Hot fun in the summertime—you bet! But was it the best summer ever? According to just 5% of adults, it was. But that’s not the feeling from the 50% of adults who rate this summer as either fair or poor.

Of the remaining respondents, a little less than a third (30%) considered this summer a good one, but 14% rated it as excellent.

Summer was a great time to embark on various relaxing and fun-filled activities. According to the latest Rasmussen Reports survey, the most popular summer activity was having a cookout, with three out of four Americans (76%) firing up the grill this summer.

Seventy-three percent (73%) read at least one book over the course of the season. More women (80%) said they relaxed by reading than men (66%).

Among other activities, 65% said they watched fireworks this summer. More Republicans (71%) viewed them than Democrats (58%) though. Sixty-two percent (62%) passed the time by playing board games. Younger adults enjoyed this popular pastime more than their elders.

A little over half of Americans also enjoyed a nice swim (56%) outdoors in the pool or lake or watched films (55%) indoors in a movie theater.

Despite the rise in gas prices, 53% of adults vacationed with friends and family this summer. That figure has held steady over the past year. In a survey conducted in late May, 69% said higher gas prices had impacted their vacation plans.

Perhaps in part due to gas prices, going to the beach was among the least popular activities, with only 39% saying they did it. That’s down slightly from last year, when 41% said they relaxed by the waves. Just 34% attended an outdoor concert or theater event.

This summer will go down in history as the year Michael Phelps broke Mark Spitz’s record for winning the most Olympic gold medals. As Phelps swam into the record books, 61% watched the Olympic Games on television.

Despite the high interest in this year's elections, most Americans chose watching the Olympics over campaign coverage.

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