Summer is Slipping Away So Catch It While You Can

Summer is inimitable. It’s our time to be lazy when the most taxing activity might be deciding between reading or napping in a hammock while listening to the Beach Boys or Claude Debussy’s La Mer (the sea). It’s also the season for picnics in a park, sipping your morning coffee with the sun on your face (with sunscreen applied) and barbecues or al fresco dinners with a refreshing glass of a crisp sauvignon blanc or a pretty pink rose (good luck finding an imported one that’s affordable).

But be aware! It’s mid-summer already and the days are starting to slip by faster than a high-speed train. The good news is that for now, summer is still here and everything is blooming gorgeously. The heirloom tomatoes are big and juicy, there are succulent summer stone fruits galore, it’s hot and we’re sweaty. We jump in a pool or the ocean to cool off. We venture out to play pickleball or go kayaking, but before we know it, the temperature of the ocean or lake water is starting to get colder. Fall is sneaking around the corner.

Now is the time to figure out what you want to do in the few precious summer days ahead. Here’s our list of ideas: 

Weekend trip to the beach.  This might be your last chance to soak up the sun’s rays. Check into a hotel for a weekend and indulge. A bed you won’t have to make. Being doted on. Hang out at the beach or pool at least one last time with fresh towels at your disposal and perhaps a tropical drink with an umbrella. Even a single night can give you a chance to return home refreshed, ready to brave the colder weather ahead. And go to a beach you’ve never been to; we each have been compiling our lists. Ahhhh! 

Take a retail trip: Visit local shops and outdoor markets. Take advantage of final summer sales and stock up for next summer with tops, bathing suits and loose dresses and skirts. Find farmer’s markets and flower markets with their riot of parakeet feather colors. Check out the vegetable markets, so fragrant that the aromas compete with the blooms nearby. Now’s the season to get the best summer fruits and freshest herbs and veggies. Indulge. 

Road trip. It’s a wonderful American tradition that is much more affordable with gasoline prices down, and you will avoid crowded airports and train and bus stations. This is an opportunity to create your own schedule. Go at your own pace, take your own time and see all the sights along the way in a private way with no concerns that you’ll have to wear a mask to avoid catching an illness from other passengers. It’s a great way to have conversations with your car mates and bond. Just jump in and go and read our next blog for many more details and ideas. What a way to go!   

Outdoor dining. Try one of the many bistros that blossomed in your city, village or town. There’s nothing like it on a warm evening dining with good friends, family or just a date night with your significant other. Luxuriate in the warm air as you imbibe good wine and food. Make a reservation since outdoor spots get booked up quickly. 

Create your own backyard bistro. If you choose to entertain outside, you don’t want it to be too labor intensive. Baby, it’s hot outside. So,  barbecue or just assemble a simple salad the kind you don’t need a recipe for, ripping lettuce and herbs grown in your garden and dressing the leaves with salt, pepper, vinegar and olive oil. Maybe serve cold soup first in a cup (no silverware needed)—a chilled avocado or cucumber soup, or maybe a fruit soup (recipes abound) and have good bread. As friends arrive, hand each a flute of something cold and bubbly and keep open bottles in reach. Everyone sits where they want and conversations contract and expand continuously from two or three people talking intensely, to the entire group, and back again.  Dessert should be simple too, maybe a favorite ice cream flavor sandwiched between two homemade chocolate chip cookies or even easier a dish of shelled walnuts, juicy tangerines or navel oranges and simple butter cookies. If you have outside speakers, set the mood with some standard jazz playing in the background. 

Hone your photographic skills.  Snap pictures or make a video on your smartphone of the last weeks of summer. Use the editing tools to finetune images. Capture special summertime moments before they’re gone but can live in your digital photo album forever.  If you’re lucky enough to own a second home or head to a beach house via VRBO or Airbnb consider putting together a book of all your images as a great souvenir. 

