501 Comments »

1. Susan K. said,

   July 27, 2011 @ 10:13 am

   My favorite summer memory is my parents loading up the car playing American Pie over and over again singing the words on our way out for ice cream. We used to drive HOURS just for a cone. I think it was my parents way to shut us all up!

2. Seanna Lea said,

   July 27, 2011 @ 10:20 am

   My family went camping each summer in various campgrounds around the southern part of the state. We slept on lawn chairs rather than beds or the floor and it was pretty awesome. The best campground had 3 pools, including one diving pool. I loved that we were out, but still close enough to the library for me to keep checking out books.

3. Carol F said,

   July 27, 2011 @ 10:21 am

   Catching lightning bugs was one of our favorite summer activities, also. We don’t seem to have them here in CO. (I grew up in IN) Another favorite was riding our horses in the streams to cool them off. They’d splash and get us all soaked! A trip to Dairy Queen in town was a very special treat. Thanks for the opportunity to reminisce – and for the fun contest!

4. Linda said,

   July 27, 2011 @ 10:22 am

   My family would pack up the car and go camping for a few days in the mountains. We took a tent and sleeping bags, and cooked out over the camp fire. We hiked and fished and played in the creek for a few glorious days of escaping from the rest of the world.

5. Marie said,

   July 27, 2011 @ 10:22 am

   While we lived in Germany for four years every summer we would travel to Sweden and my brother and I would spend time with our relatives there. My mother was the only one who immigrated to the US so her entire family is still in Sweden. My grandparents taught us the Swedish language and customs and took us all manner of places. In fact we were in Sweden when they landed on the moon and I have a vivid recollection of sitting on a sofa in my grandparent’s living room watching TV and then hearing Walter Cronkit’s voice telling about us about the moon landing. Good time and good memories!

6. Kathy said,

   July 27, 2011 @ 10:22 am

   We rode our bikes after supper, thrilled at the added daylight, and rode down a long hill that cut between backyard alley parking spaces or pocket gardens. We called it The Shortcut and in summer it was overgrown by bushes heavy with berries, hydrangeas and tall grass. There was a hump in the middle so you felt like you were flying when you hit that, like a snow mogul, and then you spilled out onto a dead end (thankfully!) street. In those days of no helmets, I’m amazed no one ever got hurt, because we rode soo fast. And then we would go to Carvel just before it closed (and mothers began looking for us!) for flying saucers or cones

7. Rachel said,

   July 27, 2011 @ 10:22 am

   Summers to me meant spending a month at my grandparents, in a tiny, tiny town in Southern Illinois. I was not a very outdoorsy child (okay, not at ALL outdoorsy), so my favorite thing to do was visit the library and check out a huge stack of books, and spend the entire month with my nose in a book. Over various summers, I made my way through all the Wizard of Oz books, the Chronicles of Narnia, Nancy Drew, embarrassingly enough, the entire Sweet Valley High series and dozens if not hundreds of other books.

8. MicheleB said,

   July 27, 2011 @ 10:24 am

   I’d have to say sprinklers in the yard!

9. Rachel D. said,

   July 27, 2011 @ 10:29 am

   One summer my dad took us all to Santa Cruz to the boardwalk. We didn’t get to do many big trips in my family, so this one was such an amazing treat. We got the unlimited ride bracelets and lots of food! I wish I had some pictures of that day

10. Kamigaeru said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:30 am

    I grew up in Nevada, and I loved going fishing for trout with my dad. Almost every summer I lived there we’d drive up and down the Truckee and hit all the good fishing spots! Then home for dinner with our fresh catch…. mmm. The taste of summer!

11. JoAnna said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:32 am

    I think just having the opportunity to get really dirty during the day and stay up late at night is the best thing about being a kid in the summer.

12. Amy said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:34 am

    So I have 3:

    1. Swimming Pass all summer long!

    2. Family reunions. We are starting these up again at my uncle’s cabin and I really love them.

    3. One summer I went to Adventureland 4 times!!! I think I was 12, so this was awesome.

13. MaryjoO said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:34 am

    We went to the Dalmatian coast and always bought ice cream from a family we called “fat lips” who knows why though lol

14. Michelle said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:37 am

    Going to my Grandparents house in MI on the St Lawerence seaway. We would grab a floating device, hop into the river off a man made island and let the current push us to the dock and then run back to do it over and over again. Also if you get enough kids waving and shouting at the freighters going past you could get the boats to sound their horns at us.

15. Michelle F said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:39 am

    I loved Summer! WAAAAAAAAAAY back then parents didn’t have to worry as much. Me and my friends would pack up a day’s worth of food and drinks, hop on our bikes and go exploring our city and country. In the suburbs of Houston, there was lots of open space. We checked out creeks and dark “forests” and “haunted” empty houses. We’d leave early in the morning and not be back until dark. Our parents knew we’d run out of food at some point and come back home. There were lots of laughs and skinned knees that Summer.

16. NancyN said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:39 am

    Every summer we visited my grandmother’s farm in southern Minnesota, and one of my favorite activities was looking for ripened milkweed pods, opening them and seeing the lovely white puffs float away.

17. Diane said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:43 am

    My Uncle would load all of the cousins in his dodge station wagon – the more the merrier (this was before seat beat laws) and on the last Sunday before school started he’d make us SING OUR WAY- the louder the better… to a popular ice cream place called Kimball Farms….and we all had to have a Kimball Special – which is pretty much about a 1/2 gallon of ice cream with all the bells and whistles…..he is gone from us now, but I always remember this special day each summer!

18. Valerie said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:43 am

    My family didn’t camp very often, but there were two memorable summers where we went camping at a lake a few hours away. I remember the enormous tent that was big enough for a family of 6, and my eldest sister, who was an older teen, having her own tent for her own sanity. There was a lot of fishing, and since I was the smallest, I didn’t get my own fishing pole, and had to fish with a string tied to my finger. I still caught fish that way. But I had a big brother and my dad to gut and clean the fish. There were also plenty of mosquitoes!

19. JoAnn W. said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:44 am

    I remember spending every day at the local swimming pool which was right across the street from our house. Ah, the good old days…

20. Beth said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:44 am

    Spending summers in Mattituck, Long Island with family and friends…lots of beach time, sailing, and water-skiing! I also loved the little village where we would go to pick up the daily newspaper and check the “General Delivery” mail. A wonderful throwback to a simpler time, even in the 1960s.

21. Julie said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:45 am

    My favorite summer memory was ice cream, ice cream, ice cream…pretty much every day!

22. Amy said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:48 am

    I never went to camp but my family did go camping. We had a little tiny trailer and while we camped at a lot of places, there was a small, county-run campground on the river less than an hour from our house. Usually camping meant lots of planning, lots of lists, and stocking the trailer, but once in a while, my mother, sister, and I would pack the trailer while Dad was at work and once he got home, we’d just go to that campground and relax.

23. Abigail said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:48 am

    Blueberry picking! I still love going but I remember trundling down rows of tall bushes, a bucket tied to my torso (I was too small to just tie around my waist) and all the blueberries I could eat.

24. Lisa said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:49 am

    My family used to pack up popcorn and drinks and other snacks, put on our favorite pajamas, load up pillows and blankets and head for the drive-in theater. If you backed into the space, you could open the back door of the station wagon and lay down to watch the movie. Of course there was always the option of the nylon webbed fold up chair perched beside the car. What fun we had!

25. Mandy said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:49 am

    My favorite memory was picnicking with my mom. We would just load up the car and head to many different locations – usually by a brook or creek. We would then spend the afternoon there wading, looking for creatures and talking. Sometimes when we would come home and make homemade ice cream in our hand crank machine.

26. Marilee said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:50 am

    I’m with Joanna – I loved the laziness of summer. Riding bikes, lying on the grass outside at night to look at the stars, reading books, watching reruns of Gilligan’s Island – nothing extraordinary, but magical just the same.

27. Matt said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:53 am

    Every weekend in the summer my parents, brother and grandmother would cram into my parents Ford Fairmont (without AC or FM radio) with an Irish Setter on our lap and head out to the cabin. Rain or shine, we would do this. There was no running water and we had an outhouse, but it was the best time now that I reflect on it.

28. Robin F. said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:57 am

    As a young child my favorite memories of summer were when we went to upstate NY where my Dad grew up. We would stay a a small bungalow colony and visit all the farms where his friends lived. The town had one stop light and my dad went to a 2-room school house, very different from the housing project in Queens, NY where we lived. We got to milk cows, collect eggs, brush horses, play in the lake.

29. Pattyv said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 10:58 am

    My memories are playing outside in the middle of the street all day long. The best was drinking water from the water hose!!

30. Jennifer said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:01 am

    I have many fond memories of our annual trips to Philadelphia to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins. My favorite memory is of Taylor Pork Roll sandwiches served on the back porch. My parents recently came back from a visit and brought us back some. Oh, the memories!

31. Kitten With A Whiplash said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:04 am

    Swimming. I was just one big drip from the last day of school ’til it started up again.

32. Margaret S. said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:06 am

    We used to go camping for several weeks at a time and got to go swimming, fishing, boating. I liked it because of the lack of chores so I had time to read books all day as well!

33. Kim said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:13 am

    Camping in the Santa Cruz mountains with other families from our church. We would take day trips in to Santa Cruz and we could never wait to get to the Boardwalk to ride the rides and eat junk food.

34. Kerry said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:16 am

    Every summer I would spend a week or so with my favorite aunt. She was a stay at home mom to my 3 cousins and was always ready for an adventure. Many summers I tagged along with them to Fort Ticonderoga for the Scottish tattoo. My uncle was incredibly proud of our Scottish heritage and we had a blast marching in the parades and watching the adults compete in the crazy games. We would camp out, go swimming, hiking, and fishing. So much fun! This summer we took my aunt to the Fort for the Scottish day festivities. It’s not as big as it once was but it brought back great memories!

35. Barbara said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:19 am

    When I was young – I made the grandparents rounds in the summer. Two weeks on the farm with my grandma and then 2 weeks in the city with my great-grandmother, taking swimming lessons.

36. Linda said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:20 am

    We lived in Chicago 1 block from Lake Michigan and did not have air conditioning. When it was just too hot to cook/eat in our apartment, my dad would bring home a sausage pizza and we would take it over to the huge concrete & stone blocks along the shoreline in front of La Rabia Sanitarium and eat our pizza (with pop to drink) on the “rocks” at the edge of the water.

37. Kjirsten said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:20 am

    When I was a kid, every summer our entire family (granparents, aunts, uncles, cousins…) went to cabins in northern Wisconsin for a week. I remember it being the most fun-filled, magical, wonderful week of the year!

38. BFF Liz said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:24 am

    Summer was freedom. I would ride my bike all over the neighborhood, see who was around, maybe play at someone’s house for a while, come back home, then go again. Omaha is very hilly, and there was one hill/curve combo over by my junior high that was just thrilling to ride down. Summer always felt dusty to me, hot and blue and dusty, even the rain. It didn’t get fully dark until after 9:30, and I loved sitting on our porch and watching the lightning bugs flicker on and off. My cousins and I would chase each other with “tickle weeds.” And always, there was time to read and read and read to my heart’s content. That’s summer to me.

39. Christine said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:25 am

    Going to summer camp, of course!

40. Bonnie said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:30 am

    Long weekends at the cabin. The swimsuit went on as soon as we got there. Rides around the lake on my dad’s pontoon boat, that without fail, would need repairs while we were on the lake so we always had the fishing poles ready. Which was funny because my mom ended up baiting the hooks and she hated the feel of the worms so she tucked a pair of rubber kitchen gloves in the tackle box.

41. Jaime said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:31 am

    I went to camp every summer growing up but one year I went to an artsy camp with a big campus throughout the woods. You’d walk these trails to get from the pool to tap dance to metal jewelry and long the way you’d pass the other “classes” in little wooden cabins with violin or drama, singing, painting. It was an interesting place. But most of all it had this very particular smell – a wet, woodsy smell with a bit of paint mixed in I think. Occasionally I smell it now and it just zooms me right back to that camp in the woods.

