When the sun bakes the Texas landscape in the summertime, residents opting for the cooler indoors can get cabin fever just as badly as a climatologist working a months-long shift in Antarctica.

But when it comes to beating the heat naturally, be it down a 15-story drop on a roller coaster or a beneath a water attraction that's designed to make you all wet, God has blessed Texas -- particularly the San Antonio area.

From SeaWorld's interactive funhouse "Splash Attack" to Schlitterbahn's downhill water-slide racing to Six Flags Fiesta Texas' Superman Krypton Coaster, San Antonio offers a realm of adventurous thrills for residents and summer travelers alike.

SeaWorld Adventure Park
Billed as the world's largest marine life adventure park, SeaWorld actually is four parks highlighting shows, rides and slides, water and amazing animals.

"Viva!," a show featuring high divers, aerialists and synchronized swimmers performing with whales and dolphins against a backdrop of water, will debut in June at the White Whale and Dolphin Stadium. It will join a lineup of shows that includes: "Pet Tales," starring a cast of domestic animals, many of whom were rescued from animal

Riders of the Steel Eel at SeaWorld San Antonio experience periods of weightlessness as the hypercoaster races up and down camelback humps, from which the tallest drop is 150 feet. Photo courtesy of SeaWorld Inc.

shelters; "Shamu Visions," which uses a two-story video screen and TV cameras to show live interaction between killer whales and their trainers; "Fools with Tools," starring sea lions Clyde and Seamore, and "The Intensity Games," featuring daredevils on water skis.

The Steel Eel, the Southwest's first "hypercoaster," is back to entertain SeaWorld thrill seekers. An initial 15-story drop, speeds of nearly 65 mph, non-stop peaks and valleys and camelbacks all combine to create maximum "air time" or weightlessness -- the signature feature of a hypercoaster.

Splash Attack, part of an expansion at SeaWorld's Lost Lagoon water park, sports a three-story funhouse in which geysers, sprays, dumping buckets and spouts assure that you will get cool and wet.

Need a water ride to beat the heat? The Texas Splashdown sends you down a twisting, half-mile route that includes a plunge from five stories high.

At Lost Lagoon at SeaWorld San Antonio, ride the waves in the wave pool, slide down the water slides or get wet at the 3-story-tall "Splash Attack" fun house. Photo courtesy of SeaWorld Inc.

Rio Loco, indeed, is a crazy river -- your party of six in a circular raft will experience a series of dips and bends and a saturating waterfall.

In addition to "Viva!" and Splash Attack, new features at SeaWorld in 2001 include an expanded season. The park normally operates from early March until late October but is adding November weekends plus the day after Thanksgiving to its 2001 schedule. Anheuser-Busch's Clydesdales, meanwhile, will be featured in a newly constructed home near the front gate.

To learn more about SeaWorld and its numerous other offerings, as well as pricing information, call (800) 4ADVENTURE.

Schlitterbahn Waterpark
Schlitterbahn, the largest water park in Texas at 65 acres, is in New Braunfels between San Antonio and Austin. New Braunfels was founded by Germans and the park reflects that heritage by featuring a 60-foot-tall castle, which is a replica of the Bergfried Tower at the Solms Castle in Braunfels, Germany.

Continually expanded since its opening in 1979, Schlitterbahn ("slippery road") now boasts six themed areas with more than

The top of the Master Blaster® at Schlitterbahn Water Park, where riders experience a three-story drop aboard a two-person inflatable boat before being propelled by water jets up a 30-foot hill for another exciting plunge. Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resorts

40 rides and family activities, including nine tube chutes, 17 water slides, the Torrent Wave River, the Boogie Bahn surfing ride and a family wave pool.

The Master Blaster (R) uphill water coaster has been voted "America's Best Waterpark Ride" for three consecutive years by Amusement Today. It starts 60 feet in the air and sends two-rider boats through a coaster-style route of hills and valleys.

If a longer water ride is more up your tributary,

The Raging River Tube Chute takes riders from one end of the park to the other, all without leaving the water and the riders leaving their tubes. During this journey, riders are taken through an enormous "S" curve and gentle and turbulent rapids before an exciting downhill plunge into the Lagoon Pool. Photo courtesy of Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resorts

try the Raging River Tube Chute in the "Das Lagune" themed area. It takes 45 minutes to float the Chute through a mile of gentle curves, dips, swirls and white water.

Schlitterbahn caters to younger children in the Kinderlund area. There, six attractions include Hansel & Gretel's Great Forest, a water wonderland reminiscent of the classic German fairy tale and replete with a gingerbread house, Hansel's cage, the witch's cave and trees with mini-slides.

New to Schlitterbahn in 2001 is the Downhill Racer, a four-slide attraction that replaces the 18-year-old Schlittercoaster. It sends four guests, head-first, in a race against each other down four parallel slides.

New from Schlitterbahn for the state of Texas, meanwhile, is a second park to open early this summer in South Padre Island.

To learn more about Schlitterbahn, call (830) 625-235.

Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Cooling off in an old limestone quarry is the stuff of childhood adventure, so it's only fitting that Six Flags Fiesta Texas is centered in such a quarry, which is surrounded by 100-foot rock walls.

The park comprises five themed areas -- Crackaxle Canyon, Los Festivales, Spassburg, Rockville and the Boadwalk -- and each area features shows, attractions, food and rides related to its theme. There's also Armadillo Beach, where the Texas Tumble raft ride and The Gusher high-speed water slide are among the chief attractions.

The can't-miss ride at Fiesta is the Superman Krypton Coaster, now in its second year of operation. It is the largest steel and only

Scream! is a towering, free-fall thrill ride that catapults its riders up a 20-story tower before dropping them back down toward earth in a free fall. Part of the thrill is not knowing when and how many times a fall will occur. Photo by Steve Shelton/Excursia

floorless coaster in the Southwest. The "flying chair" ride takes you through six inversions, a 16-story hill and a 114-foot vertical loop at speeds reaching 70 mph. Other newer thrill rides at Fiesta and just as popular are Poltergeist, Boomerang and Scream.

One good way to cool yourself at Fiesta Texas is to take in a show at one of its indoor theaters, which helped the park garner Amusement Today's "Golden Ticket Award" for all-around best shows in 1999 and 2000.

New shows this year add an international flair to Fiesta's fare.

"Circo Magnifico," in the Zaragoza Theater, leaves watchers breathless with its daring acts of strength, balance and acrobatics. Also featured at the Zaragoza are the acrobatic acts of Imago and Trilogy. Imago is the Canadian duo of Darren Bersuk and Etienne Deneault, who demonstrate their circus artistry high above the audience's heads. Trilogy is a muscular trio of two men and a woman who are painted silver to resemble moving statues. They lift each other into nearly impossible positions, demonstrating great strength and technique.

"Carnival Internationa" in Sangerfest Halle, is a multicultural festival of music and dance that serenades you as you dine in either a Mardi Gras, Holiday or Fiesta Fun atmosphere.

"Teatro Fiesta," in the Teatro Fiesta hall, showcases some of the more talented multicultural performers in Texas. It includes the mariachi sounds of Los Caporales, the talents of Ronnie Garza and his Latin combo and the calypso strains of the Steel Drum Reggae Band.

For more information on Fiesta Texas Six Flags, call (210) 607-5050.