Make the most of the last gasp of summer

In some ways, we’ve already moved into fall, with the start of school, cooler nights and the beginning of the grape harvest. And with Labor Day coming up, the summer that didn’t happen is — unofficially at least — on its way out. But if you want to have a last taste of summer days enjoyed outdoors, here are a few ideas.

Go to the drive-in

Movies have always been escapist: During the Great Depression, audiences flocked to cinemas in an attempt to forget their worries, at least for a while. Today, as the pandemic continues, drive-in theaters have been popping up all over.

Even with new social distance rules in place, an evening at the drive-in feels like a normal summer activity. People spread out, have picnics, sit in their open SUV trunks or truck beds sipping a beverage or even playing a game of cornhole. Everyone is 6 feet apart, but it’s still a communal experience — a rarity right now.

The Luther Burbank Center’s summer drive-in series has drawn to a close. But on Sept. 12, the Alexander Film Society plans to show “Furious 7” as part of its Carpool Cinemas series at the Citrus Fair in Cloverdale.

Some true drive-ins still remain in the North Bay, and the website driveinmovie.com is a good place to start for information about them. The ones closest to Sonoma County include drive-ins in Lakeport, Concord and Sacramento.

Cut your own bouquet

With large-scale weddings and events canceled for the foreseeable future, many flower farmers across the country have opened their fields for the first time to people who want to cut their own blossoms. In the spring, Lynne Vinkovic of Rose Lane Farms in Los Angeles, who usually provides flowers to florists and event designers, began receiving calls from her social media followers asking if they could come to the farm and grab a handful of garden roses. Before she knew it, she had transitioned to a “you cut” farm.

“We’re a working farm, just over an acre, with 2,000 rose bushes,” Ms. Vinkovic said. “We’re not picture-perfect, but at this moment we offer an escape.”

Most farms require masks and social distancing and may even provide sanitized clippers and buckets. Local farmers’ market networks are a good starting point when trying to find a you-cut field near you.

Rent a backyard pool

If the thought of going a whole summer without taking a dip in a pool is adding to your pandemic malaise, there is still hope.

An app called Swimply allows you to book a private pool at someone’s home for an hour or more. You don’t have to worry about mingling with crowds and exposing your family to the coronavirus. Leave your mask in your beach bag. For one glorious afternoon, cool off and take a break from worrying about whether schools will reopen.

The service is surprisingly simple. You enter your ZIP code and scroll through a list of tantalizing pools — some feature lounge chairs and basketball hoops — across the country. You can search a specific date and time, or request amenities like a hot tub. A handful of pools are available to rent in Sonoma County, for $15 to $45 an hour.

Swimply says it has added safety precautions, including limiting the number of swimmers for each rental and leaving an hour gap between bookings so the owner has time to clean before the next swimmers arrive.

At a time when we are all worried about getting close to strangers, the owner stays inside and lets you enjoy their pool. You can text over the app if you have any questions.

Visit an outdoor brewery

Instead of sipping IPAs at home, quench your thirst at the source. Many breweries are revamping outdoor space for socially distant drinking, installing sanitizer stations and incorporating new protocols to put you at ease while hoisting pints.

Drinking beer at a brewery can “remind you of a time when things were normal,” said Chris O’Leary, a beer aficionado who has visited more than 2,000 breweries and runs Brew York, a guide to beer in New York City.

Safety and hospitality are now key ingredients at breweries. “They’re trying harder than ever to win over their customers,” he said.

Plan ahead, as many breweries now have limited capacity and require reservations. Also check the website for updated regulations; for example, kids may no longer be allowed. Expect to wear a mask whenever you’re not seated and to pay with credit cards. Many breweries also have customers order through their phones. Instead of glassware, you’ll probably drink pilsners from disposable plastic cups and bus your table to minimize contact.

Ride an electric bike

Sometimes, to get out of a rut, you need a little push.

Biking is a great mode of socially distant travel, but riding a bike can be tiring and limit you to your own neighborhood. An electric bike lets you travel much farther and easily tackle one of the nastiest words in biking: hills.

And they’re a blast to ride. Hopping on one feels like taking your training wheels off for the first time, except that invisible push by a parent comes from a motor that powers the wheels.

E-bikes typically top out at around 20 miles an hour, depending on the type of bike, and they can usually run for about 40 miles on one charge. They can be rented from many bike rental shops and are part of many cities’ ride-share programs. Lyft, which operates the largest bikeshare program in the country, has e-bikes in New York City, Chicago, Minneapolis and the Bay Area. While the company said it sanitizes high-contact surfaces during regular maintenance, you could go one step further and use your own wipes to clean off the handlebars.

Pedego, a chain of 140 independently owned local electric-bike shops in the United States and Canada, is requiring masks indoors and sterilizing bikes. Some locations are renting bikes by appointment only to facilitate social distancing. Or you can call your local bike shop to ask about e-bike availability and learn about their policies before you arrive.

Make sure to follow safety rules (helmets!), and be aware that e-bike regulations vary between states; for more information about local laws, visit peopleforbikes.org

Float down a river

If you can’t find a pool and are tired of running through your sprinkler to cool down, why not spend the day on the water, relaxing on a raft or an inner tube? Tubing is a refreshing way to spend a lazy day outdoors with a few friends or family while keeping socially distanced from others.

Sonoma County Regional Parks has guidance on how to plan a tubing trip at bit.ly/32UXcLf. Tubing trips typically range from three hours to all day, depending on the route and how many stops you make. Companies often give you a choice of renting a tube, raft, kayak or canoe, but check beforehand to see what your options are, what equipment will be provided and if there are restrictions on alcohol and coolers.

With the Walbridge and other recent fires, an evacuation warning was still in effect around Rio Nido and Guerneville as of Thursday, so if you’re headed to the Russian River, aim for points east, such as the beach at Del Rio Woods Regional Park. Conditions were changing recently — for example, Russian River Adventures raft and bike rental company in Healdsburg said it planned to reopen Aug. 29 as the fires had moved north and away from the river.

These days, many tubing companies have taken extra health and safety precautions, like sanitizing tubes and life vests between uses, requiring masks while customers wait in line and not filling shuttles to capacity. You can often find what companies are doing to keep the activity safe on their website. Be sure to pack a lunch and some cold drinks, but once you are on the water, just enjoy. Take a break every now and then to do some swimming. And stop halfway through the float to have your picnic on the side of the river. You’ve earned it.

The Press Democrat contributed to this story.