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1. Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe

Instead of lounging by just any old pool, celebrate the last summer weekend at this giant water park in Greensboro, N.C. Boasting more than 36 rides and attractions for any age, Emerald Pointe features water slides, raft rides, a gentle lazy river, a wave pool and two children's play areas. There's even an attraction called Shipwreck Cove, where your inner pirate can walk the plank on a sunken ship. The park is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday through Monday. All-day admission is $28.99 for adults; $19.99 for kids 48 inches and under (free for ages 2 and younger); and $15.99 for ages 55 and older. Get a $5 discount with a coupon from Burger King or with your Food Lion MVP card. Call (800) 555-5900 or visit emeraldpointe.com.

2. More water parks

Who needs Emerald Pointe or Myrtle Beach when we have Pulaski County? The county is home to two major swim parks -- the Evelyn Alexander Water Park in Dublin and the public beach at Claytor Lake State Park.

The water park is part of Dublin's Randolph Park complex and features a large pool, a 38-foot water slide, spray toys, water basketball and other fun ways to get soaked. Admission is $2 to $5. Directions: Exit 98 on Interstate 81; travel Virginia 100 north; turn left at first traffic light onto Alexander Road. Park is one mile on the right. Visit pulaskicounty.org/randolph_park/waterpk.htm or call (540) 674-1513.

Claytor Lake's beach is perfect for sunnin' and funnin'. Nonswimmers can cool off in the shallow part while the showoffs can practice their half-gainers off the high dive. Cost is $4 per vehicle and swim fees are $3 to $4. Directions: Exit 101 on I-81. Follow State Park Road to the park. Visit dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/cla.shtml or call (540) 643-2500.

-- Ralph Berrier Jr.

3. Caves

Cool off with natural air conditioning deep in the earth. You could visit Dixie Caverns in Salem (380-2085, dixiecaverns.com) or the 34-story-deep caverns at Natural Bridge (800-533-1410, naturalbridgeva.com). Or take a two-hour road trip north to the Shenandoah Valley, where Luray Caverns claims its 54-degree caverns are the largest and most popular in eastern America. If you can take the heat (and are willing to pay $6 more), Luray Caverns also features an impressive half-mile-long garden maze complete with 8-foot-tall hedges and a misting fog (sounds very Harry Potter-esque). There's also a Car and Carriage Caravan Museum, which is included in the cavern admission price.

This long weekend, cavern tours begin each day at 9 a.m. and end at 7 p.m. Admission is $19 for adults; $9 for ages 6 to 12; and $16 for senior citizens. You can get a 50 percent discount on a second adult ticket with a Kroger Plus Card or $4 off each adult ticket (up to six) with a Ukrop's Valued Customer card. Call (540) 743-6551 or visit luraycaverns.com.

4. Tubing

For a gentle one-mile float down the New River or for some brief (but thrilling) rapids, try tubing at the New River Junction and Big Falls Park in McCoy, which is about a 20-minute drive from Virginia Tech. Besides tubing, the parks offer picnic areas and grills, fishing, camping and even shuttle buses to take you back up the river. This long weekend, the daily cost is $9 for adults and $5 for children younger than 16. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call (540) 639-6633 or visit newriverjunction.com for directions.

5. Water balloon fight!

After spending well over $150 for admission tickets, parking fees, food and gas on a trip to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg this month, I cringed when I had to hand over $5 more to play the park's Splashus Maximus game. For that $5, my date and I got two buckets of water balloons, which we threw at each other with bucket-like slingshots. Funny thing was, I laughed more while launching water balloons than riding most of the roller coasters. Lesson: Sometimes having fun is just as simple (and cheap) as a friendly, backyard water-balloon battle.

CHEAP THRILLS

Frugal ways to spend Labor Day weekend, with some help from readers who earned prizes for their ideas.

1. Woo-hoo! General admission to the Salem Avalanche game against the Lynchburg Hillcats at noon Monday is only $1 with a coupon from The Roanoke Times and roanoke.com (one coupon per person). To find it online, log onto roanoke.com, scroll all the way down to the "Site Index" at the bottom of the page and look for "Dollar Day Coupon" under the Sports category.

2. Brandon Ratliff of Salem suggests hunting for bargains at the Labor Day Flea Market and Gun Show in Hillsville (276-728-2911, vfw1115.com).

3. Brandon also suggests hiking to the popular Cascades waterfalls near Pembroke (540-552-4641, gilescounty.org/cascades.html).

4. Amy Hanek of Glade Hill suggests hosting a Kitchen Sink Barbecue, where families, singles or couples can "all enjoy each other's trash."

Hanek e-mailed a list of what you'll need to pull it off:

>> A list of all food and drink in your house that you WANT to get rid of.

>> A grill

>> A craft table for kids

>> An adult beverage table (if you so desire)

>> Enough people with enough leftovers to make a meal and good time for everyone."

Thanks, Amy!

5. Fancy breakfast

Many cold winter mornings, I would often gaze out on my patio and fantasize about setting up a Martha Stewart-worthy breakfast spread when the weather warmed up. You know, one with crisp tablecloths, fresh flowers and a cute coffee set. Perhaps this is the weekend to make it happen. Dust off the guest china and prepare a proper breakfast one lazy morning for yourself or your loved ones -- and enjoy dining outdoors before the day gets too steamy.

-- Stephanie Ogilvie