Enjoy your summer
That small bead of sweat rolling down my back indicates that it is indeed summer. Coming from a tropical island where it’s always hot, I love summer. Maybe not those days where it goes above 100F (>38C for the rest of the world), but I like when you don’t need thirty seven layers of clothing just to go outside.
I like summer because everybody seems happier – when they’re not complaining about their shoes melting. And the reason is because they get to come out of hibernation.
This might not be a problem for folks living South of D.C., but I live in New Jersey and it gets pretty cold in the winter. And besides those days when we get to go skiing, ice skating, or break our backs shoveling snow, we really don’t get to hang out outside too often.
The bad thing about the summer is that it goes by way too fast. I mean it is July already and I’ve been to the beach just once. True, the World Cup is happening and I’ve been watching a lot of the games while the warm summer breeze rolls by, but even without the World Cup, three months is really not enough time.
Summer goes by so fast that next thing you know that bead of sweat turns into an icicle, and instead of rolling down my back it rolls down my nostrils. Did I say sweat?… I meant snot.
In order to not let winter get here before we get to enjoy the hot weather, we should plan some summer activities. And I don’t mean a vacation somewhere, I mean free or inexpensive activities that we can do on those days when the Wold Cup is not showing.
The best way to force myself to do as many activities as possible is to have a Summer Bucket List.
What Is A Summer Bucket List?
A summer bucket list is a list of activities you should do before the summer ends, or kicks the bucket.
Since I’m all about saving money, most of the activities I put on my bucket list are free and I recommend you do the same. I’m going to have to pay for some activities, but I try to keep those to a minimum.
Examples of a summer bucket list include:
Free Concerts – There are always free concerts in the summer and if you don’t know how to find them just do some google-ing. If you live in the NYC area, you can check out Summerstage in Central Park and also Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park for free concerts. A few weekends ago we saw Amos Lee and Lake Street Dive for free in Brooklyn – well, there was a suggested donation of $3 to which I was more than happy to pay.
Lake Street Dive
Amos Lee
Picnics at The Park – Just grab a blanket, a few snacks, a book, or your favorite person and have a little picnic. I have to admit we haven’t done it this year yet, but it is on our summer bucket list.
Go Hiking – Taking a walk through the woods is a great way to get some exercise while admiring nature. I like flat hikes – more like walks – but Kate loves those thigh-burning hikes to the top of the world… those are more painful than they are fun. Sorry Love.
Walk The High Line – If you live in or near New York City you should definitely check this out. The High Line is a public park that was built on an old elevated rail line. It is a nice walk and the park has plenty of places where you can sit and enjoy an ice cream if you’d like. You should also add Walk The Brooklyn Bridge to your list.
Go to The Beach, Lake, or River – Pretty much any water system would do. The beaches are a little cold in the Northeast, but if you survive the initial shock it actually feels pretty nice.
These are just a few of hundreds of things you can add to your bucket list. Below is a list of a few things from our summer bucket list.
- Rafting
- Paintball
- Coney Island
- High Line
- Sculpture Gardens
- Camping
- Walk the Brooklyn Bridge
- Geocaching
- Bronx Zoo
- Crash a wedding
- Swing dancing
- Yellowstone
- Roller Derby
- Hiking
- Canoeing
- Free Concerts
- Museums
Get together with your family, friends, or loved ones and create a summer bucket list together. The more people you get involved, the better. You won’t be able to do all the activities with everybody, but you can do some and have a great summer together.
If you live near NYC, Broke Millennial has a great list of things you can do in New York City in the summer. Make sure you check it out. And for my New Jersey folks, here is a NJ Summer Fun Guide.
So on those days when the World Cup is taking a break, get out there and enjoy the summer. Especially now that the U.S. got eliminated.
Oh, and by the way, since people call Autumn “The Fall” I’m going to call summer “The Hot.”
Do you have a summer bucket list? What do you have on your list?
We have a summer bucket list of sorts. We have seen a few concerts and we’re going camping in a few weekends. I cannot wait!
Camping is always great. It gives you time to unplug, at least for a few hours.
The boyfriend and I like to take “citibike adventures”. We take the bikes and explore a new area, either in Manhattan or Brooklyn; when we find something interesting, we park, have a drink, food, whatever. It’s a great summer activity!
That’s great but Kate is a little afraid of bicycles so there’s no way she’ll ride one through crazy NYC traffic.
We have a few hikes we want to get to, but we did one a couple of weeks ago that has been in the list for a while. I’d also like to go camping a couple of times. If you don’t make plans, summer does seen to get away from you.
That’s right Kim, next thing you know snow will be falling on us.
I love the idea of a summer bucket list. There is really only one time of year to do some of these things and it’s important to take advantage of it. I love going to free concerts or movies in the park in the summer time. We also live near a great state park and I love taking advantage of it during the summer.
I’ve been working on my summer bucket list too! I really need to do the Cloisters, Staten Island Ferry and some concerts. Thanks for the shout out.
I don’t think we have a bucket list per se, but we are doing a ton more volleyball on the lake front and that is free as long as you bring a ball, net, and don’t mind using your foot to make the in/out line in the sand.