Summer is a fair-weather friend. She’ll warm your heart and sun your face for months — long enough for you to start thinking this might be a “forever” kind of relationship.

But when temperatures start drifting south, she’ll high-tail it to Florida for the winter and spend November through April cozied up to your snowbird of a grandpa.

We can curse her absence later. For now, let’s focus on squeezing her for all she’s worth (we mean in a “carpe diem” way). There are still plenty of warm-weather endeavors to undertake while the last vestiges of summer turn into the first signs of autumn.

To help you craft truly memorable memories (the happy sort that overshadow a summer that fled too soon), here’s a roundup of some less traditional things to do:

A FULL MOON DINNER (and a Chondola ride) at Sunday River, Newry — Romance elevates the soul. You know what else elevates the soul? A 1,150-foot-high vertical lift Chondola ride.

Sunday River’s Full Moon Dinners offer a trip up the mountain — under the full moon — on the mountain’s part chairlift/part gondola Chondola. At the top, guests are treated to drinks and hors d’oeuvres on the heated patio, then a three- or four-course dinner and live music inside the Peak Lodge.

Two Full Moon Dinners are left: this Friday and Oct. 14. Reservations are required, and can be made by calling 824-3000. Cost is $39 per person.

CHAIN SAW SAFETY at Wolfe’s Neck Farm, Freeport — Hurricane Irene recently knocked over trees with the same ease usually reserved for blinking. And downed trees lead to people with chain saws.

Sure, horror movies are a good way to learn how to brandish a power tool, but for a real lesson in real safety, Wolfe’s Neck Farm is offering a chain saw safety class. That way, you won’t lose a tree and an arm the next time a storm rolls through. And let’s face it: Brandishing a chain saw feels cool.

The chain saw safety class is 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sept. 17, and pre-registration is required. You must be 18 or older to participate. To register or for more information, go to wolfesneckfarm.org/chainsaw-safety. Cost is $55 per person.

SHOOTING THINGS with L.L. Bean, Freeport — To the chagrin of clay pigeons across southern Maine, L.L. Bean’s Walk-On Adventures make it easy for just about everyone to take up arms against a procession of flying orange discs, thanks to their sporting clays class. For folks who would rather stick it to concentric circles, an archery lesson is available too.

The cost ($15 for archery; $20 for sporting clays) includes all equipment, instruction and an hour or two of doing your thing. Sign up in person in the hunting wing of L.L. Bean’s Freeport campus.

Archery sessions (ages 8 and older) run 10 to 11:30 a.m., noon to 1:30 p.m. and 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 9. Sporting clays sessions (ages 12 and older) run from 9 to 10:30 a.m. and from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 9.

For a real shoot-’em-up treat, try the five-stand public shoots held at Fogg Farm in Freeport. For $20 per round, you can use L.L. Bean’s guns and ammo and try your aim at 25 targets.

For more information, go to tinyurl.com/llbeanfreeport or call (888) 552-3261.

TAKE A SEGWAY TOUR through Portland — Segways look a little strange. There’s no denying it. But those two-wheeled, self-balancing people movers are a semi-local invention people are slowly learning to appreciate.

It was New Hampshire resident Dean Kamen who thought up the modern-day chariots. Just think, if Kamen lived just 50 miles farther north, the Segway might have been called the Seg-ayuh.

Mainers can still take the vehicles out for a one-hour tour through Portland thanks to Segway of Portland. Cost is $65 per person, and tours run daily at 10 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. For more information, go to portlandsegway.com.

STOMP AND SIP at VINfest in Lincolnville — There’s nothing quite like the feeling of grapes squishing between your toes. It’s even better when you’ve had a few drinks. Catch the sensation from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 1 during the annual VINfest at Cellardoor Winery.

In addition to grape stomping, the festival serves up a home wine-making competition, live music and food and wine pairings. Enjoy all this for a $10 cover charge. For more information, visit mainewine.com.

GET LOST in a corn maze in Dayton — The film “The Children of the Corn,” based on a short story by Stephen “The Pride of Maine” King, may have scared a generation away from the rustling stalks. But you don’t need to be afraid at Pumpkin Valley Farm in Dayton, where the six-acre corn maze is fun for the whole family.

While you’re there, take a hayride to the pumpkin patch, launch an ear of corn sky-high or launch yourself on the jumping pillow.

The farm is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays from Sept. 17 to Oct. 30. Tickets cost $8 each; children under age 2 get in for free. For more information, visit pumpkinvalleyfarm.com.

SWING ABOVE THE TREES at Crazy Apes in Windham — Why let other primates monopolize all the tree-swinging fun? Head to Seacoast Fun Park and tackle the Crazy Apes ropes course and zip lines.

If you have what it takes to handle stomach-lurching drops, thrilling jumps and a 900-foot zip line, you’re ready to harness up and go. Ticket prices range from $12 to $40, depending on how much of the course you want to explore.

Call 892-5829 or visit seacoastfunparks.com for more information.

VIEW FOLIAGE from the air in Portland — You’ve seen Maine’s brilliant fall colors from the ground. Why not get a bird’s-eye view? Maine Aviation Corp., which flies out of the Portland Jetport, offers daily scenic flights from 6 a.m. until sunset.

Up to three people can join a pilot in a Cessna 172 for a cost of $155 per hour. Call 780-1811 to schedule a top-down view of the state’s scenery.

FIND TREASURE at Montsweag Flea Market in Woolwich — Few things are as thrilling as finding the old treasure that you had no idea was missing in your life: a collection of unused Nehi bottle caps, an Amelia Earhart train case or a ’60s-era flower-power necklace. That’s just some of the loot spotted at the Montsweag Flea Market on Route 1.

For fans of antique fishing gear and postcards, funky retro kitchenware and an unknown cache of other old delights, this is the place to be. The market’s been going strong for more than 30 years, and is open Wednesday and Friday through Sunday until Columbus Day weekend.

Most dealers tend to be early birds, so grab your coffee and some cash, and bring an eye for the quirky. Call 443-2809 for more information.

– Staff Writers Shannon Bryan, Avery Yale Kamila and Aimsel Ponti contributed to this story

 

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