Okay, it's too hot for this early in the summer... the ocean is still so cold for swimming! ... but there are plenty of other ways to cope with the heat.

If you're downtown, you can look for an ice-cream cart in the park outside Hemenway's, or watch for it at Waterfire and other events -- and try the brand-new Rhode Ilin Ice Cream, made with local ingredients. Watch for lots of fruit flavors as the local berry harvest starts.

Another local favorite is GaGa's SherBetter, a sherbet/ice cream hybrid sold by a Warwick-based company. The stuff isn't made in R.I., but it's all-natural, and has won awards for its lemon flavor. SherBetter provides the richness of premium ice creams with way less fat. A brand-new flavor just out is Rainbow. You can find it at Dave's markets, Whole Foods, Shaw's, and lots more. Click here for more info including a listing of stores.

And there are plenty of other local ice cream shops worth a visit. Gray's, in Bristol and Tiverton, is a great one. Click here for more ice-cream greatest-hits from an article in last summer's Rhode Island Monthly. 

Relief is on the way, according to Susan Genett's Daily Bay Forecast, with lower temps and humidity in the works for Wednesday and Thursday, with plenty of sunshine. Click here for the details!