"I love summer. You live in New England, you got to take what you can get," said Candy Caisse, of Granby.
Caisse says she's enjoying the heat wave. She and her whole family came out to the Farmington River for a couple hours of tubing on Thursday.
"It's hot and humid here, and it's going to be nice to jump in that cold water, and just float away," said Caisse.
Soaring temperatures brought another large group to the water, and they were eager to go for a swim.
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"We got a good crew today," said Colleen Boothroyd of Haddam. "We got about fifteen kids, well, including the moms."
Staff members say they took extra precautions while working on the hottest day so far this year.
"I bring a ton of waters to stay hydrated. This is my third summer here, I really enjoy the job, I love being outside," said Andrew Cappabianca.
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Manager Jeremy Harraden says he is relieved to see nice weather as it has been a difficult three years for the business. Just last year, heavy rain caused the river levels to rise, making it too dangerous for tubing.
"At 1000 cubic feet per second we'll stop operating. That's when the water will come out of the natural flowing course and start going through the trees," said Harraden.
As a result, Farmington River Tubing was closed for most of July and August last year. Harraden says it costs about $100,000 to run the business in the summer.
But he's hoping the weather this year keeps his business of nearly 40 years afloat.
"They're starting to trickle in. This hot weather drives them to the river. It's a great way to come and cool off," said Harraden.
Farmington River Tubing is open seven days a week at 11 a.m. It takes about 2 to 2.5 hours to float down the whole river. The last group can go out at 5 p.m.
