I went for a run through a nearby woods yesterday, and I kept catching whiffs of honeysuckle. It is that time of year again — early summer — and while we still have some cool nights, and school goes to mid-June, I’m declaring it summer for me.
To that end, I’m posting my Summer Fun List. Longtime readers know I have done this every year for probably a decade (maybe more! Here’s 2016 and 2022, which also has links to lots of other years). The idea is to make a summer bucket list of sorts. These are things I want to do this summer to make summer feel like summer. These lists definitely evolve over the years but I still like thinking about this. And I generally hope to get to the end of summer having crossed most things off. Here’s what’s on the list this year.
Go strawberry picking. I didn’t think this would happen as we have moved out of our fruit-picking-as-entertainment era for the most part. But I convinced my little guy (and my husband) to go on Memorial Day. We went to Maple Acres Farm, which is about 20 minutes away, and had a fairly relaxed stroll through the rows picking berries. And now we are eating them. The photo accompanying this post is from their farm stand. I hope to hit a few farmers’ markets this summer as well.
Smell the honeysuckle. My little boys and I like wandering to a patch near the driveway. I showed them how to taste the nectar and they are big fans. Nature’s sugar!
Bike. Always a favorite summer activity. I’ll do some solo rides plus some with the kids. My 16-year-old has a bike camping trip coming up with his Scout troop.
Do hot tub + pool TOAD time. This happens most nights now. The little boys like to play in the pool, which is finally up to a balmy 75 degrees. I sit in the hot tub since I don’t like to be cold! But it will get warmer soon. This is a great way to spend the time after dinner and before bedtime and means less screen time (for all of us).
Go see the Phillies play. Possibly more than once. Baseball games are the quintessential summer activity and my kids have gotten to the age where they can mostly enjoy a game, especially since the pitch clock means it’s not eternal. So this can be a family activity.
Host the church choir party. This has become something of a tradition. We set up on the patio with fried chicken and hot dogs and people bring appetizers/drinks/desserts. Here’s hoping for no rain! (Though if it does rain we’ll just move inside). I’m also planning to host some smaller cookouts/swims — need to get those on the calendar.
Do a Father’s Day brunch at Talula’s Garden. We are now in our “brunch era” as a family — so we’re going to try a fancier one and see how it goes. We had brunch at First Watch the other day and survived, though that is pretty casual, and did Founding Farmers a few weeks ago.
Drink my coffee outside in the mornings. Since camp starts later than school for most of my kids, theoretically the mornings should be slower. It is possible I will just use the time to sleep later (and stay up later) though the early sun tends to pull me out of bed. Anyway, when possible, I hope to enjoy my first cup of coffee out on the porch.
Host SHU plus observe the July 4th/250th. Philly is going to be a bit nuts for the Fourth of July this year, for obvious reasons. Sarah will also be here so I hope to make this a fun weekend.
Go see Sarah McLachlan in concert. This is my outdoor concert for the official summer season (though I also have tickets for Melissa Etheridge in September). Outdoor concerts are another quintessential summer activity and so fingers crossed it won’t rain.
Go to the Philadelphia Zoo’s Ale Fest. I have tickets for this — usually I put “go to a beer garden” on my list but I think this will take its place. We’re going to see the new bear exhibit in June as well. I might make it to a beer garden some other night but in any case, the outdoor beer drinking will be covered (between this and the Phillies).
Enjoy our beach traditions. We’ll be back to the Jersey Shore for two weeks in August. This is the same house as usual, so we’ll go to all our old haunts: Day’s, Toast, Cousins Maine Lobster, the pinball arcade, plus hopefully the new restaurants in Asbury. I intend to run along the boardwalk many days as well.
2 very cool international trips. I’m always superstitious about talking about these before they happen but I will be traveling twice this summer — once with a friend, and once to give a speech — to places I am excited to see. More on that when they happen!
Camp? I hesitate to put this on here, but I’ve pondered camping in the yard some night as a way to dip my toe into the water of camping. I think my 6-year-old would enjoy this, but of course this means I have to choose a night where I don’t care if I actually sleep…We shall see!
What’s on your list?
I always enjoy your posts! Your 6 year old might like the book Camp-in-the-Yard by Vivian Thompson. It was published in 1961, but copies are available on Amazon. I enjoyed it as a child even though camping has never been my thing.
@Kristi – ooh, that sounds like a good one. I like camping in theory but in practice it is often a lot of bother!
I love these seasonal posts too!
My list:
1. Strawberry picking is always on my list, too. We have a farm around the corner, but it has unfortunately become an “agri-tourism” type place and gets jammed with school groups and weekend travelers. My son and DIL picked strawberries at another local place before Mother’s Day at another local place. The berries were the best I’ve ever had in my life! I don’t think I will make it to that farm this year, but I managed to grab some from the same farm at our farmer’s market and have been savoring them.
