Yachats Oregon Writer Rick Schultze

The sun is shinning brightly and the beach is populated with people enjoying themselves frolicking across the sand to dip in the cool Pacific Ocean, digging in the sand and making sand castles, and generally having a blast. Nothing quite like days at the beach with nothing to worry about except getting sunburned! All this activity certainly helps work up appetites and the local eateries are prepared to satisfy the ravenous population.

As I watch the scenario unfold I note that coffee shops, Taqueria’s and other dining establishments are very busy; BBQ’s are blazing at cookouts, and campgrounds are jammed so it’s hard to imagine that within a short time summer will be over and the same places that currently are bulging at the seems will have lots of empty seats! Of course this is really noticeable in this village which is a summer getaway destination, but in other locations there are signs that yes, summer is over! My birthday is the last day of August and as a kid I always met that day with mixed emotions. Sure it was great to have a birthday, but it also meant that within a few days I’d have to throw away my summer habits and knuckle down at school! To me summer was over for sure then.

Another sign summer is over is that football both in schools and in the National Football League is ready to begin. A sport that used to signal the beginning of fall has now moved into late summer and once the kickoffs begin it’s hard to maintain a summertime attitude.

For those of us with steady employment the end of summer usually means we’ve had our vacations, if you had one, and after Labor Day it’s a long stretch until Columbus Day then Thanksgiving and Christmas before the word “time off” is again applicable.

So I’ve always been one of those that tried to prolong the ending of this wonderful time of year by jamming as many good things I could possibly do into it and summer is perfect for that. The days are long, the nights beautiful and there is a plethora of activities one can partake in. I’m sure I’ve tried most of them as I rushed thru summer. But like most of the folks I know we still ask at the end of each summer, wow where did summer go?

We’ve still got a short time left to enjoy summer here on the Oregon coast so I’ll cut this short to go back outside and partake in some of good things out there to do in the best time of year, and I hope you’ll join me so when we are enjoying some neat activities we can turn and ask each other the same question, “wow is summer already over?”

To reach Rick Schultze email: yarick@pioneer.net