How many times have you heard yourself or someone else mutter, “There’s nothing to do!”

Well, in Long Beach in the summertime you won’t hear anyone say those words.

Take a go-cart out for a spin Let’s start with a Long Beach tradition, go-carts from Long Beach Go Karts. Located on the corner of Sid Snyder Drive and Pacific Ave., there is a track for all ages up front and one for the young Mario Andrettis in the back. And if the track is too confining, mopeds may be rented to licensed drivers from Long Beach Moped Rental, located to the west of the Go Karts.

Put those pedaling muscles to work Bicycles, three-wheel fun cycles and surreys can also be rented at LB Moped Rental. Many models accommodate two people. These are great for beach driving also.

Lots of families bring their own bikes – it isn’t unusual to see cars pull into town with four bicycles racked on the back and two kayaks on top!

Take a horseback or buggy rideFor those who don’t feel like propelling themselves along, take a guided trail ride on one of the horses available at Skipper’s Equestrian Center or Back Country Wilderness Outfitters for a horseback ride on the beach. Both are located on Sid Snyder Drive.

Back Country also provides a romantic buggy ride and a “Cream Can Dinner” around a bonfire at Beards Hollow most Wednesday and Saturday nights with reservations – good down home country fun with a nautical twist as the youngsters explore the tide pools after supper.

Take yourself out to a ballgameFor more conventional sports, there are basketball courts at Ocean Park School and across from the County Building and adjacent to the softball fields in Long Beach.

Miniature golf is featured at Boo-Boo’s Putt-Putt course located at SW Second Street and Ocean Beach Boulevard to the west of Pacific Avenue.

If someone suggests, “Tennis, anyone?” then the courts at Bolstad and Washington in Long Beach, at 37th and Pacific in Seaview, and at the east end of Ilwaco provide excellent venues to play a match or two. Adjacent to the tennis courts in Long Beach, on Washington Street, skateboarders enjoy a new skateboard park.

Test your climbing abilities Okay, so if all this is too close to the ground for you, then Get Vertical may be your passion. In front of Marsh’s Free Museum is a rock climbing wall of the same name for the person who wants to get up, up, and away from it all. Don’t worry if you have never elevated up a sheer rock face before, the climbing wall is equipped with handholds and a safety harness.

Amuse yourself with a ride East of Marsh’s Museum, Double R Amusement Rides offers other ways to escape gravity, including the Ferris wheel and always popular Rock-O-Plane. More tame rides include the Lady Bug and Merry-Go-Round. If bumping into things turns your crank, the bumper boats and bumper cars will fulfill your need for collisions. At Dodge City Shooting Gallery a friendly game of pinball or a laser rifle shot at some old west bad guys may be what the doctor ordered to avoid the doldrums.

Be a kid again at FunlandFunland in downtown Long Beach features just about every kind of video game imaginable – and on a grand scale – and besides having a great time, you can win valuable prizes. Games of skill, such as air hockey and ski ball, can also win you tickets at Funland, redeemable for prizes ranging from penny candy to Play Station IIs.

Go enjoy the great outdoors If you get really bored, you can always dig razor clams or catch a Chinook salmon in season, visit one of the two lighthouses on the Peninsula, tour the two nationally acclaimed State Parks, or walk the world’s longest beach.

And while you are on the beach, how about flying a kite from one of the local shops, using a technique learned at the Kite Museum two blocks north of the light in Long Beach?

Or you can always curl up with a good book you purchased at one of the many stores on the Peninsula and listen to the largest ocean on the planet, the Pacific, as it comes ashore at your feet.

In fact, you don’t even have to be bored to do all of these things. They are here every summer for you to enjoy.