42. Robin said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:33 am

    Everyday I’d take the dogs to the creek so we could all wade and go in the swimming hole.
    One year, my parents and I drove from Kentucky to the Rockies. My Dad had a friend in Montana, so we slowly drove up Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. We camped out, went hiking, found hot springs. It was a great time. I think we were out there 2 weeks.

43. Veronica K said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:33 am

    The annual 4th of July party/family reunion. Awesome when I was a kid, stressful when I became an adult. LOL!

44. Kathy said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:34 am

    So many memories…

    I grew up in St. Louis city on a private street. Every summer the street would have a party at the end where the street was closed, so everyone, we had lots of kids of all ages, would get together and put on a show. We had a stage brought in and lights and we would sometimes have a fashion show so we would make our own clothes and put on shows and have parades. Chuck Berry lived on our street and when super 8 filming just came out he filmed all the kids and that was great and something we had never seen before. Everyone would make a dish or several and so we would eat and play and just have a grand time. A couple of times the news would come out and film us because it had been going on for so long. Not sure if it still happens or not but I would not doubt that it still goes on.

45. Karen said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:35 am

    for me it was the weekend BBQ’s that my parents put on. All the family would come from both sides and it was just wonderful. My grandmother would bake enough for an army and my Dad would BBQ. We’d play games (family wiffle ball was the best!), have the sprinklers going, toast marshmallows and just in general create good memories. Sadly a lot of the family is gone now, but I will always cherish those times.

46. Mary said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:36 am

    One summer my parents took me to the beach and we did something really special. Mom took a jello mold and used it to make a negative impression in wet sand. She then pulled out the mold, and we dropped in a candle wick. The wick was buried a little into the base and hung the length of the hole, attached to a stick across the top of the hole.

    We then poured in different layers of melted, colored candle wax. We let the wax cool all day and night – the next morning we pulled out a BEAUTIFUL sand candle. The damp sand stuck to the outer surface of the candle, creating a nice remembrance and great gifts later in the year (we made several).

    We also collected shells and would glue them on pieces of driftwood, shellac-ing them and made wall hangings.

    Great memories!

47. Cyndi said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:47 am

    Roasting marshmallows! Didn’t matter how hot or rainy or mosquito filled or icky the rest of the camping trip was as long as there was marshmallow roasting before hitting the sleeping bags

48. Joanne said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:47 am

    When we were really little we lived with my grandparents while my dad was stationed overseas. Those summers were the best since we played with our cousins every day, ate homemade ice cream that my grandpa churned, and at night we would play a game we invented called “tweedle bugs”.

49. Mary said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:48 am

    Growing up in Colorado we didn’t have fireflies (lightening bugs), but I loved going to visit my Grandmother in Michigan, I’d collect lots of them and try to use them to light the bedroom at night. I always felt bad for them in the jars and I’d sneak out in the middle of the night and set them free!

    I never went to “CAMP” but every vacation as a kid was camping with the whole family – even in the winter!

50. kate lathrop said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:51 am

    most summers growing up, we would pile into the family station wagon and drive back to Boston and New Hampshire to visit our grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. I have vivid memories of sitting in front of Grammy and Grampy’s triplex in Cambridge on their handkerchief size lawn, surrounded by hydrangea bushes, playing dolls and make believe with my sister. Sometimes I would join Grampy on the front porch as he listened to the Red Sox game on the radio and puttered with his various projects.

    There was also a park next door with a sprinkler system and we would spend hours running around in the spray to cool off, then run back to Grammy’s for ice cream cones. If we were really good, we got to go up the street with her to the local market and browse the toy aisle.

    One of my cousins lives not too far from the old triplex, and in the pictures she sent it and the park still look the same. It brings back a lot of good memories.

51. Lynn Z said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:51 am

    My favorite summer activity was selling sweet corn on the side of the road with my cousins near my grandparents farm. We would fill the back of my grandpa’s big green truck and set up on the side of the highway. Customers got a great deal – 13 ears of freshly picked Iowa sweet corn for $1!

52. Linda said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:53 am

    My dad built a house on a big lake , so my childhood summers were filled with sunny days of swimming, fishing..lots of people visiting or stopping by. The drive-in movies was directly across the lake, so we would watch it with binoculars.

53. mellenknits said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:57 am

    Most of our summers were spent driving to various towns across NY state for softball tournaments. Although most of the hotels were budget level and we ate more fast food and pizza than anything else, it seemed luxurious to a 10 year old!

54. Anita said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 11:57 am

    We caught lightning bugs too. Mom & Dad would sit on the front porch in the porch swing and we kids would catch lightning bug and play freeze tag. We ate popsicles & fudgesicles. During the daytime we would catch June Bugs and tie a string to one of their legs and let them fly around us in circles. We had no clue we were being cruel to the June bugs when their legs came off!

55. Alex said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:03 pm

    I’d watch the geckos climb my grandparent’s fence and try to figure out how to drink out of their swimming pool.

56. Marilyn said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:06 pm

    My dad’s job would often take him out of town. When we were out of school, he’d often take my brother, my mom, and I with him on business trips. I have many fond memories of eating breakfast every morning in the hotel lobby, my mom taking us around Monterey or San Francisco to explore during the day, and happy hour at night (just sodas for us). We had so much fun together spending time as a family somewhere new and unfamiliar.

57. Maureen said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:07 pm

    Every summer we would go to my Grandmothers place in the Adirondacks. We would meet up with my Aunt and Uncle and their kids and spend the days in the creek and hiking in the woods.We had some great times.

58. Bev said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:16 pm

    Summertime to me will always be watermelon and homemade ice cream in Grandma’s back yard. We’d pull up the lawn chairs and help Grandpa turn the crank on the ice cream freezer. We caught lots of lightning bugs too. It still makes me smile when I walk into my own backyard during twilight in the summer.

59. Allison C said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:17 pm

    Every summer we would go on a 2 week long camping road trip. I would help select the destinations and obscure sites to see. It was awesome!

60. diane said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:19 pm

    One of my favorite memories of summer was a Girl Scout camp canoe trip on the Delaware River… Three days of canoeing and camping, sleeping in a nice farmers barn one night in the pouring rain and lots of swimming.

61. ThatCleverClementine said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:20 pm

    Every summer, the carnival would come to our street. In hindsight, it was a Very Small Carnival. But to us? Heaven on earth!

    There were a dozen or so rides, some games, and … best of all … the pony man! Anytime we could put our hands on a bit of cash, we could get all dressed up in our fancy cowboy/cowgirl duds (because, of course, every city child in the mid-50s had a complete cowpoke get up!) and ride the ponies.

62. Channon said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:25 pm

    Chincoteague pony swim. OMG. Highlight of my young life. My darling aunt took two of her nieces and one of her (adult) friends along. She was good hearted enough to even assure me that if we … won? (I don’t recall? a raffle maybe?) a pony, we’d put it in the back of the station wagon…

    Riiiight. All of us rode horses, so I should have known better, but we didn’t win so it was a cute answer…

63. Beverly said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:26 pm

    For several years when I was a kid, we would pack up and go to the Illinois River in Eastern Oklahoma to float down the river in a canoe! At first, we had just one canoe, but when my brother and I got older, we’d get two and I’d share with my dad. It was so much fun. We’d laze down the river, with our big cooler in the middle of one of the canoes, trying NOT to tip over, but doing it every once in awhile anyway. It was a blast! I sure miss floating the river. I should talk my hubby into going some summer. (Not now…too hot!)

64. Mary Beth said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:26 pm

    I would stay the summer with my Grandma and help work on the farm. It was so fun to be with her, away from home, and to be on the farm.

65. Kathy said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:27 pm

    I have really great growing up memories but the one that stands out is going to a resort in Canada with my grandparents. I was 5 when we started going and I went until I was 19 years old. We played on the beach and went fishing and I was able to spend quality time with Nana and Papa. A memory that I will always treasure.

66. Meg said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:29 pm

    All of the kids in our neighborhood would play capture the flag in our backyards. All of the kids would play – 4 year olds through teenagers. It was so much fun.

67. Melissa said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:35 pm

    I remember going to baseball games with my family. I don’t really love sports, but I still love going to baseball games!

68. Angela said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:36 pm

    We would take 1 big trip in the summer as a family, usually a roadtrip and then a theme park. When I got older my parents would let me bring a friend and help with planning where to go. Later in life, it’s been all about camping and getting unplugged for a while.

69. katrina said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:46 pm

    i used to go to a small summer camp run by a family friend. there were usually no more than six of us, and it was therefore very intimate, and not at all mainstream. we wrote and performed our own plays [interpreting king arthur one year, odysseus another], practiced eurythmics, learned hand-sewing skills, watercolor techniques and how to bake bread. the smell i most strongly remember is that of the chamomile flowers we would harvest in the mornings. it was rather brilliant, really…

70. Emily said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:47 pm

    My family would occasionally go canoeing for the day in the rivers around St Louis. We weren’t very good at it… but it was a lot of fun!

71. Susan said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:48 pm

    My favorite thing to do was decorate my bike for the annual 4th of July parade in my hometown. It was always a lot of fun

72. Jen said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 12:56 pm

    When I was a kid, we used to take one week every summer to rent a cottage on a lake. Sometimes it was only 20 minutes away from home, sometimes a few hours. But we always spent the day in the water and the evening fishing. I remember pulling tons of huge sunfish and bluegill in from the docks at sunset, and fishing for largemouth bass, catfish, and other panfish from a rowboat with my mom in the mornings.

73. Bonney said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:01 pm

    Probably the best memory I have is spending the day with friends at the town swimming pool then home for dinner. After a minimum of time spent with the family it was on my trusty bike to a friends’ house for an evening of rummy. Sometimes the rummy was at my house but her mom made the best iced tea ever!

74. Dana said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:03 pm

    My family always went to the beach the exact same week every summer- this week, in fact! My mom’s birthday is July 27 (once again, today!! happy birthday Mom!) and my grandparents’ anniversary was the same day, so we always went on our vacation during that week as a great celebration. The first night we got to the beach, we always grilled out hamburgers on the grill on the condominium’s patio, and ate dessert sitting on the beach watching the tide come in. It was always a contest to see who saw the first star come out. I miss those days, and hope to create a tradition much like that for my kids when I start a family with my fiancee.

75. im just lori said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:06 pm

    When I was a latchkey kid, every week in the summer my mom would leave me this long, long long list of things to do–some would be usual chores (make your bed, empty the dishwasher), some were longer-term house projects I could do on my own (“paint the steps to over the garage” was a memorable one), and some were just fun (finish a book, rollerskate with friends, see a movie, etc). It didn’t really matter if I finished the list, but it was fun to work through it, and cross off things as I finished them.

76. Joyce said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:07 pm

    I grew up in Iowa. Each summer my family would head to either Chicago or St. Louis to take in a baseball game and go to the zoo. I LOVED it because it meant we would stay in a motel with a pool! So many years ago……

77. Jean said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:10 pm

    on of my favorite memories was camping at the lake with my dad. He would rent a cabin and I would spend hours reading books and laying on the bed while the cool New Hampshire breezes blew thru the upstairs….

78. Anne said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:10 pm

    My dad used to make us cowboy campfire suppers. My mom worker evenings at the phone company, so while she was gone, my dad gathered some twigs and built a little fire in the driveway (it was unpaved). Then he would put some hot dogs on sticks, heat up some baked beans, and – well, you can imagine the rest…… My brother and I thought it was great!,,,,,

79. valerie said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:10 pm

    we had a family camp on a pond. we would go there every friday night while my dad was working at the local drag races. we’d just hang out. and swim. and play board and card games. and EAT. unfortunately, my grandparents sold it when they moved to florida. it’s a decision i regret (even if it wasn’t mine) every single summer day.

