The Locals' Ultimate One-day Beat-the-heat NYC Trip!

Inside, not outside, is where you want you and your family to be during these hot summer days in New York City. Yes, you could trek to the floating pool or find an open fire hydrant, but this year, summer is long on days and things to do with them. Why not beat the heat as a tourist in your own city? Plan a day-long New York family adventure from one cool indoor spot to the next. What's not to like: You get them out of the house, the kids have a good time, and everyone stays cool!

Beat the morning heat

If you have toddlers or small children, when's the last time you' went to the Toys "R" Us in Times Square? Let the kids have a whirl or two on the Ferris wheel or make themselves at home for a while inside the 4,000-square-foot Barbie dollhouse. Hey! It's the world's largest Toys "R" Us, so you know the place will score with your older children, too.

Open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day except Fridays and Saturdays, when it opens at 9:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., respectively, getting to the store when it opens means not only beating the morning heat, but also the crowds.

Once Toys "R" Us is played out, mosey down the street for a favorite treat: ice cream. In Times Square, the local Cold Stone Creamery shop is plopped between Chevys Fresh Mex and Regal Cinemas at 253 W. 42^nd St. It's cool inside not only because of the temperature, but also because the kids have over 11 million ways to customize their ice cream treats.

High time to high-tail it at high noon

It's the middle of the day and no time to be traveling too far outside, since the sun rays are now projecting from high in the sky. But right next door to Cold Stone, inside at Regal Cinemas, the movie projector is playing a movie the whole family can see.

It's still lunch hours at Chevys Fresh Mex, after seeing a movie, and you know your family is ready for lunch. So walk 10 paces back to the other side of the border'"of Cold Stone Creamery'"and let the cold air inside wrap you up for another hour or so.

Let not the sun set on you

Come 4 or 5 o'clock in the evening, the summer sun is only beginning to make its way toward the sunset, so until then you still need a couple more places to duck inside out of the heat. Both Daffy and Donald Duck are waiting at The Disney Store. Located at 1540 Broadway, you again won't have far to walk in the heat before you're inside and in the cool air.

Back out on the street, the air is hot, but the alleys are cool at Bowlmor Lanes Its NYC-themed alleys will strike the kids' funny bone, and with another hour or two to spare, it's a cool place to finish the day.

T. H. Pankey is a NYC adventurer. With so much happening in NYC, and a predisposition toward being involved with good things, his experiences in the city have been as far-flung as simply riding the subway just to see new areas to dining in one of the city's finest restaurants in the heart of the city.