We were getting ready to head out and report from sundry locations as we have for the last couple of MT Summer Guides when it occurred to someone to check our sundry trips budget. That's when we realized that we wouldn't be tripping this summer. Not that our MT travels have been extravagant — Flint, Point Pelee, Jackson Prison, etc. — but this is a summer of tight budgets and high anxiety for a lot of us, and as a consequence, we're staying even closer to home. In fact, we're pretty much staying at home. Maybe you can relate. Like many of you, we're learning to say "staycation" to feel a little better about the situation. The idea is that we can look at the near-at-hand with fresh eyes, maybe take in the attractions that we've talked about but never actually checked out; we'll just have to refresh and renew and re-create ourselves without hitting the road for a long trip. So here are some of our reflections and suggestions for the coming weeks, from an outhouse race to drive-ins to club dates, hundreds and hundreds of summer ideas, including more than 40 that get the spotlight treatment. Hopefully, this is a reminder that summer isn't a season or a destination — it's a state of mind. —W. Kim Heron, editor

Try the windshield theater
by Michael Jackman
On kicking it truck-style at the drive-in

That summer feeling
by Bill Holdship
Ten summer songs that belong in every iPod

Rolling on the Riverwalk
by Sandra Svoboda
A brand-new park along a reinvented riverfront

Meditate on flutter-bys
by W. Kim Heron
Appreciating smaller denizens at the zoo

Race (out of) the toilet
by Brian Smith
Take that outhouse and run for your life!

Taking cold comfort
by Michael Jackman
Instead of birdsongs, listen for the ice cream truck

Rent summer fun by the hour
by Travis R. Wright
Taking a no-tell motel midnight vacay

Summer sugar
by Metro Times staff
Pointing out the treats and sweet spots of the season