Gurus it is hotter than Hades out there right now; how are you going to stay centered and stay cool? Well, I have a plan for you. I was in the East Bay the other day with one of my girlfriends that I hadn't seen in a while. We were overheating in the 100+ degree weather at the pool, so I suggested we go to Downtown Pleasant Hill Shopping Center and see if there were some spots to cool our core.

We were in luck, Downtown Pleasant Hill was only a hop, skip, and a jump away. So we set out for a cool escape. Upon arrival, I realized my toes needed some lovin’ after just getting back from a 6 hour drive and walking around the Disney Parks; so TJ Salon and Nail Spa was our first stop. I do not remember much from this visit due to the fact the foot massage was so good I fell asleep and awoke to beautiful toes once again. The staff was very accommodating and friendly. My friend was also very pleased with her experience but we were both in agreement that we were not ready to emerge back into the heat quite yet.

We did not make it too far before ducking into Atlas and Athena to enjoy some nice refreshing air conditioning accompanied by the refreshing spirits of the people who worked there. The staff at Atlas and Athena is always very accommodating but not over bearing like in some stores where they constantly nag you to “try this on” and insist that “this would look perfect on you”. They even have a nice little seating area out front that is fenced off in the shade with a cute little garden atmosphere. We spent a lot of time and a decent amount of money here before moving on to out next adventure. **Bonus Tip: I also found out that my girlfriends and I can book a Girls Night Out there after hours and enjoy shopping in our own party environment. The store owners provide Vegan snacks and wine!

Three o’clock was approaching and you know what that means… Happy Hour! We were both yearning for a nice glass of wine or a nice cold one so we headed over to Jack’s Tap which is connected to Jack’s Restaurant and Bar (one of my favorite restaurants in the East Bay).

*As a side note, I highly recommend attending the Downtown Pleasant Hill Concerts and reserving a table outside at Jack’s. The concerts are held the 3rd Thursday of every month and are a BLAST! Sit at Jack’s and you will have a good view of the bands as well as the opportunity to snack and dance all night. *

Okay so back to how to stay cool at Downtown Pleasant Hill and Happy Hour! Grab a drink and maybe a little bite at Jack’s between 3:30pm and 6:30pm (your tummy, soul, and wallet will thank you). Also, Jack’s is great for breakfast and they have a 20% off coupon available on the Downtown Pleasant Hill website.

As we were about to call it a night and return home we saw a banner stating “Dinner and a Movie. $5 Off Dinner with the Purchase of a Movie Ticket” posted at Pasta Pomodoro. This sounded perfect and nothing sounded better than 2 hours of air conditioning and entertainment so we took a quick stroll over to Century 16 and bought 2 tickets to see a movie. Ahh, it felt fabulous. By the time the movie was over we needed a carb fix so we zipped back over to Pasta Pomodoro and indulged in some ravioli and delicious focaccia! We got our discount and, again, we were very pleased with the food as well as the service. We sat for a while and caught up before finally finishing our evening at Coco Swirl for a sweet and tangy cup of frozen yogurt. Feeling like kids again, we took our Fro Yo over to the fountain across from Jack’s and stuck our feet in the fountain. Not sure if management/security would have appreciated our little foot bath, but in the heat it just felt right. Well gurus until next time, stay centered and stay cool!