80. Patricia said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:11 pm

    We used to go camping in our pop up camper at a local dam. We would swim all day and then head back to hot dogs and burgers cooked on a hibachi. We only stayed for a weekend here and there but it was terrific!

81. Judi said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:12 pm

    One of my favorite summer memories is my birthday, July 12. I always got to have a sleep over with a friend and our treat was to walk several blocks to the local pharmacy with a lunch counter. We both got buffalo sundaes, ice cream with hot fudge and marshmallow cream. After that we got to stay up late (after dark) and play outside games with the neighbor kids. Games included eeny, inie over, throwing balls over the top of the house and trying to catch them and then running to the other side of the house to catch the other team.

82. Tamara said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:16 pm

    I’m from Trinidad and Tobago and summers mostly meant island hopping. However, on the times that we didn’t travI got to explore my homeland there was always something to awe and do. I get to look back on those days and smile.

83. Patty said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:19 pm

    My favorite vacation memory as a child was going to Cedar Point and staying for a week at Hotel Breakers…did that yearly for several years….loved it!!

84. Linda said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:23 pm

    We used to spend the 4th of July at Clear Lake with about 45-60 family members. My grandpa was one of three brothers, and most of their families would make the trek for 3 or 4 days over the holiday. We stayed in the un-airconditioned dorms of a church camp, sleeping in old army bunks in the upstairs that was divided into a girl’s side and a boy’s side. We swam in the not-so-clear lake and ate and played and swam and tried to ring the giant bell in the center of the camp and watched fireworks and even lit a few of our own. And it was wonderful!

85. Sarah F. said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:24 pm

    Camping! We took Family Camping Trips every summer. I am packing right now to take my kids on a family camping trip this weekend!!

86. Josiane said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:27 pm

    My grandparents lived by a lake, and we were there as often as we could during the summer. At least once a week, for sure, because Grandma liked to have the whole family over for lunch every Sunday: with all of my uncles, aunts, and cousins there, it was like Christmas every week! After we had had lunch, waiting the half hour our parents wanted us to wait before we could go back in the water was pure torture – though they were probably right in thinking it would’ve been unsafe for us to go swimming right away, considering how full we’d stuffed ourselves of Grandma’s delicious food! I could go on and on like this – summers at my grandparents’ place were so much fun! They’ve left me with tons of wonderful summer memories.

87. Melissa said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:31 pm

    My favorite part of summer when I was little was attending Summer Recreation. We spent time swimming and crafting. One craft in particular that we still talk about (about 40 years later) was the toe-dumple that I made. My poor family was so confused and struggled to figure out what I was talking about. It was several plastic juice bottles glued one atop the other with faces painted on them…like the Native Americans used to make…you know…a toe-dumple…..or rather a Totem Pole.

88. Rebecca said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:39 pm

    We used to catch lightening bugs, too! My favorite part of summer was most definitely a trip to Six Flags and eating ‘Pink Things’.

89. Melody Bryan said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:43 pm

    For 2 summers when I was a child my mom rented a downstairs apt one block from the atlantic ocean. She was still able to go to work for 3 weeks out of the month – it was a great location and I enjoyed being near the beach – I grew up about 15 miles from the beach so I was no stranger to beach going but something about living close and being down there every day with my grandmother was just perfect. The owner of the house lived upstairs with her two daughters who were about my age – what fun we had. I also remember crocheting a lot that summer and walking to the 5 and dime with my grandmother to get more pastel baby yarn. Good times all those many years ago. Melody

90. Diane said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:44 pm

    Among MANY things – sitting with my Grandmother or my Aunt Elsa on their front porch on her creaky, squeaky metal porch glider with the pretty cushions on it. We’d sit and enjoy the quiet or have a story read. Sometimes for a “treat” grandmother would make a picnic lunch and my aunt, my sister and I would have lunch under the pink dogwood tree with the moss around the base of it. Just sandwiches and lemonade and fun being little with our Aunt and Grandmother (before my 2 brothers and baby sister were born And yes, we’d catch lightning bugs and put them in an old clean mayonaise jar (with small holes my father would punch in the top) and my sister and I would use it for a “night light” to go to sleep with when we were little. You can buy toys for kids but you can’t buy memories like all of these shared here by all on the blog today

91. NKD said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:46 pm

    Some of my favorite memories are from our family’s summer trips to the beautiful Outer Banks. Now I’m closer to Cape Cod (also wonderful) but I’d love to get back to NC one summer!

92. Joline said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:56 pm

    When I was a kid, we would always go camping in May to an island on a lake. The nights were chilly and we spent a lot of time around the campfire playing crib. During the day, we’d go for long bike rides and listen to lectures about nature at the local ranger station. We tried sasperilla and mint tea.

    Thanks for reminding me of those summers.

93. Helen said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 1:58 pm

    Two wonderful memories come to mind from summers at my grandmother’s: we used to go next door to our great aunts’ house and “help” them bake pies. We would get the trimmings from pie dough and were encouraged to get creative with the dough and some cinnamon and sugar. When our works of art came out of the oven we scarfed them all down, our aunts telling us all the while not to tell our mother that we were “eating between meals” at their house. Another fun thing we did was help our grandmother with the weeding in the vegetable garden and picking vegetables for our dinner. We lived in the city the rest of the year so we arrived there thinking that vegetables came from a supermarket of course. How fresh those vegetables tasted compared to the ones we ate at home. In the evenings, we sat on the big wrap-around porch and swatted mosquitos!

94. Paulette said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 2:00 pm

    Many summers we drove from Illinois to Galvestion, TX, in our non-airconditioned car (Whew! it got hot!) and stayed in these little cabins right on the beach. It seems we always would get really sunburned—that was painful! We had a ball though living on the beach for a week! Love to still look at the pictures of those many fun vacations.

95. Janet said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 2:07 pm

    Chickens barbequed over hickory charcoal and homemade banana ice cream. Always banana!

96. Kelly S said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 2:10 pm

    My favorite summertime memories revolve around the little vacations that my family would take. We never took a big vacation just a series of day trips to local attractions. The zoo was always my favorite and still is!

97. Sandy said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 2:11 pm

    Camping and fishing with my Gramdpa – THE BEST

98. Melanie said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 2:11 pm

    My favorite summer memory is the St. Jude Golf Tournament. It is now the FedEx St. Jude Classic, but back then it was a lot smaller. There were always famous people who came in and all of my friends would gather and go up to the fourth hole to try to get autographs. I still have my autograph book. I met Danny and Marlo Thomas, but my favorite was Gerald Ford. We had a street sign with his name on it that we had removed for the occasion (we did put it back!) and he came over to talk with us and give autographs, much to the dismay of his secret service detail!

99. Jeny said,

    July 27, 2011 @ 2:12 pm

    Being able to walk along the beach in Aberdeen at midnight, and watch the sunset – can’t do it for many nights a year, but fantastic when you can.

100. karen w said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 2:19 pm

     Visiting my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents in ND. It was a 2 day drive from MI. My parents used to drive very leisurely. Now, I leave really, really early and drive 20 hours in one shot. (The time change helps, too.)

101. Denise Katz said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 2:20 pm

     One of my favorite summer memories is spending time with my family at Callaway Gardens in Georgia. We used to go every year, as well as my uncle and his family and other family friends. The kids got to go to the day camp that was run by the cast members of the FSU Flying High circus. We would spend the days doing games, arts and crafts, learning circus tricks, swimming and other fun kid stuff. We got to see the circus every day at 4 pm. We spent time in the cabins with our friends and family, cooked out and played games. I really hope to do this one day with my brother and his family.

102. tabitha said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 2:22 pm

     My two summer memories are camping and horse shows. Every summer we loaded up the camper and spent two weeks visiting some place we had never been. It was total adventure. The best part of the summer. The second best part of summer was competing in horse shows. My quarter horses and I brought home a number of ribbons.

103. Samoofish said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 2:24 pm

     We would roast marshmallows over the grill. But we had to go into the garden and find our roasting sticks. Which took far longer than the roasting and the inevitable setting-marshmallows-on-fire part of the evening.

104. Maryanne said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 2:25 pm

     We only did it occassionally, but swimming in the quarry after dark really made some memories for me.

105. southparknitter said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 2:26 pm

     Camping with my family at the beach is my best memory. We camped other places too but the beach trips were best. Other local families with kids my age were there and we always did fun things. My dad used to grill cheeseburgers that were the best and cooked dump cake in a dutch oven in the coals.

106. Lacey said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 2:28 pm

     Every summer I went to stay with my grandparents who had a patio with a low brick wall that surrounded it. I would go to one side of the patio and cross the wall and dig for rolly pollys on the other side. I don’t know what made that such a great thing to do, but I did it every summer and loved it! I also climbed any tree I could haul myself up into and ate navel oranges by the ton. I also shelled butter beans. I guess my grandparents figured out cheap labor when they saw it!

107. Marianne Y said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 2:41 pm

     When I was younger, I enjoyed tubing, with a semi-truck size tube, behind my Dad’s small boat; this was before we had the fancy tubes that are available today. Then, as I went through my teenage years, I learned to water ski. I wasn’t the fastest learner. The first summer, on double skis, I didn’t know I had to stand up, so they called me the champion three-pointed skier (my bottom & the the two skis). I eventually learned to love to ski on one ski. The first summer I did that, it took me all summer to do that, because I was developing the muscles in my arms and forearms to pull myself up. We discovered that because I could get up as fast behind my Dad’s boat with an 18 horsepower motor as I could with my former boyfriend’s speed boat with a 175 horsepower motor; I was running on Marianne power, LOL. I also loved the few trips that we got to make to Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Parks, & Yosemite National Park, etc.

108. Wendy in Cambridge said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 2:42 pm

     My favorite thing about my childhood summers is lightening bugs, and I still love them. I live in the city now, so I haven’t seen any for many years–boo. I’m very heat sensitive and summer is my least favorite season, but I remember well how fireflies delighted me–and still would, if I ever saw one!

     We took lonnnnnng car trips every summer, and I saw most of this country when I was still young. Although my brother and I used to complain, now we remember those trips fondly, and we learned a lot.

109. Bonnie G. said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 2:44 pm

     My favorite summer memory is laying on the grass after dark and watching the stars light up. That and adding clover to my ice cream

110. Donna said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:02 pm

     My dad was in the Air Force and when we were stationed in Hawaii I saved my money all year from my after school job. I used it to buy a ticket to my grandparents’ farm in North Carolina. I spent the summer playing in the fields and riding on the tractor. My grandfather passed away this past August and I really cherish the time we spent together that summer.

111. TMTTYRR said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:11 pm

     I had this great playhouse in my back yard. It was a log cabin, and it was under the maple tree with seven trunks that grew in my back yard. We would clean it out and spend hours in there and the sand box all summer. Or we would go play at one of the “neighborhood grandparents’” houses. We had three sets, and all were special. Beulah used to have us in for taffy pulls. Mrs. Benesek used to have a general store set we’d play with, and a mini soda fountain set, and she’d bring us ice cream so we could play with that. And the Ponds had a whole acre with a HUGE garden, and we’d sit on their picnic table eating home made ice cream flavored with fresh picked fruit.

     Yep. Summer time!

112. Joni said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:16 pm

     Fresh sweet corn. I so miss being able to run up the highway and buying a dozen ears of corn, fresh out of the field that morning, sold by the farmer’s kids out of the back of their pickup!

113. Betty said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:16 pm

     My mom and dad were very busy operating their own business and being an only child, they got me a horse for a summer companion. The best time was when I was able to bring him home. We tethered him in all the vacant fields around our house which was very easy as we lived on the outskirts of the city. We were the best of companions and I still miss him to this day. What a wonderful life. City living with a taste of country.

