Everybody knows it's coming. The end of long days, late nights, and cold drinks. Summer is almost over (well, not technically until the 22 of September, but you get the idea) and school is right around the corner, somewhere between the school supplies aisle and the discounted pool toys aisle. It's not just the pool closings and end-of-season clearance sales that remind us that pumpkin spice season is near, but here, in the Midwest there are some unique tell-tale signs that summer is, in fact, over.
1. $0.79 QuikTrip drinks are over.
QuikTrip continues to be a safe haven for college students in the Midwest. Not only can you fill up your tank but it also remains one of the only socially acceptable places to purchase donuts after noon. Pizza, corndogs, and taquitos all in one place, what more could a person ask for? Oh right, $0.79 fountain drinks. Each summer QuikTrip has a promotion for their Big Q fountain drink- 32 ounces of any drink from the "pop" fountain for only $0.79 to help cut through the summer heat. The first time you put your change on the counter only to be surprised that your drink rings up for more than a dollar, the sinking feeling of school right around the corner sets in.
2. Football season begins.
People everywhere go crazy for football, especially in the Midwest. Once the Super Bowl ends in February, football fans everywhere spend Spring and Summer waiting for another season cheering on their favorite team. Once NFL preseason starts in early August, it signals to fans everywhere that the start of football and tailgating is on the horizon and Summer is clearly over.
3. Swimsuits are on SALE.
One of the easiest ways to tell that Summer is over is the massive clearance sales on swimming suits and swimming gear. Here in the Midwest, the end of Summer is the perfect time to clearance off the shorts and tank tops to make room for coats and jeans!
4. Tornado season is officially over.
Although the threat of tornadoes begins in late spring and moves into early Summer, tornado season in the Midwest dies down into late July and early August. Once the threat of tornadoes dissipates, there's sure to be school looming right around the corner along with the end of Summer. Quite the trade off, Summer is officially over but at least there's no need to worry about tornado threats.
5. It's fair time.
County fairs and state fairs are commonplace in the Midwest. Livestock shows, outdoor concerts, extreme rides, and junk food litter the fairgrounds from late July to early September, reminding us all that Summer is coming to a quick end.
6. Ice cream reclaims it's title as king of frozen deserts.
Every hot Summer day can be cured with a snow cone (or shaved ice, I guess, if it's not in a cone). Snow cone trucks appear at the beginning of each summer, ready to cool kids down with a cup of ice topped with sugary syrup. As Summer winds down, the trucks retreat as ice cream reclaims it's title as the number one frozen dessert. Once these trucks leave town, so do our hopes of a longer Summer.
7. The corn finally gets cut.
"Do you live in the middle of a cornfield?"
As a person who has grown up in Kansas their entire life, I get asked this question more times than I'm proud to admit. It always comes as a surprise when I tell people that contrary to popular belief there are actually close to 400,000 people in my city and yes, we even have high-speed internet. Outside of the city, though, there are countless cornfields and wheat fields littering the state, living up to the stereotypes of Kansas's landscape. When driving down the interstate it's hard to miss rows and rows of corn crowding the fields around the road. All year the stalks continue to grow and by the middle of summer it would be a chore to find your way out if you ever found yourself lost in a field. My entire life I have gauged how much time I have left in the Summer based on the status and growth of the corn. Once the corn is finally cut down in August, I begin gathering all my school supplies and know that there are only weeks, sometimes even days left.