Visit gorgeous gardens. Check out, “The 25 Gardens You Must See,”   featured in T: The New York Times Style Magazine, May 6, 2025, by Alexa Brazilian, Miranda Cooper, Clare Coulson, Clare Foster, Johanna Silver and Kendra Wilson. The 25 Essential Gardens to See in Your Lifetime - The New York Times. It’s a colorful piece.

Peel off the (clothing) layers: No heavy clothing or layers. Shorts and short-sleeves or loose skirts and comfortable dresses. Just bare bones in some cases or as little as possible to endure the heat and humidity. Don a bathing suit and walk down a boardwalk to the beach or through the sprinkler in the yard. No beach or pool nearby? Go down a slip and slide that will remind you of the summers of your youth. 

Birdwatching and long walks in nature. Be a bird detective, contribute to your good health and to wildlife conservation by doing some forest bathing. Wear good walking shoes. Bring your binoculars, compass, bug spray, long sleeves and pants, socks, flashlight and a hat. Look and listen for different bird species. This activity is known to boost your immune system and reduce stress. Don’t forget to snap photos on your smartphone to freeze fame what you spot. If you like to sketch, bring your charcoal pencils or pastels and some art paper. Find a bench and recreate what you’ve spotted. Or, if you like to paint, once home, pull out an image on your camera and try to recapture the colors of nature. 

Go to a state fair. Most states have them; it’s a terrific summer family activity for those of all ages. Sample fresh fruits especially in pies and cobblers. Eat your way through the day. Find the best ice cream or cotton candy, funnel cake, hot dogs and corn dogs and icy drinks to cool you off on a hot summer afternoon. Go on the rides. Attend some musical performances. This is another classic summertime activity. If you have a grandchild, take them along. 

Lay on the grass and watch the stars on a dark clear night. Bring a blanket and maybe some beer and snacks. And don’t forget your telescope or binoculars. But truth be told, the naked eye will suffice as well. See if you can identify the different star constellations. Make a game of it—“I spy...”. 

Make homemade lemonade or popsicles. Let your budding entreprenurial kids try to sell these summer treats. Proceeds, if not needed for a special purchase, can be donated to a favorite charity. Add baked goods for a more varied stand. 

Attend a free live concert. They pop up everywhere in the summer in local parks and the many outside concert venues. Bring a chair or blanket, maybe some food and drink, sit back or sing along at these rockin’ events, many of which have fireworks like the free New York Philharmonic concerts in four parks held every June or the free labor day concert in Forest Park performed by the St. Louis Symphony. 

Do some light summer reading. Sit by the pool under an umbrella and soak in some fiction (and sun) whether a romance, mystery or sci-fi/dystopian choice. Have a tall glass of iced tea, soda or beer by your side to keep you hydrated. Read a very different genre. 

Camping. If you’re into this, there are many offshoots of this activity, hiking, fishing, singalongs, obstacle courses and crafts, building a fire, floating down a lake on sun warmed innertubes and sitting around a campfire at night making and eating gooey s’mores. Setting up a tent and sleeping in it on a sleeping bag is a different nocturnal experience with nature’s sounds to lull you to slumber. Cooking s’mores outdoors never gets ho-hum in our book especially when the marshmallows get extra crispy and burned.

Attend an outdoor sporting event such as tennis, baseball or pickleball. Maybe it’s your grandchild’s team. Enjoy talking to people in the stands. Cheer for your favorite players. Relax. Hit a few balls yourself. Bring a few items to beat the summer heat such as a hat and some cold drinks. Don’t forget the sunscreen. Slather it on.

Exercise outdoors. Many outdoor fitness parks customize workout routines in the summer. You don’t have to be a super athlete—a golden glove fielder or homerun hitter--to enjoy activities in warm weather. For those more daring, consider bungee jumping or a zip line. Summer is also the season to golf on one of this country’s many picturesque public and private golf courses. Don’t forget miniature golf, as well. It’s a favorite family sport. Or just take long walks one day or daily and count those steps. You’re headed in the right direction when you combine exercise and Mother Nature.

Before the first blast of cold air hits, chill in the heat, de-stress and luxuriate in the summer’s rare and warm moments. Unfortunately, they are not here to stay but will be back again next year.