114. diane said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:18 pm

     Oh, the summer memories! We could not afford long summer vacations, so most of our time was spent at home. No air-conditioning, so in the hot afternoons we would retreat to the cool basement to play board games, work on whatever needlework Mom had gotten for us, or, my favorite, curl up in a comfy chair with a good book. After supper, the neighborhood kids gathered on the street around the corner (which had very little traffic) to play street games like Statue or Simon Says. And we also caught lots of lightening bugs and put them in jars with holes in the caps. Now I go out on my back deck in the evening to watch them!
     Thanks for the memories, Sheri!

115. Natalie Larson said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:21 pm

     We grew up in California, so camping was at the beach…bonfires, smores and waking up to the sound of waves crashing.

116. Brittany Laine said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:28 pm

     Going to the pool for the first time! I always remember being so excited to jump into the freezing cold water with my little brothers. We’d have tea parties on the bottom of the pool, try to swim like mermaids, have a handstand contest, and see who could hold their breath the longest. Ah, good times.

117. Lacey Brooks said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:28 pm

     When we first started dating my now husband and I would go to the drive-in theater regularly every summer. It was always a double feature and only $6 per person to get in. Where else can you pay $6 and see two different movies?! We’d pack a cooler of snacks (mainly chocolate for me and gummie worms for him) and water bottles, a big blanket to lie on, and hop in the car. Naturally we’d have to leave early and wait in a long line on the side of the road until it opened. We love to read to each other so I would bring our current book and read while we waited. We went to the drive-in right after he proposed to me too! Only I didn’t read while we waited in line that night. I made phone calls to all my girl friends to tell them the news!

118. Kathy said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:29 pm

     Anything and everything to do with WATER! My dad’s club on a pond, my aunt and uncle’s above-ground pool, usually a week or two at a variety of summer camps (all of which had some kind of pond / lake waterfront), a state park lake in the woods, a cousin’s in-ground pool, and occasionally even a week on the Cape, which meant a whole week of the beach and the ocean! I guess I was born part fish. I remember staying in the water ’til Mom made me get out because my fingers were wrinkled like prunes and my lips were blue.

119. Kathryn said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:36 pm

     When I was younger my father would take us (all 7 kids!) up to the mountains to a family cabin and he would always stop and pull off the side of the road at a particular spot. We would all get out, hike into the woods to a natural spring where we could all get a drink of the fresh water. I have no idea how to get this spot anymore but the memory of of it stays with me.

120. Cherie said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:38 pm

     I’d spend a week each summer at my grandmother’s farm – sometimes on my own and other times with cousins. Am sure it was during one of those weeks that she taught me to knit. Loved going out in the evening and catching lightning bugs.

121. Megan said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:43 pm

     Many of my favorite summer memories revolve around my family’s annual week at the beach. I loved the chance to spend so much time with my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. I have so many fond memories of playing in the surf, searching for sea shells, playing putt-putt, and going for ice cream. These are memories I look forward to re-creating each summer.

122. Ann said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:50 pm

     My parents had a cottage on Lake Ontario. It was always fun to build a bonfire of driftwood on the beach and roast marshmallows for s’mores.

123. Beth said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:55 pm

     Once a year, on a very hot day, my mom would make ice cream sundaes for dinner. That was always fun!

124. MelissaN said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 3:56 pm

     Hmmm.

     My mother used to send my sister and I to art camp for a week. We learned to do a lot of different things – tye dye, sculputure, painting, but no fiber art. Guess I’m making up for it now, I never knew what I was missing!

125. Lilie said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:02 pm

     Almost every year we would go to the fair. It’s call Klondike Days (referring during the gold rush days). We would walk around, check out the stands, go on rides and of course eat. I miss the mini sugar doughnuts you could get then.

126. Vicki said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:04 pm

     I got to read a lot in the summer when I was a kid. I, too, caught lightening bugs at my grandparent’s and put them in a jar. I remember one summer when I caught a caterpillar and put it in a jar. It spun a cocoon and eventually hatched into a butterfly!

127. Liz said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:07 pm

     Summer to me was always going to camp. I went to Camp Oconto in the Land o’ Lakes district of Ontario. Glorious days, learning new things, hanging out with your friends – the best memories and a wonderful childhood summers year after year. I will always be grateful to my mother for spending her own money (saved when she worked before she got married) and sending me there every summer!

128. Pat Facemire said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:15 pm

     I grew up in Long Island, Ny, and the best things were getting to go to the beach everyday on the LI sound for swimming lessons. I also loved getting to play Ghost in The Graveyard in the neighborhood in the evenings!

129. Barbara-Kay said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:16 pm

     I fondly recall the freedom of summers, being able to read whatever I wanted. I’d go up to my room, open both floor-to-ceiling windows (turn of the century house), sprawl out on my bed and lose myself in the book of the day.

     Come to think of it, other than now relying on air conditioning, retirement is like summer. Life is good!

130. Erin said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:23 pm

     I had a great-aunt who lived in Cape Coral, FL. She sadly lost her husband fairly early, right after he retired from the Navy and they moved to FL. Being a bit of a spit-fire, she chose to stay instead move back to VA where the rest of our family lived. She never had any children of her own, but “adopted” my father, so my brothers & I were for all intents and purposes her grandchildren. Every summer we would load up the car and drive down the coast to spend a week at her little house. There were orange trees in the backyard she picked for breakfast every morning and her pool was screened in, which all seemed very cool to us. Every trip included a day at beach on Sanibel or Captiva island, where we nearly always spotted rays or dolphins, sometimes swimming almost right to the shore. My aunt passed away a few years ago, but those visits remain some of my favorite summer memories.

131. Robin said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:25 pm

     My family spent summers camping with our cousins–there were 10 kids between the 2 families, and we spent the days hiking and riding our bikes. There was a place where a stream flowed over the road and we had the best time riding our bikes through the water. We spent the evenings toasting marshmellows, making camp “pies” and telling ghost stories.

132. Robin said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:26 pm

     My family spent summers camping with our cousins–there were 10 kids between the 2 families, and we spent the days hiking and riding our bikes. There was a place where a stream flowed over the road and we had the best time riding our bikes through the water. We spent the evenings toasting marshmallows, making camp “pies” and telling ghost stories.

133. Eunice said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:26 pm

     My grandparents were some of the most important people in my life as a child. Every summer we would go on vacation with them, my mom and dad, brother and sister, and I . Seven of us in one car! Trips to Colorado were my favorite.

134. jennifer said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:28 pm

     I grew up in the Mojave desert, so the summers were always blisteringly hot. We had an above ground pool, and most nights right before bed we would go for a swim to cool off. The stars are amazing at night there, and nothing beats floating in a pool and gazing at them.

135. Kamilla Mazanec said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:28 pm

     Don’t ask how old I am, but my best memory is walking after dinner with my father to the pony ride concession on a big vacant lot about 3 blocks away. On weeknights, I got one ride for 10 cents. On the weekend, my dad splurged, and I got 3 rides for a quarter. There is a large apartment building on that lot now.

136. Beth Gray said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:29 pm

     Being on the St Lawrence River, swimming all day long, but the favorite part was running and jumping in whenever the tour boats went by, throwing up their big waves that we got to float on as they reached the shore. Ah, to be able to do that right now during all this heat in DC!

137. Sharilyn said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:42 pm

     I went to twirling camp each summer growing-up and met all sorts of interesting people. We got to choose which extra classes to take each afternoon so I got to try fire baton, dance routines and 2 and 3 baton trick classes. We also had a budget that we we able to use in the cateen each afternoon — I think my favorite snack was a grape pop and a 100,000 Grand candy bar.

138. Connie said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:57 pm

     When I was a child my family had a summer house at the beach. When school got out my father loaded everyone into the “Beachwagon”(remember the old woodies) and we were off to the summer house until Labor Day. My mother and all the children stayed for the entire summer and my father came on weekends and sometimes on Wednesday nights. Friday’s were very special. My mother got us cleaned up and in clean clothes and of course she primped as well. In those days it was a one car family so we walked everywhere. We walked the “mile road” a name given for the road that connected the point where we lived to civilization. We would wait and welcome my father home there.. Once settled back at the house and dinner was served and cleaned up we all received our allowances. younger children getting 10 cents and the older ones getting a quarter. Back then 10 Cents bought a ton of penny candy. Growing up at the beach was wonderful and having the parents I had was such a privilege – sharing them with 7 other siblings was also something special. I was second youngest which meant I took orders from almost everyone. We had boats and water skiied, we had friends and went to dances on friday nights. Summers at the beach were incredible and yes we also collected fireflies. We also laid on the lawn and counted falling stars. Remembering childhood has made camp loopy all the more special

139. Laura said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:58 pm

     My favorite young child memories are summertime at my grandparents’ farm in east Texas. My grandfather would let me “help” dig up potatoes, pick tomatoes, pick string beans, and play in the hot dirt.
     My favorite memories as an older child in my immediate family were the summers we took road trips. We all love to travel, and we were able to take one trip through New England to Prince Edward Island, Canada (I LOVED the Anne of Green Gables series, so I was thrilled) and one much longer trip west, through South Dakota, Yellowstone, up to Vancouver, down to the Grand Canyon, and back to Kentucky, where we’d started. Reminiscing about those vacations is still one of our favorite things to do as a family, and it’s been nearly 15 years since the last one.

140. Alice said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 4:59 pm

     This might be pretty lame to some, but a fond childhood summer memory that I have is sucking on honeysuckles. There were bunches around my childhood home and the sent would fill the air, drawing me to them. Yummmmm! Not had honeysuckle in yeeeeeeeears.

141. Shannon Gleason said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:00 pm

     Every summer I would spend a couple of weeks with my grandparents. It was something that I am very glad I had a chance to do. They are no longer with us, so I am grateful to have the special memories of times spent together.

142. Becky said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:02 pm

     My boys are really into catching lightening bugs this summer! My younger son was just talking about it this morning, in fact.

     Some of my fondest memories of childhood are of Girl Scout Camp. I would go for at least one week each summer, and it was always fun to make new friends, and feel “independent” for a short time.

143. Angela said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:02 pm

     We always went to the river for a week and swam in the water (got stung by nettles) and fished. It was a wonderful time!

144. Alicia said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:05 pm

     What an adorable picnic idea! I love it. Whenever I have kids I’ll probably steal your adventure club idea, I think it’s great.

     One summer when I was 10 my uncle decided he wanted to own horses so my whole family got together to clear the land behind his house and build a barn. So that summer I spent every weekend with most of my extended family while they worked on building the barn and riding rings and getting the horses in. We’d be there late and build campfires and all hang out together. I’m sure it was a lot of work for the adults but as a kid it was so much fun!

145. Lauren said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:12 pm

     When I was growing up I used to live up the road from my best friend from school, so of course during the summer school holidays we could hang out every day still! Behind her house there was a church which had extensive grounds, mostly made up of overgrown gardens and bushland. It was a child’s haven basically, we used to hide in the gardens and sneak around, and made up stories about the reclusive church people or the fairies in the gardens. We spent so many summers there, it was a wonderful way to grow up!

146. Dottie said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:12 pm

     I love the picnic idea! If I can find a way to keep the mosquitos for chowing down on my little guy, we may have to steal it.
     One of my favorite summer memories is of the green turtle pool I used as a little kid. It was made of plastic (it even had a slide), and in my imagination it was a rocket ship – perfect for trips to the moon for eating green cheese!

147. Marcia said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:14 pm

     Used to put on our swim suits & run & dance in the summer rain!! Felt so free!!

148. Lise said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:15 pm

     One summer we went to see Niagra Falls and to Canada for the Worlds Fair. It rained the whole time. I remember my daddy wearing a shower cap to keep his head dry and my brother jumPing in every puddle he could find.

149. pattie said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:16 pm

     we slept in the barn-made beds of straw and now I think OMG what about the raccoons and such! What was my mother thinking, letting us do that!!

150. Amy Salazar said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:22 pm

     Being from Texas it was always hot in summer so we tried to go someplace cooler.
     I was in heaven when my mom discovered Red River NM. It had the river to play in, little shops to explore, and best of all, horses to rent so you could ride as much as you wanted!

