What Are You Doing This Summer?

Over at UnbraveGirl, Sally has an impressive summer bucket list with twenty activities she would like to complete this summer. Her proposed adventures include attending five summer festivals, hosting a fancy cocktail party, and wholesome all-American activities such going watching a movie at drive-in theater and baking a pie.

All-American summer activity: visiting Dr. Seuss Memorial in Springfield, MA in 2011.

Same day, same outfit - but I'm in Vermont!

In a similar vein, it is time for me to think about my annual summer resolution. This is a novel (at least I think so!) idea I came up with several years ago, and have completed religiously since 2009. Every summer I resolve to do something new every week in the time between Memorial and Labor Day weekends. (In case you are unfamiliar with American holidays, Memorial Day falls at the end of May, while Labor Day is celebrated at the beginning of September.) Those of you who know me realize that this does not imply trying skydiving one weekend, and going sea kayaking the next. Given the constraints such as my fear of open heights, my job and my finances, this typically means exploring a park that's new to me, or checking out a cafe or bookstore that I've never visited before. Even with seemingly little things, it has been fun to discover new places. Naturally, anytime I have gone on a summer trip, all of those experiences have been included in my summer resolution. For example, last year I had the opportunity to visit both Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and the gorgeous waterfall-filled Ricketts Glen State Park in Pennsylvania, while in the summer of 2011 a four-day trip to Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island meant seeing plenty of new spots. To keep track of my adventures, I use my Yelp review account.

One of many waterfalls, Ricketts Glen SP, summer 2013.

At the beginning of this summer, however, I am feeling a tad tired and overwhelmed. My two-week long vacation in the Baltics included many new places, and post-travel jet lag and work stress mean that I am feeling less than energetic. However, I suspect I might feel lazy and unaccomplished if my summer resolution fell by the wayside this year!

What are your summer plans?