Thursday's temperature reached 95 degrees in the late afternoon — tying with July 4 as the hottest day of the year — but John Lonnemann, 5, wasn't about to let the heat keep him away from the Reds game.

        To his mind, you just don't miss your day-care field trip.

Elephants cool down with a spray of water at the Cincinnati Zoo./ (Ernest Coleman photo) | ZOOM |

        The Goshen boy and 19 of his friends from Childrens World Learning Center in Milford waited on the Cinergy Field Plaza for the nine adults among them to lead them inside the stadium.

        So what would John do to keep cool on such a hot day? “Take a drink,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders and a roll of his eyes.

        John's mother, Jahazia Lonnemann, a chaperone for the group, said they didn't consider keeping the youngsters home despite heat and smog alerts issued by the Cincinnati Health Department.

        Wide-brimmed straw hats, T-shirts with rolled-up sleeves and plenty of water were popular ways to cope with the heat for those going to the 12:35 p.m. game against the Dodgers. While the air temperature reached 95, with the dew point factored in it felt like 98-100 degrees.

        Earl Krumdieck, 75, who showed up at the game with two of his buddies, said he was a die-hard fan willing to brave the heat, but admitted that, “I'm liable to get up about the second or third inning and say "good-bye.”'

        The Mount Airy resident wore a long-sleeve shirt and long pants to protect himself from the sun.

        At the Cincinnati Zoo, the animals were kept cool by a variety of measures. For example, the four elephants got a good hosing down in a 60,000 gallon pool of cold water.

        Polar bears got “fishcicles”— blocks of ice with fish in them — while orangutans and chimpanzees got frozen Gatorade treats.

        The gorillas sucked on blocks of ice filled with fruits and vegetables while sitting under a misting device if they so chose.

        “All animals around the park have some refuge from the heat,” said zoo spokesperson Chad Yelton. “Whether it's a cool den, a cool pool, or a shade tree, there's some way they can find to beat the heat.”

        As for their visitors, the zoo provides two huge misting tents as well as several misting fans for relief.

        “The way this heat is, the misting tents and fans have become one of our biggest attractions,” Mr. Yelton said.

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