Hollister residents look locally to stay cool

During hot summer days, parents can often take their kids to the beach or a public swimming pool to stay cool.

Living in Hollister sometimes means taking a drive to do those things, but residents also look to a certain blue whale to keep their kids entertained.

It was a sweaty day in Hollister on Friday, and it is only going to get hotter. But thanks to the Wally Whale Junior water feature at Valley View Park, warm weather can be a little fun.

“It’s really good for the kids, they really have fun all the time,” said Ray Miranda, a Hollister resident who has a grandchild he takes to the park.

Residents say Wally Whale Junior is pretty much the only water activity in the city. With no public swimming pool in Hollister, families are left with a long drive out of town.

“We head on over to Gilroy Gardens. They have, of course, their stuff there. Or we head on over to Morgan Hill for their aquatic center. Or we end up going to San Jose,” said Martin Cisneros, a Hollister resident.

At Ohana on San Benito Street, shaved ice is the name of the game to cool you down.

“I like the Blue Hawaii a lot right now, it’s like a blueberry coconut. It’s really good,” said Trinity Mumm, a worker at Ohana Shave Ice.

Mumm, a San Benito High School junior, has worked at Ohana since last year. She says warm summer skies bring crowds missing the rest of the year.

“We’re slammed all the time, we’re always busy,” said Mumm.

They are getting ready for the hot weekend, staffing up, restocking and prepping syrups and ice.

“It’s the perfect way to cool down. It’s delicious,” said Raul Corpuz, a Hollister resident who frequents Ohana.

But there is only so much shaved ice you can scarf down and runs through Wally Whale Junior you can take.

“We love being out here out in the outskirts, but at the same time, we want the resources as well to bring our families out,” said Cisneros.

“We either come to a place like this one over here or we stay inside the house and turn the air conditioning on,” said Miranda.

A Hollister Parks and Recreation Department staffer told me over the phone, San Benito High School is almost done with its new swimming pool. They are hoping that pool can be opened to the public when it is done, but that is still in the works.