151. Alice said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:24 pm

     When I was little we lived in a house in St. Louis with no air-conditioning. And, of course, my mom was pregnant twice in the 3 years we were there. So, we took lots of field trips – everything from the grocery store to Forest Park to the museum under the Arch. Now, every time it gets warm I have this urge to go to the Art Museum…

152. LindaM said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:26 pm

     I got my first horse in the 7th grade… That summer, every day either my older brother or sister drove me to the barn first thing in the morning, and I stayed until dinner-time. There were a bunch of other kids there, and we played cowboys & Indians, Bonanza and all kinds of other western-type games, but with real horses!

153. Chris F said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:26 pm

     When I was younger, we lived in Illinois. My family would go to Minnesota or Wisconsin for summer vacation every year. Dad would just drive until he found “the perfect” small resort or bunch of cabins and we’d find a vacancy and stay for up to 2 weeks. We’d spend all day swimming, fishing, and playing in the woods and having the best time imaginable. One year Dad found a great small resort in northern Minnesota (somewhere near Ely) and we spent the next 3 years’ vacations staying at the same place. It was there I saw my first Northern Lights; what a magical experience. I have wonderful memories of our vacations: the fun, fishing with Dad, boating, swimming, and just plain enjoying our lives. We didn’t grow up rich, but we were rich in memories and love.

154. Heather B said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:31 pm

     I have vivid memories of running back and forth between the sheets my mother put out on the cloths line. Also picking strawberries in our garden.

155. Samantha Edwards said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:44 pm

     My favorite summer memory is of my dad, my brother and I singing, “In the Summertime” by Mungo Jerry. My brother and I thought it was the funniest song and we loved to sing it in the summer!!!

156. Faith said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:51 pm

     Well…summertime was never my season. But, one fond memory would be visiting sites around Chicago when I was there visiting family…Buckingham fountain at night. Lincoln Park Zoo. Museum of Science and Industry and boating on Lake Geneva. Of course there wa also Ice Cream at 31 Flavors or Swenson’s. Nice memories I hadn’t thought about in some time.

157. Kristen said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:51 pm

     I grew up in Colorado but my family is all from the Chicago area. So every Fourth of July, we would go back to Chicago to visit my Grandma and my Aunt, Uncle and Cousins. We’d usually stay a week or so and have a big cookout on the Fourth. There was always a parade the morning of the fourth. And then we’d all walk over to the high school where they would shoot off fireworks. They always had a band playing and I’d sit with my Grandma. She was very musically inclined and knew all of the patriotic songs. Then after fireworks we’d have ice cream at the little ice cream shop a few blocks from her house. We don’t have lightning bugs in Colorado but they do in Chicago and we always used to love catching lightning bugs while we were there. She had a big mulberry tree in her yard and we were always running around barefoot and getting purple stained feet. I loved so much visiting my Grandma in the summer. She died almost three years ago now, and I miss her so much!

158. Suzanne said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 5:56 pm

     We went camping every summer (the week before Labor day) from the time I was 6 months old (I got sick, they had to bring me home) till I was about 19. My parents had a cottage at a lake but that wasn’t considered vacation so we went camping. We had a pop up camper and then used tents as we got older. We would mostly go to ME, NH and Cape Cod. I do remember one lake in either ME or NH that I would call the coca cola lake as it was that color. My sister and I were out at a raft and as we swam back, a snake swam in front of us. I am sure I screamed as I am not too fond of snakes.

159. Marsha in Colorado said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 6:00 pm

     Favorite summer memory-leaving HOT Texas and spending a week in a cabin in Creede, CO,
     with parents and grandparents, riding horses every day, and fishing in streams and reservoirs and the Rio Grande river. It must have made a big impression on me since I married a guy from Colorado and we moved from Texas 28 years ago and moved my folks up with us and we never looked back!

160. Wendy Wadge said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 6:07 pm

     My two favorite memories are going to the local pond to catch tadpoles and water boatmen, sometimes even a newt. The other was visiting my aunt in Scotland and disappearing for an entire day with my cousins. They had fields, a river and a ruined castle near their house and we spent our days exploring, playing and paddling!

161. Lee said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 6:15 pm

     Best memories….my Dad was a State Park ranger…we “lived” at the beach. It was pretty special having the “Ranger” come and eat lunch with us ! Growing up in Maine…..all the berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and chokecherries too !). My Mom made them in pies, desserts and jams !

162. Marissa said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 6:15 pm

     Many times when we went to the beach we would leave early to get a good spot and stop at Allie’s doughnuts. The honey dew were the best. Also we would usually take a trip to NH and visit my grandfather and his wife. I would usually get car sick on the way up. My grandfather would walk us into town and take us to the candy store. It was a lot of fun.. We would also go on vacation to NH, or NY. Lots of fun. Now making memories with my own children.

163. Teresa said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 6:18 pm

     My neighborhood elementary school had Craft Club in the summer. I could walk over and make things. I loved to make things! Imagine that! What project do I remember most? A lanyard! Those long plastic strips woven in and out of each other to make a lanyard for keys or whatever. I’m sure I never used them, but they were great fun to make.

164. Erika said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 6:27 pm

     Where I grew up blackberries are a weed – in fact Parks and Rec would set up groups to go cut them down and destroy them because they took over EVERYTHING and would choke native species out. But every summer, in August, the berries are ripe and since the bushes are EVERYWHERE you can walk down any street and pick blackberries and eat all the way to where ever you’re going.

     So every year I would take The Girls Next Door ™ – 4 little girls that I babysat and was good friends with – blackberry picking! They would get their faces messy and rarely fill their bags, but I’d come home with lots of berries and make a giant cobbler. And eat it all myself! (mostly) No blackberries here in Vegas now, except for stores, so I do miss those fresh picked berry cobblers.

165. Anna said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 6:40 pm

     Playing outside with the neighborhood kids after dark was a favorite thing of summer. Games like simon says, captain may i, 7 steps around the house and red light, green light were the staples.

166. Jean said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 6:40 pm

     I grew up a river rat on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, and learned to ski when I was about three years old. We spent our summers on that water! Often on a weeknight dad never even got out of his truck when we got home. Mom and I wold have the boat packed and ready and he’d back the truck up, we’d hitch it up, hop in the cab and head for the river. I mss hose days more than ever as time goes by!

167. nancy said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 6:42 pm

     Every summer friends of ours would let us use their cabin on a wonderful lake in NH. Not too big, not too small. We’d swim, canoe, hike, go to Funspot, out for ice cream…the best summer vacation you could ask for.

168. janna said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 6:49 pm

     chasing lightening bugs, picnics, going to the lake at the park to feed the fish

169. MJ said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 6:52 pm

     My favorite summer time memory is when my mom would pack us kids up and take us to the beach for the day. Since we live in Michigan, we are never far from water so we would pack a lunch and snacks and spend the whole day at the beach. We swam from morning till night and sometimes my dad would even meet us there after work. It was an absolute blast!

170. Davida said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 6:54 pm

     How I loved to visit the amusement parks and ride the roller coasters! The scarier, the better.

171. danielle said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:01 pm

     No matter what was going on, we went camping every summer when the kids were little at Cape May NJ. The campground we stayed at – Seashore Campgrounds – was fabulous and the kids had a great time. As they did on th e beach every day too – or riding our bikes around. And one day/evening at Wildwood! But the best part was having a clambake one night when we were down there – went to the fish market and got some clams and shrimp – stopped and bought the absolute best New Jersey corn on the cob – and of course, toasted marshmallows for dessert!

172. Rachel said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:01 pm

     I don’t know if I’m still growing up or not; I just turned 21 today, and it feels odd!

     Anyhow. My favorite summer memory (of the traditions that don’t happen anymore) is the Big Birthday Bash we’d have around this time every year. Both grandpas, me, my brother, and an uncle all have birthdays in July, so we’d all get together and have one great big huge birthday party/family reunion. Sadly, one grandpa has passed away, and my immediate family moved cross-country, so we can’t have our awesome Summer Birthday get togethers anymore. But those are definitely some of my favorite memories.

173. another Michelle said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:05 pm

     Swimming lessons! I took swimming lessons several summers in a row growing up.

     It’s amazing how cold the pool is at 8 a.m.–even in hot Texas!

174. Amanda said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:06 pm

     When I was growing up we had a dog who loved car rides and a family who loved the creamy whip. We would all load up in the car, with the dog, and go get ice cream and the dog would get a grape slushee! She loved them!!! It was hilarious to watch her lick them up out of her bowl.

175. Melodie said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:06 pm

     We spent most of our summer weekends on a boat on one of the NYS Fingerlakes, there is still nothing better to me than being near water in the summer.

176. Kim said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:07 pm

     We moved from Wisconsin to California when I was 5, but we always went “back home” for the summers. One of my fondest memories from those years was playing Kick the Can with a bunch of kids who lived on the same street as one of my aunts and uncles. Some of them were kids I had been friends with when we lived there, and others I met during those summers, but our “playing field” was the entire street, front yards, back yards, anywhere we could go without jumping fences.

177. Debbie said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:07 pm

     When I was growing up my family would rent a number of cabins on Newfound Lake in New Hampshire. It was a multigenerational vacation with both sets of grandparents and some family friends. I remember having to go across the road to get water from the well as the plumbing in the house came directly from the lake…and lots of swimming,boating,hiking,etc. The cabins have since been knocked down,but the big house is now the Rangers house in a State Park.

178. Irene said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:23 pm

     Going to camp when I was 9 or 10 and going to the roller rink every week. Boy – I guess I am dating myself now

     Now that I am a busy mom, I guess I really should have appreciated/enjoyed those lazy days of summer when I was 12 or 13 and spent hours suntanning in my back yard while reading book after book, or splashing around in my friend’s pool with no care in the world.

179. Lisa said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:26 pm

     We drove from Wisconsin to New Mexico–and stayed for a week at Philmont Boy Scout Ranch. There was a special thing going on for Scouting families, and we were lucky enough to be chosen. The week we were there was the moon walk, and I remember sitting in a mess hall watching a tiny black and white TV that was brought in just so we could see that giant leap. I fell in love with the desert and the mountains then and there. I saw my first eagle flying (in a canyon below us!) and explored the Indian ruins in the mesas. It’s a great memory.

180. Debbie said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:26 pm

     I grew up in the resort town of Lake Placid,NY. My parents only had a very old car and worked very hard during the summer so we never went to far. There is a campsite about 10 miles down the raod by Whiteface MT. We would pack up all the neigborhood kids that could fit and go to this campsite. Sometimes my Dad would go back to get more kids!!! It is a neat place that is still there to enjoy. If you walked to the back and down a hill there is a huge water falls. Now they have a fence up and you have to pay to see it!!!! My Dad would start a huge fire-when the coals were just right he would cook the bast hambergers over the coals with one of those wire things. He would put onion and bacon around them. Oh my If I close out all the things around me I can still smell them cooking!!

181. julie said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:30 pm

     You must have been the best mom on the block! Your lightening bug picnic is a great idea – what fun! We often find ourselves saying “where did the time go?” at the end of the summer – might have to try out your idea,,,,, (period button on the computer isn’t working – so having to get creative with the punctuation here!)

     My best summer time memory is probably that my birthday is in the summer and therefore I got to spend it in various locations when my family traveled each summer – the Grand Canyon stands out as one of the most memorable! I still think of my birthday as a time to do something different – (hmm, it’s coming up next week – time to make plans!)

182. Tara said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:34 pm

     I remember all the neighborhood kids out playing together, usually “Ditch”, basically team hide-and-seek. We had kids from 8 to 15 all playing together from after dinner to dark. Some of the best neighborhood memories!

183. Linda said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:37 pm

     I lived in a neighborhood with a lot of kids, and one of the best things we did was gather at the house across the street at twilight and play hide & go seek until it was so dark you could hide in the shadows. Lots of shrieking and laughter — it was great!

