CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - Friday's record temperatures hurt some outdoor businesses, but brought droves of visitors to indoor attractions.
At Ray's Splash Planet in uptown Charlotte, attendance was higher than usual, as families chose to stay out of the heat and take advantage of the indoor water park.
Maya Alexander came to Ray's with a group of children from Beyond the Walls Ministry in Clover, SC. She described the weather outdoors.
"Hot, muggy, sticky, and hard to breath," said Alexander. "It's too hot for anybody to be outside."
Many others chose the indoor pool instead of braving the heat and scorching sun.
While the high temperatures helped indoor attractions like Ray's, they hurt many outdoor hangouts, including golf courses.
At the Charles Sifford Public Golf Course off Remount Road, business was down about 75 percent. A staff member said he had seen just fifteen people before noon, when there are usually closer to 60 golfers on the course by that time.
The heat didn't stop a pair of brothers from working on their game.
15-year-old Michael Byrnes and his nine-year-old brother Joseph braved the record temps and walked the nine-hole course. They stuck to the shade as much as possible and drank plenty of water. They also made sure to start early, around 10 am.
"Not as many people are as crazy as we are," said Michael Byrnes.
"The heat is just in the way," said Robert Garris with the Sifford course. "Right now, what've we got...four cars in the parking lot including yours? So it really hinders folks from coming out. They don't want to pass out."
Even young Joseph Byrnes had his doubts at times.
"During half of the course I was like, Michael, uh, did we do the right thing?" said Joseph.
Still, they toughed it out and said they would do it again.
Record temperatures are expected to continue through the weekend and even into the Independence Day holiday.
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