But for many across the Triangle, the coming week might as well be the season's last hurrah -- what with the traditional public schools starting again Aug. 25 and presidential politics kicking off in earnest the same day with the beginning of the Democratic Party convention.

So, before the twinkle of the firefly fades into fall and the canopy of leaves gets droopy and dusty, those who relish the warmest months of the year will flock to swimming pools, ice cream stores, fishing piers and other favorite summertime spots.

Most are hoping for one more fling, a bit of easy living before sobering reality returns: early-morning school-bus rides, hours of homework and tightly scheduled routines.

"It's kind of sad in a way -- summer is ending," said Melyssa Williams, 16, a junior at Cedar Ridge High School in Hillsborough who plans to read Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" for her advanced English course. "It's going to be very busy."

In between her reading and time with friends at the pool or gym, the teen is bracing for a rush at Maple View ice cream store in Carrboro where she works.

Craig Shaver, 19, a veteran Maple View scooper and UNC-Chapel Hill student who starts classes Tuesday, knows what the two will see as business gets brisker before it slows in the cooler fall.

"Frazzled parents and hyperactive kids," Shaver said. "That's what we see all day."

Over at A.D. Clark pool outside Chapel Hill's Hargraves Center, Christopher Downs, 25, a UNC-CH senior, Kaitlyn Stout, 17, and Erin Wilson, 25, waited on a gray day for the youngsters who usually crowd the water.

Soon the "Marcos" and "Polos" that once echoed so joyously across the pool will be quieted by school year hubbub.

"Some of the kids, they've come to the idea that they're going back to school soon and don't want to do anything," Wilson said. "They don't even come to the pool. It's just like they put their heads down and look at their feet. They know what's coming."

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