184. turtle said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:50 pm

     one summer tradition my best friend and i had would be to get up super early and hike up Welsh/Dickey mtns and pick the wild blueberries. Then we would hike home to bake fresh muffins. This would happen numerous times during the berry season!

185. Star B. said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:51 pm

     Staying with my grandparents who brilliantly ate ice cream for dinner.

186. Cheryl said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:52 pm

     I didn’t intend to, but I read all the posts so far! Yes, we did lightning bugs, climbed trees, played with cousins almost every day. All of us were rural Illinois, probably poor kids–but we didn’t know it. So, we didn’t know that others were going to the beach or camp or traveling, except for church camps. Our mothers were creative with fun, and let us be outside, sit in the porchs swing and read, or go to the movies on weekends. Our family outing was usually the drive-in, just like the one mentioned above complete with big brown grocery sacks of popcorn. I had to laugh about the honeysuckle note above: I didn’t know anybody else did that! That scent brings back my childhood in an instant.

187. Emily said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:52 pm

     I loved Science Camp – we had an electromagnet that we used to shock ourselves.

188. Cheryl said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:53 pm

     ps I was at the Loopy Ewe today and I REALLY going to miss going there.

189. Michelle said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:54 pm

     The whole extended family would go camping for a week each summer at the city-owned campground (about an hour away). They had a pool and a man-made beach, tie dye on Tuesdays, Chicken Fat every morning at 9 a.m., campfires all along the tent sites and a big bonfire with singing each evening.

190. Lisa Wilson said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:55 pm

     We used to go on road trips to see the grandparents…

191. kelly-ann said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:57 pm

     My memory is very simple…spontaneously running through water sprinklers. My kids do it now sometimes after dinner with all of their clothes on – just seems so lighthearted and carefree to me!

192. Jody said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 7:59 pm

     Every year until I was 8 years old, we would spend the summer at my grandparents house at the Jersey Shore. And twice each summer, we would get dressed up, go up on the boardwalk (yea Boardwalk Empire) ride rides and eat junk. It was wonderful!

193. Julie said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:03 pm

     Can I just say out loud something that I have thought a bunch of times?? You are a REALLY good mom. Your kids and DH already know that, and I hope you do too:)
     I LOVE the Adventure Club idea. THE best.

     My favorite summer memories were visiting relatives on a farm in ND. We’d pack up the car in the evening and leave at 2am in our jammies. We’d be 1/2 way there by the time we woke up for breakfast. My grandma always let us older kids sleep on a big feather bed in the attic and we’d play all day in the fields, picking gooseberries from the back of my uncle’s pickup and eating huge, drippy slices of watermelon for lunch. There were a million stars in the sky at night and about that many rings in the tub when were done with our bath:) Miss my grandma.

194. Ruth Ann said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:06 pm

     Our small town didn’t have a swimming pool when I was growing up, so the only place we had to swim was in the creek. We had a mud slide to the water, a tree with a rope swing, and sit-upon-rocks. We just had to make sure the bull was in the small pasture before heading down to the water. Great Memories!

195. Diana T said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:06 pm

     Amusement parks, county fairs, swimming at the lake and visiting family.

196. Jenny T said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:07 pm

     Going fishing everyday at the neighborhood lake from the age of 11 till high school. I’d go out after lunch and stay until my mom called me in for dinner, and sometimes head out after that too.

197. Kris said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:10 pm

     My favorite memory involves the July 4th picnic at my grandparent’s place. Family members from several cities would show up for grandma’s homemade potato salad and pies (I know we had other food, but those were her claim to fame). We played Scrabble, horse shoes, badminton … there was always someone around and a game to play. By evening, the lawn chairs would appear in the front yard – those who didn’t walk across the street to the stadium could still have a front-row seat for the fireworks show. I feel so fortunate to have grown up with extended family (from several family trees) in my life!

198. susan said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:10 pm

     Sometimes when I was a kid, after dinner we’d go to the beach near us on Long Island Sound. We’d cool off in the water, not stay a long time but the sun would be low in the sky, then go into Oyster Bay for lemon ices. I can still almost smell the water and feel the sand in my bathing suit bottoms!

199. Amy R said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:12 pm

     I grew up in Central Florida – theme park heaven! One of my favorite memories of summer is getting huge groups together and visiting one certain park called Circus World, which changed to Boardwalk and Baseball when I was about 13. It was similar to an old amusement park, and we loved it. There were times when we’d be the only ones in the entire place. Not good for the future of the park, which has now been replaced by a giant shopping mall, but lots of fun for us.

200. Maria said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:13 pm

     My dad owns a construction company and we often traveled with him in the summer. One summer we lived in Wyoming. We had such a great time just hanging out as a family. I still remember 10 feet of snow in the mountains on the 4th of July.

201. Karen said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:14 pm

     My summer always consisted of water. Whether it was swimming in the backyard pool.Or floating down the river trying to catch the big waves from the freighters. Trips up north to the cottage on the lake were more time was spent playing in the water. In it or on it the only place to be was were there is water.

202. Carolyn said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:16 pm

     I miss going away to Girl Scout camp for a week every summer!

203. Karen C said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:18 pm

     No lightning bugs in Colorado! Growing up out here – I’ve never even seen one ! Every summer we went to my grandparent’s farm in Minnesota. My grandpa believed the best way to cook and eat sweet corn was to do it right out in the field. If it was picked & brought into the house, it wasn’t nearly as delicious!

204. Lulynn said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:27 pm

     There are so many things that I remember about summer. My favorite thing was to go down to the local supermarket and have ice cold watermelon on picnic tables. This was ages ago, but the watermelon was the sweetest and the coldest.

205. Janet said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:29 pm

     Boy, this really dates me, but I remember camping in the Black Hills one summer with another family, and we four kids were trekking all over the woods singing “Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree” at the top of our lungs. Tony Orlando was a big deal then, but we kids must have been nothing but irritating! Oh, the memories…

206. Michele said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:31 pm

     One favourite summer memory – my best friend and I would split the cost of a pomegranate (back in the 60s they were only in our Co-op store in the summer and were quite unusual), put it in the fridge for awhile and then cut it in half, sit on the back step and enjoy the fruit!

207. Nancy from Iowa said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:32 pm

     Once every summer, we made a trip to my Grandma Emma (Baboo) and Grandpa Joe’s farm. It was always magical….her massive flower gardens, veggie gardens, lots of farm animals, and meals that were so big, all of the food couldn’t fit on the table, breakfast, lunch and dinner, we feasted and feasted. So many memories…. Thanks for asking!

208. Kay said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:32 pm

     My entire family camped in one tent (large family!) We told knock knock and fart jokes for half the night until we laughed ourselves to sleep.

209. Ellen said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:32 pm

     My son and I used to sit down before school even ended and make a list of “Things to Do This Summer” and post it on the fridge. It was always in plain sight and most summers we got to everything on the list. Most things were simple, like see a certain movie or walk around the fish hatchery in town but I was a teacher so had all the time in the world to spend with my son in the summer and enjoyed every single minute. And we used to have “Toys R Us” days too – when a heat wave (like we all seemed to have had last week) got to be too much to bear, we would go to Toys R Us and walk around for a couple of hours. He enjoyed looking at the toys and I made mental lists for Christmas gifts!

210. Shannon said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:46 pm

     When I was little we used to go to Cedar Point (amusement park) every summer as well as random other parks. The whole family used to go my grandmother, cousins,aunts, uncles etc. The two and a half hour drive seemed like an eternity back then, but when we got our first glimpse of the rides it was all worth it. Great memories; something I’d like to do with my kids when they’re older.

211. sue said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:46 pm

     One thing we always did every summer when I was a kid was to go to the Nebraska State Fair. We lived in Lincoln, where the fair was located, and looked forward to going on the rides, seeing all the animals and all the other activities and attractions every year.

     Also, we would have a ‘field day’ and go visit the State Capital and the Nebraska State History Museum–or Elephant Hall as we called it, because of all the skeletons of dinosaurs, mammoths and elephants. It was a great outing every summer.

212. Linda D. (epic1313) said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:47 pm

     Every summer we would go camping, just us girls (my mom, my two sisters, and myself). We would always go mini golfing. There are a lot of campgrounds that have courses, and if the one we were staying at didn’t have one, we would find one in town somewhere. My best summer memory was the one time I actually won. Beating both sisters and my mom. They might have let me win, but if so they were all really good actresses because they were miffed.

213. Christel said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 8:49 pm

     We caught lightning bugs too!! One of the best things we did (which drove my dad crazy) was getting a plastic tarp, soaping it down and putting the water hose on it–our homemade slip-n-slide!! Dad hated that it made a big muddy mess and smashed the grass!! It sure was fun and a great way to cool off in the Florida heat!! When we were messing up the yard, we were on our bikes. We rode everywhere, sometimes we didn’t even come in for lunch. A trip to the corner store for an RC cola and moon pie and we were good to go!!

214. Sonya said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:00 pm

     One of my favorite summer activities was swimming in my grandma’s pond. We went 2 or 3 times a month every summer. We would probably still be swimming in it if it wasn’t overgrown.

215. Margie said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:00 pm

     Growing up, my family always had a family pass to Locust Grove Swim Club. That’s a fancy name for a lake out in the country but we loved it. We went almost every day starting with Memorial Day weekend when I got my first sunburn and ending with Labor Day weekend when it closed down. We would get there when they opened at 9:00 a.m. and leave when they closed at 8:00 p.m. Great times….Great memories!!!

216. Martha said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:02 pm

     My favorite memories from childhood summers in central New Hampshire were when we were able to take a break from hot and humid summer days with a trip to the lake where we lazed in the cool water.

217. Amy Mac said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:06 pm

     The end of summer always meant the state fair growing up. My cousins (6 in one family!) had a big white school bus they had converted to a camper. We were all in 4-H and had stuff entered. They would come every year and stay with us and we would spend the week at the fair!

218. jane said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:07 pm

     Sailing to Cedar Point amusement park & riding the coasters! Then when we’d been on all the rides & stuffed ourselves with junk food, sleeping on the boat & listening to the waves lap against the sides.

219. Kelly said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:09 pm

     Camping! Whether at a campground with my parents, at the neighbor’s with all the kids in the neighborhoods, or at summer camp, I loved campfires, watching the stars, and being outside all day long.

220. Kristin said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:09 pm

     I have so many favorite summer memories from my childhood! That’s a blessing in and of itself.
     I remember my dad putting on his crazy sunglasses, rolling the windows down on our Caprice Classic station wagon (with wood-paneled siding – think ala Brady Bunch), and cranking the music (“Born to be Wild”). We would all pile in and go for ice cream, and drive around on old country roads, listening to neat music. I credit my Mom and Dad for my love of their music….I grew up on some of the classics!

221. Sammy said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:10 pm

     We did a lot of camping when I was growing up. Many of our trips were planned around fishing, so we camped at a lot of lakes – so much fun!

222. Karen said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:13 pm

     I remember playing tag outside with all the neighborhood kids after dinner. We could stay outside until the street lights came on and this seemed so late to us .

223. Debi said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:14 pm

     One of my favorite summer memories was sprinklers in the back yard with the whole neighborhood around. All the kids would play in someones back yard, usually an impromptu gathering and had a ton of fun. The mom of the house would bring out Popsicles and we had a blast.

224. Kristi said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:22 pm

     Right around this time of year, gooseberries are getting to the perfect ripeness. People who don’t like gooseberries probably haven’t had them at their peak. When they are a deep pink color, they are wonderful. (says the girl who drinks apple cider vinegar – so take that with a grain of salt) I would go out and pick a bowl of them early in the morning, before the heat was too oppressive. Then I would spend my mornings reading and eating gooseberries. It was idyllic.

225. Maureen h said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:28 pm

     We swam at the lake behind our house,
     Pottowatomie Bayou, in Michigan. We had a raft
     And when we passes our swimming classes we
     Were allowed to swim at the raft.

