Earlier this summer, my friend Emily made a list. Her list included 54 activities, an optimistic attempt to squeeze the most sun out of summer, the most fun out of this three-month window.
She did not get to every item. But she made my summer look empty by comparison.
Emily caught lightning bugs (No. 4). She joined friends for a picnic in Central Park (No. 16). She tried her hand at trapeze (No. 20). She played basketball (No. 5), soccer (No. 45) and softball (No. 46).
The window is closing – not just on Emily, but on all of us. Summer is ready to close up shop, resigned to handing the keys over to its landlord, autumn. But before the window snaps shut, we thought it was high time for one last hurrah.
Here are six fun activities you can do before the temperature drops and the flip-flops enter hibernation.
Hit the water park.
Take a trip down to Hurricane Harbor (1 Six Flags Blvd., Jackson). Or out to Wildwater Kingdom (3830 Dorney Park Road, Dorney, Pa). Or up to Mountain Creek Waterpark (200 Route 94, Vernon). All three parks are open through Labor Day, although Hurricane Harbor is closed Thursday and Friday.
Or just run through your sprinklers.
Attend an outdoor concert.
Hurricane Irene scotched this weekend’s Rib Rock Festival, but Stevie Nicks performs Thursday at PNC Bank Arts Center and Sunday at Nikon at Jones Beach Theater.
If you can wait a few weeks, Union County’s Musicfest, Sept. 14-18, features Live’s Ed Kowalczyk, Collective Soul, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Blondie, the Smithereens and Southside Johnny.
If you can sneak out during the day, the Passaic County Concert Series wraps up at 2 p.m. on Sept. 15. The Silver Starlite Orchestra is scheduled to perform at the Garret Mountain Reservation boathouse.
Watch movies under the stars.
Fort Lee’s free "Movies & Music Under the Stars" program still has two more installments. "Mary Poppins" is scheduled for Saturday, and "The King’s Speech" will be shown the following weekend. Both films will be preceded by live music performances. The films usually begin around sunset at the Fort Lee Community Center (1355 Inwood Terrace, Fort Lee).
Or take a spin over the New York state line to the Warwick Drive-In (5 Warwick Turnpike, Warwick). The family-run theater (pictured) has three screens. Each screen offers two films a night. You can’t beat the price: $8 for adults, $5 for children.
Visit a farmers’ market.
Most towns in this area offer a farmers’ market of some kind. The Ramsey Farmers’ Market (Ramsey Train Station parking lot, Erie Plaza, Ramsey) is open on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. until Sept. 25, then from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Nov. 20.
A few other good ones:
The Tenafly Farmers’ Market (Tenafly Road and Washington Street, Tenafly), which offers everything from bok choy to coffee beans, runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday.
The Ringwood Farmers’ Market (Ringwood Park and Ride, Cannici Drive, Ringwood) is open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday.
Take advantage of a river.
Pocono Whitewater (1519 Route 903, Jim Thorpe, Pa.; poconowhitewater.com) offers one of the most interesting trips in the area, something the company calls "A Big Day Out."
An all-day event, the adventure includes three meals and a combination of biking, hiking and rafting. It costs $89.95 a person. The trip runs on Sept. 10 and 17 and Oct. 1, 8 and 15.
Sit outside, throw some meat on the grill, find a baseball game on the radio and laze by your pool.
Locations vary.
E-mail: kerwick@northjersey.com
