts and jackets.

"It's a good way to cool down, that's for sure," said Marvin Hoover, the rink's Zamboni driver. His instant-read laser thermometer showed the temperature on the ice to be a downright frigid 26 degrees.

Skaters Lauren Morgan and Scott Lee don't have air conditioning at home, so `(we) decided to come down and cool off,' Morgan said. "Today was so hot we didn't have a choice."

Shelly Gruver of Corvallis was hosting a birthday party on ice for her daughter, Micki, 9, and five of her friends.

"All of her friends have had swimming parties, and we thought it would be something fun and different," Gruver said.

At Jerry's Home Improvement Center we found someone who wasn't just enjoying the air conditioning there, she wanted to take it home with her.

Lisa Floyd bought an air conditioner for the house she shares with her parents and brother in Veneta. Floyd said they've lived for a while without air conditioning, but "I just couldn't stand it anymore."

Finally, we swung by the Coburg Road Albertsons and headed straight for the walk-in beer cooler.

Unfortunately, they don't have tables inside, but we encountered Rob Floyd of Eugene, his cousin and a friend, who were picking out a six-pack of microbrew after a hot, three-hour drive down Interstate 5.

"This is the spot to be in," he said. "This feels really good. We're going to take our time."

Ilene Aleshire contributed to this report.

CAPTION(S):

Samantha Parra, 9, with friend Micki Gruver, makes a chilly landing at the Ice Center.