226. Kata said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:48 pm

     We used to go camping every summer. Not “real” camping what I consider in a tent these days, but we had a summer home – a 35 foot trailer, I had my own bedroom, there was a bathroom, etc. I had my own “summer friends” because we stayed there all summer (and it was only 30 mins from home, but families camped here from all around). My favourite memories involve venturing out with my Oma on our golf cart (the campground was pretty huge) and going through trails (that the golf cart didn’t quite fit through, that was part of the fun though!) and hunting berries to pick for my Oma to make homemade jams with. Yum yum yum. mostly we found raspberries and now when I smell raspberries I think of my Oma <3

227. GinkgoKnits said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:49 pm

     As a kid with two working parents in a large city, I wasn’t allowed to stay home alone until I got older. Summer was actually more stressful than school as I got shuffled between various day camps. Some were great and some were awful but all of them made being sent to visit relatives for a couple weeks look very good in comparison. Now as an adult, I also feel very lucky that I has those times to get to know my grandmother as she died before I was a teenager.

228. nancy said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:50 pm

     Some of my favorite summer memories are fishing at night with my dad, watching shooting stars (there is a meteor shower coming soon), lightening bugs at my grandmother’s house, going barefoot all summer, hiding way up in the big maple trees in front of the house and reading all afternoon in my secret shady place and of course, thunder storms. The one thing I do not miss was not going to many public places in the heat of the summer. My mom was a nurse and was terrified, with true justification, of polio. Even a headache got you consigned to the sofa for the afternoon, multiple temperature checks and lots of worry. I remember her crying when the news of the first Salk vaccines came out. Happy lightening bugs to everyone. Don’t forget to eat watermelon until you almost burst!
     Oh yes, I forgot homemade icecream….

229. jan said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:56 pm

     My sister and I built a cabin about a 1/2mile into the woods from our home. it had a stone floor, wood walls and plastic sheeting for the roof so we could see the stars. We’d spend an hour going back and forth to the house to get cushions and pillows and sleeping bags and food etc. for campout nights. then it was s’mores and scary stories just the two of us around the campfire–and then staring at the stars to fall asleep. You could say at this point, that camping is just written in our DNA. Its still one of our favorite things to do.

230. Deb said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 9:56 pm

     We would get the whole family together and play cards on our screened in back porch till late at night(at least for us)! Then my little sister and I would sleep in sleeping bags on the back porch. We would stay up late talking and giggling like only sisters can do!

231. Juana said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 10:04 pm

     When I was young I was in boarding school. Summer was the BEST time always. Went home, was with family and friends, could see my parents and brothers every day. Dreamy time, happy times, picnic times, swimming times. Running around, being free. I still love summer and the memories it brings.

232. Elaine said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 10:12 pm

     On a bi-weekly schedule all summer 8 to 10 families went camping at a near by lake for the weekends. It was fun being with my family and friends and making many fond memories each summer.

233. Lynn said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 10:14 pm

     Every summer we drove from Washington to California to visit my grandparents by the beach. My parents would get us up at 4:00 am, give us dramamine and Hostess donettes (the tiny donuts) and load us in the car. By the time we woke up again we were well into Oregon, but that only somewhat shortened the “are we there yet” whining. Loved those trips and time at Solana Beach. Remembering makes me miss my grandparents, who we lost a few years ago. Those were fun summers!

234. janine said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 10:16 pm

     I grew up in Rochester, New York and in the summer, we would go down to Charlotte Beach (pronounced Charlot) and go to Abbott’s Custard, the little stand at the beach. We would wait in this huge line and then get a chocolate custard and walk across the street to the carousel. What fun on a hot evening.

235. Lisa J said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 10:19 pm

     We moved a lot when I was growing up (Air Force) and I can’t think of any long-term summer traditions from then. However, I have made a new grown up summer tradition – I try to go to performances at the Redlands Bowl, an open air ampitheater in Southern California that has free summer concerts and things. It is nice to get out and enjoy some culture in the evenings!

236. nannyjean said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 10:20 pm

     WE also caught fire flies and then we would play kick the tin can after dark. Then we would sleep on the neighers porch over night. That was a treat because the mother would serve us breakfast when we got awake. and before we went home.

237. Sandra said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 10:24 pm

     I lived in Southern California growing up. My Dad built a Dune Buggy with a friend from work. In the summer time we would bake cookies and special things to eat while camping. The family would go to a place that had huge sand dunes that allowed dune buggys. It was a fun time and we met new people.

238. Dorothy said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 10:35 pm

     My father was military so we traveled a lot. But we lived in Oregon the longest and every summer we went just about every evening for an ice cream at the local Dairy Queen. Everyone including our dog got an ice cream cone. It always tasted so good!!

239. Martha said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 10:36 pm

     My sister and I and our cousins would all visit my grandmother at the same time. We would play, swim, shoot fireworks on the fourth. We saw each other once a year so we just spent as much time as we could together.

240. Alisa said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 10:39 pm

     When my eldest daughter was very little, we lived by the beach in Florida. Of course, we had lots of visitors …but they tended to visit the beach in the morning. So during the week after work, we would pack up the family and head down to the beach. It was wonderful because hardly anyone was there, yet it was still warm enough to enjoy the beautiful water. Having moved north (to WY)…I sometimes miss these afternoons at the beach. (:

241. Sarah/Scienceprincess said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 10:50 pm

     Picking veggies in the garden. We always ate as much (or more) than we brought into the house. I love growing veggies

242. Rachel h said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 10:59 pm

     My family would drive from new Orleans to destin every summer. We weren’t very creative with our car games, so my brother and I would sit in the back seat with a deck of cards and play “battle” (I’ve heard other people call it” war”) for hours. each flip of the cards meant we were that much closer to the beach. But then we’d reach the end of the deck and start over, knowing how much further we really had to go.

243. Mary said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 11:10 pm

     Growing up on a farm we had a very large front lawn. One day my two brothers and I deceided we wanted to play golf. Problem – no golf clubs and no golf course.
     Solution – dig holes in the lawn the size of base balls and use a base ball bat as the putter. Winner the one who could finish the course with the least hits on the ball. Loosers when dad discovered the holes in the lawn and we had to fill them back in. This still remains a very nice memory even if we did get into a bit of trouble.

244. Kathy said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 11:33 pm

     Since my mom was a teacher, she was off during the summers with us, and would take my sister and I to the library once a week. To this day, I still love the library, and make a point to go on a regular basis!

245. Joann said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 11:38 pm

     I remember riding my bike all day long!

246. Kathy Sue said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 11:42 pm

     We lived in a small town surrounded by farms. We would go out after supper and play in the fields and in the trees surrounding them until it was too dark too see where we were going. We always went home covered in smashed tomatoes and tree sap.

247. Kelly said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 11:47 pm

     When I was a kid we would go camping in the mountains during the summer. I loved it!! But what I loved about it even more was when Mom would let us set up the tent in the backyard and then we would sleep in at night but have all of the comforts of home during the day. When my kids were growing up we let them do the same thing. I hope that they will pass this on to their children when they are old enough.

248. Barbara said,

     July 27, 2011 @ 11:49 pm

     Every summer we would go to a resort in N. Wisconsin. In February we had poured off brochures and picked out a place in either Eagle River, Minocqua, or somewhere else nearby. The places were pretty rustic (it was the 60′s), but we had a ball swimming and fishing.

249. Annette said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 12:20 am

     One of my favorite memories is spending a few weeks with my grandmother in Mississippi when I was eight. I flew from California by myself (w/close supervision from the flight crew) , I milked a cow, picked potatoes, collected chicken eggs and played in the pastures. Great memories!

250. catherine s said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 12:49 am

     i grew up in san francisco, and starting at the age of five, i would go to sebastopol, a small town in northern california, to spend a month with family friends. the road on which they lived was unpaved, all of the neighbors knew one another, the person who became my best friend throughout my childhood lived there, one neighbor had a pool and an apple press, all of our vegetables were grown on the half-acre that my friends owned, and it was there that i learned to knit at six years old. those are such wonderful, charming memories.

251. Ellen said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 1:19 am

     I grew up in the LA area and it would get VERY hot there, so swimming was a favorite thing.

252. Theresa said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 1:58 am

     One summer we got to go to a resort on Kauai (through family connections). The condo we stayed in had a *loft*!! That was the coolest, most exciting thing ever.

253. Dawn said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 2:38 am

     Yes we used to catch lightning bugs! I also remember playing in the cornfields and just staying outside all day long!

254. Karen said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 4:14 am

     Our family would go to a lake in Vermont for two weeks in the summer. It was a magical time – our parents would be away from the every day stresses of life and relax. We would fish and swim and play miniature golf and eat fresh blackberry and raspberry pies and just be. One or two summers in a row our neighbors were old friends of my parents. They had two boys a little older than me and my sibs and one pf them was an excellent story teller. He was particularly gifted in the telling of scary stories. The kids would go down by the beach at dusk and sit around in the dark and he would scare the pants off of us! We loved it. Ah, to be a kid again!

255. Arlene said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 5:16 am

     I loved staying with my grandmother, aunt and uncle in North Carolina. We’d get a big group of my cousins together and head for Chimney Rock in the mountains. I can remember so many fun things we did (and the wonderful locally made toys I got to bring home!) I still love going to the mountains more than 50 years later

256. Lisa said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 5:25 am

     I spent a lot of time with my grandparents in the summer. My grandfather had a convertible and it was always such a special treat to go for ice cream with the top down. My sister and I would act like princesses and wave to people that went by!

257. Dawn said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 5:27 am

     Outdoor swimming pools always make me smile.

258. Gayle said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 5:29 am

     Catching lightening bugs and drive in movies.

259. Cindy said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 5:54 am

     We vacationed each summer at the French River located in northern Ontario Canada. A cottage on the beautiful river, a hike to the Dokis Indian Reservation, fishing, boating, shore lunches, and the very sight of the most beautiful sunset over the water….those memories still prompt my DH and I to return to the French River.

260. Molly said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:08 am

     We had horses, and in the summer we could ride on the trails every day. We used to spend all day doing that…I wish I still could!

261. Frances said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:14 am

     My favorite summers were the ones we spent visiting my grandparents in England. I loved helping grandad in the garden, especially picking raspberries.

262. Alicia said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:17 am

     One of my favorite memories is of my mother getting us up in what felt like the middle of the night every year to watch the Perseid meteor shower in August. We’d cover up in blankets (even in August in Georgia), drink hot chocolate and watch the show! Now there are too many city lights near us to see the meteors, but if the peak days fall on a weekend, I’ll still sometimes escape the suburban lights, park my car someplace dark and look for the shooting stars!

263. paula said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:21 am

     Before my parents divorced, we would always travel somewhere interesting each summer. I really loved when we visited Legoland in Denmark. Legoland itself is interesting, but the time we went there they had Titania’s Palace on display!

264. tami said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:21 am

     We used to go camping on the straight of juan de fuca. It was gorgeous there and we spent many hours sitting the beach picking through the rocks for fossils and agates. (something I still LOVE to do)

265. Iris said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:26 am

     My parents owned retail businesses, and when we were small kids it was a grocery that opened fairly early. Later it was a store that didn’t open until 10 AM, and Mom was a night-owl anyway. We didn’t travel much, because of the store.

     When we were not-so-little, and when there was no school the next day, we used to stay up late at night with Mom, playing multiple solitaires (you play your own game but build on everyone’s aces – there are several forms) and we’d make ice cream sodas.

     This was very much a summer activity, which we didn’t do during the school year even where there was no school the next day.

266. Alison said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:32 am

     I used to cool off at the pool, and I kind of miss it now.

267. Retha said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:38 am

     Every single summer my grandmother (aka Granny) would load up all the grandkids (there were 9 of us and we all lived in the same neighborhood so we were more like brothers & sisters) and their parents and go to a fun park called Dogwood. It was sort of hokey but we always had lots of fun. They had staged train robberies, Daisy May with her short shorts, and my favorite ride was the Barrell Ride. It spins around so fast that you are glued to the wall and the bottom falls out. Like I said, hokey, but fun! And great memories.