2. Travel to Texas to attend the wedding of a dear friend’s son and do other Texas things. The groom is my godson, so I really wanted to go to the wedding in San Antonio. We’re also taking in a Texas Rangers and a Houston Astros baseball game, hanging out in Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston and Austin for a few days each, and will do some wine tasting in the Texas Hill country. Points and miles have served us well-the flights to and from Philadelphia and intra-Texas were all booked using points and flight credits, and most of the hotels were booked with points or credit card related programs with perks and credits.
3. Get a massage once a month. During a Patreon meetup, you mentioned putting those types of appointments on the calendar as a reminder to book them. I followed your advice and have a massage booked for today!
4. Hit all of our local ice cream spots and find a new one to try. We already visited one Memorial Day weekend.
5. Visit with close friends in Massachusetts in August. This is scheduled. We had some bonus time with them Memorial Day weekend since they needed to be in our area for other reasons and we offered to serve as their hotel :). It was a rainy weekend, but we managed to get out and see “Sheep Detectives,” which was surprisingly good.
6. Do my annual solo day at the beach. I love going to Long Beach Island before or after the crowds descend. Just me, a book, and no one on the beach. I had hoped to go next week, but unfortunately it looks like it will be unseasonably cool and rainy. Need to keep this on my radar.
7. Go to at least one outdoor concert. Thanks for mentioning Sarah McLachlan at the Mann. We may try to get tickets. I really enjoy her music.
8. Go on at least one hike/walk with the Outdoor Club of South Jersey. After joining a year and a half ago (!), I finally went on 3 walks recently-a mural arts one in Philadelphia; downtown Princeton and the Princeton campus; and a wildflower walk in a local preserve. I loved each experience, and the people on each walk were incredibly welcoming. One person even gave me hiking shoes (used once!) when the wildflower walk was muddy and declined my offer to pay for them. She carried them in the back of her car so she could give them away!
9. Get to the beach biweekly. Given how rainy our season has been so far, this may be wistful (pun intended) thinking. I already have one group outing scheduled in August-hopefully the rain clouds will part by then.
10. Find a new to us local brewery or winery to visit, or go to the winery a mile away from us on one of the Sundays that they have live music.
@BethC- I love these! I hope you make the Sarah McLachlan concert. And yes, the strawberry farms can be hit-or-miss. I used to go to one of those touristy ones and have been trying to go to slightly smaller, quieter ones since. And I am a big fan of regular ice cream parlor visits in the summer!
I am having surgery and will be off work for 8 weeks recuperating, so this is a nice reminder to plan some low-key stuff I can do while recovering.
1) Go up north — husband is doing the Mackinac island swim and then we will go to Harbor Springs for a few days.
2) Dog-cation — we also have a weekend in Port Austin/Caseville planned
3) I’d like to go to Chicago for a long weekend. Somehow we have managed to live here for 6 years and not go once.
4) Grant resubmission (if not July, then November)
5) Read some books
6) Take some long walks with the dogs
7) Savor not having to work as much and only doing research if I want to since I am reducing my clinical FTE to 0.6 starting in July
8) Watch the birds at the feeders over the summer. We have cardinals, blue jays, orioles, hummingbirds, and goldfinches, to name a few
9) Maybe finally go kayaking on the Huron river
10) Find a dog class to take on Mondays or Tuesdays
@omdg – I hope the surgery and recovery go well! This is a great list for a restorative summer. And Chicago is always amazing – definitely worth a summer long weekend trip (winter maybe not so much…)
I know I’m late to the party, but I’m going to go ahead and put my summer fun list up here anyway! I didn’t do one last year, as both husband and I had major surgeries in the run-up to summer, so we set our sights more toward fun in the fall. This year, the list is somewhat scaled back for a variety of reasons, but I enlisted husband in the planning process and that was fun in itself!
1. Go swimming at the local municipal pool, at least once. It’s only a mile from our house and we’ve only been there once in the eight years we’ve lived here.
2. Explore 4 new-to-us county parks in Wisconsin. This state is a bit unique among other states I’ve lived in, where we have not just state parks, but a thriving county park system. Each county does their own thing. Some charge, some do not. Some have small campgrounds, and other amenities. Some are bare bones. Off the top I know one I’m thinking of has a fully functional bar and grill operating on site – that one is on the list for sure!
3. Visit 2 botanical gardens (yet to be named) that didn’t make the cut the last time I did this. (We made it to 8 that year!)
4, Farmer’s Markets – here in our hometown (we’ve never gone to it and I’m so embarrassed by that), and 1-2 others new-to-us.
5. Our annual stay in Door County in our usual place. Eight days this year, and I’m already wishing we’d have made it for two weeks. Maybe next year. Highlights – wineries, hiking/walking, beach sitting, sightseeing, restaurants, fresh fish on the grill, etc. We will overlap with husband’s brother and family – they stay about 10 miles away, so it’s good family time without being glued at the hip!
6. Host a small picnic/outdoor gathering.
7. Drink wine outside.
Clock starts ticking on June 1 for me, but we’ll go well into September before wrapping it up.
@Holly – love these. And yes, if the pool is only a mile away you should definitely check it out! I just went to a farmers market this morning. Cool and windy (as much of May has been) but still felt a little summery.