Heat, summer returns with few complaints

CLEVELAND -- On the hottest day of the year in Cleveland, those who ventured outside to catch the Cleveland Browns scrimmage knew the game rules.

"Stay in the shade and drink plenty of water," said Maria Pettigrew, of Garfield Heights.

The heat did not keep thousands of Browns fans inside and the 93-degree day brought out a big crowd to Aurora.

"It's the hottest day of the year and the busiest day of the year," said Colleen Murphy, general manager of Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom. "We live for days like this."

Ngaire Umholtz kept two dozen fans running to keep her family cool Sunday.

"Don't need it this warm," Umholtz said. "You know, 80 degrees with low humidity and 55 at night is a perfect summer day for me."

Umholtz and her husband run Umholtz stable at Northfield Park. They care for 24 horses.

Every horse stall had a fan running Sunday and each horse gets plenty of fresh water, up to 15 gallons, electrolytes and extra attention when it's hot.

"You get up at this temperature and it just doesn't cool off at night," Umholtz said. "And the horses just stand in their stalls and sweat.

"The extra work, when it's hot is hauling water," Umholtz said. "But at least you don't have to bang the ice off the buckets."