268. Diane said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:42 am

     I loved to roller skate. I would roller skate around the same block for hours at a time. Then, when I was tired, I would find myself a good book and get lost in it until it was time to go to bed.

269. Barb in MA said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:45 am

     day trips with my dad to the White Mountains of New Hampshire and fishing. My dad was a truck driver so time with him was cherished by my brother and myself. Fishing was my mother packing baloney and cheese sandwiches for us, then going on a party boat where my dad baited our hooks and took any catches off for us. The White mountains were a 2-3 hour drive each way, so we would leave very early in the mornings. I loved seeing the Old Man of the Mountains, the bears at Clark’s trading post, the polar caves (actually I was frightened of walking through the caves), walking along the Flume, and the prize adventure was taking the cog railway to the top of Mt. Washington. My mom would stay home for these trips. She had early signs of MS when we were young and it was the best of memories of my dad.

270. Helen said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:47 am

     Swimming and sewing and reading. That was summer to me as a kid and it still is, only now I’ve added knitting.

271. Tina said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:50 am

     Riding in the back of the old farm truck “Bumpity Bump”, so named because the shocks were gone and the dirt roads horrible, so quite often we would be slightly airborne in the back bed, to the swimming hole! Then spending a whole afternoon swimming, and catching frogs, diving off the float, all the while with the heat bugs singing, and the sweet smell of the nearby mountain, blueberry fields, and forest.

     I miss my childhood!

272. Rita said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 8:08 am

     I went to the pool to swim like Nancy Hogshead, US Olympic swimmer. I don’t remember if she won medals or what she swam. I thought her name was funny/neat. I remember realizing that “swimming” was more than just the freestyle (didn’t even know it had a name!) and that the breaststroke made the swimmers bob up and down funny, and that the butterfly was the coolest thing ever!

273. Lena said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 8:25 am

     I remember the week I used to spend with my grandmother every summer. She had a big garden full of beautiful flowers and other exciting things. I loved it when I got to go into the greenhouse to choose a cucumber or a tomato, or when we picked flowers in the meadow. And my aunts would come back home and take me with them on small adventures in the neighbourhood. When I see kids biking by in shorts and on their way to the beach, I wish I could be eight years old every summer!

274. kathleen said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 8:29 am

     We had Pom Pom day. We made pom poms from newspapers with skirts and ankle bits, wrists, etc. and put on a performance for my parents and slept in the backyard in a tent! Pogo stick contests. Hula hoop contests.

275. Debi said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 8:35 am

     Going to sleep away camp, I went almost every summer and I loved it!! Camp McLean in Burlington WI, Camp Edwards another Y camp, Church camp, you name it and I was ready to go!!

276. Penny said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 8:47 am

     In the summer we went to drive in movies. We would play on the playground in front of the outdoor screen. Dad would get us each a hot dog and a pop. We would put PJ’s on and fall asleep in the car. Mom and Dad would watch the 2nd movie and then go home and carry us into our beds.

     I sure miss the drive in movies!!

277. ojgirl said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 8:56 am

     Oh, yes, lightning bugs – I still smile when I see them – such a fun memory! And summer would not have been complete without the shriek-filled games of kick-the-can. I can still remember the feeling of the heartpounding run ‘home’ to kick the can – yikes, it was a run for life! Also, drive-in movies. What a treat it was! My mom would pop popcorn and put it in brown paper ‘sacks’ for us – wonder why it tasted sooo much better?
     Love your Lightning Bug Picnic idea!

278. Jean said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 9:02 am

     When we would have a family reunion, my aunt would make black raspberry pie and we would get out the hand-crank ice cream maker and everyone would take a their turn at cranking to make the ice cream.

279. Ashleigh said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 9:12 am

     We used to take a long road trip every year to somewhere we had never been before. Every year it was somewhere different. Some years we would drive more than twenty hours. To make the time go by we would come up with silly games. Most of the time the drive was better than the actual vacation.

280. Dana said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 9:13 am

     My favorite memories were of sleep away camp. I remember swimming in lakes eating s’mores , horseback riding and making lanyards. Maybe that’s where my love for knitting started.

281. Kristie said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 9:17 am

     Every summer I would spend a week at my cousin’s home in a small town about two hours away. I lived on a farm, and that week in “the city” (population 2500) was something I looked forward to every year. Imagine being able to ride a bike to the swimming pool or corner store! Of course, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. My cousin would then come spend a week on the farm with me, and she thought that was the best thing ever.

282. Julie said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 9:45 am

     With so many summer birthdays on my mom’s side of the family, including Mom, her mother, my brother & several of my cousins, we had a big family birthday celebration at my grandmother’s house on Long Island. We spent the day at the beach and had a big birthday dinner with a communal birthday cake.
     We did something similar at my parents house at Lake of the Ozarks last week, and my husband was a bit nonplussed (his birthday is in August, and he won’t even open cards that come in the mail until his actual birthday).

283. Leslie Hodges said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 9:54 am

     Every summer my family would go to Lake Mead in Nevada and find a nice secluded cove. We would camp there for two weeks and fish, water ski, take hikes and float around our little cove on huge tractor intertubes. Other parts of our family from other states would meet us there, some for a few days, some for a week so there was always a flow of people coming in and out of our camp. It was always my favorite thing every summer.

284. Angie Daggett said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 9:57 am

     When I was little it was the family reunion in Minn. Fishing with counsins and great grandma’s blueberry pie from the wild blueberry’s we picked. being able to go the corner store and get candy. Getting up at at he crack of dawn traving for 4hours to get to red lake to fish all day. All the fish we caught we then fried yes fried up. In the later years the family has tried to bake or grill the fish but it alway comes back to being fried.

285. Suzanne said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 10:04 am

     I look forward to the family vacation every summer around Independence Day. It’s a time when we see the family and every one is relaxed and catches up on what’s been going on the past year.

286. Stephanie said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 10:15 am

     Every summer as a kid my family would go on a special vacation with my Aunt & Uncle and their kids (dad’s sisters family), and my Grandmom . We would go camping or to the beach, and I remember that on all of the trips we (the kids) would play cards (Hearts, Rummy… whatever) and have the best time. These games were usually after a long fun day spent playing outside or seeing the sights. It was the best time..

287. catspaw said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 10:20 am

     One of my favorite summertime activities was to sit on a rocking chair in our screened porch, reading a book, listening to the radio, and drinking lemonade or some such cool drink. No one bothered me and I could lose myself in whatever I was reading. There always seemed to be a cooling breeze too. Since I was a rather anxious kid, this was heaven to me. Actually, it still is!

288. Melynda said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 10:22 am

     Every summer my sister and I would spend a week with my grandparents on their farm. They had no TV but we had so much fun gathering eggs, feeding the cows, hoeing the garden and baking bread. It sounds like a lot of work now! We hung out on the porch swing reading books, playing with the kittens and just enjoying life. Makes me wish I was a kid again.

289. killerb said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 10:22 am

     During the summer my parents thought it was important to get the kids out of the city, so we went to our “country” place. No tv, no phones (if you can believe it!).
     In July,1969 everyone was anticipating Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon. In order to see it, a big group of us took a walk of our own, a mile or so down the road to one of the local hotels, so that we could watch the moonwalk on their tv. What an exciting night it was for all of us!

290. Sarah R said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 10:23 am

     Summer for me meant being able to spend time with my dad at the pool. My dad worked all the time…and when he was home on the weekend, he was generally working in the yard. (Even now, at 90, he spends time working in the yard almost every day.)

     But in the summer he would take the time to go to the pool with me. Neither my Mom nor my brother liked the water — they both sink like rocks. So I would get to spend hours alone with my dad. He would take me swimming on his back and toss me around in the water. I remember one time, tired of waiting in the shallow end for him to stop visiting with the other dads in the deep end, I grabbed the side of the pool and, hand-over-hand, worked my way all the way down to the 7 foot end. He was pretty shocked when I tapped him on the back!

291. Laura said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 10:26 am

     My favorite memory was going to Loveland, Colorado every July 4th for the fireworks. We’d take picnic dinners and watch the incredible fireworks show. Afterwards, we would head to McDonalds or Dairy Queen for ice cream. It doesn’t sound like a big deal…but what a memory it is for me!!!

292. Tracey McCarthy said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 10:41 am

     My favorite summer memory is when we went on vacation together with my siblings, their family and my parents to celebrate their 40th anniversary. It was a wonderful vacation and my parents had such a wonderful time spending it with their kids, and the grandkids.

293. Linda said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 10:46 am

     We did the camping trips each summer for two weeks. Got to see alot of places even though we stayed basically in the northeast.

294. Katrina said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 10:51 am

     Hay bale season! Of course, my dad and brother did all the hard work, but I reaped the rewards. Jumping and climbing on all the fresh hay bales was so much fun! And our barn cats liked to have their kittens in the hay, so hunting for cute little kittens was always an adventure!

295. sophia said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 10:54 am

     One of my favorite memories is the summer they hired Camp Counselors for the city parks when I was about 8. Any kid could go their local neighborhood park and a college-age person would be there with activities and conversation. I was allowed to walk to the park by myself as long as I was home directly after lunch when the camp counselor went off duty. At my age, the counselors always seemed very grown up! The girl at my neighborhood park read romance novels which I’d never seen before (my parents only read Dickens and P.G. Woodhouse for some reason) and I was so intrigued that I started sneaking into the grownup section at the public library and reading the same books she did! I got quite an education that summer! At the park there would be crafts at the picnic table and one time she brought a cake for “all the summer birthdays” and some days we would do short races or jumping jacks if the group of kids was particularly antsy. The city only did this one year, but I remember it as one of the best summers I had!

296. Christienne Stewen said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 11:04 am

     I was a bookworm and super sensitive to the sun sooo i would go to the library and take out 10 books at a time…. Ending up reading a bunch of them there in the library because it was nice and cool in the air conditioning!! My bff and I would go and take out towers of books together and swap. I thought I could read them all in the alotted time period … Well needless to say, I spent more than one allowance or so on overdue library book fees.
     I’m still an avid reader but just don’ t have as much free time. When I’m not knitting, I’d like to be reading. : )
     What a cute idea about the lightning bug picnic!!! : )

297. Amy said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 11:14 am

     We would go to Wisconsin Dells to the waterparks or Great America to ride on the rollercoaters.

298. Roberta Ballard said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 11:14 am

     My favorite summer activity when I was a child was camping. My family would eat sugary cereals in the morning and smores by the fire at night. It was always great memories!

299. Jayna said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 11:16 am

     We lived along the river so I always had plenty of boating excursions to look forward to every summer.

300. Jennifer said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 11:31 am

     I went to a daycamp each summer that had so many fun activities. My favorites were horseback riding and ceramics. I can’t wait to send my boys there.

301. Paula said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 11:49 am

     Sleep late, swim and play with friends and lie on the wall in front of our house and look at the clouds. My grandmother worked at the library so I’d frequently walk there and hang out with her and read. Life is a small town in the 50s/60s was pretty quiet.

302. Karla said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 11:53 am

     Favorite summer memory is churning homemade ice cream. We had an old-fashioned ice cream churn that had a hand crank. Mom would mix up the ice cream and put it in the silver drum, Dad would pack the ice all around it and secure the lid on the churn, and we four kids were responsible for cranking and keeping the rock salt level high enough to freeze the ice cream. Mom would sit on the glider drinking sweet ice tea chatting with Dad while he supervised our work. We loved it! Once the ice cream was ready, the six of us would eat bowl after bowl of ice cream out on the back patio while the sun went down. I think it was the only opportunity my Mom had to take a break from chasing us four little heathens who were into everything all day long on those hot summer days! Smelling vanilla straight out of the bottle always reminds me of those special days.

303. Kay said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 12:07 pm

     We got to spend every summer at my Grandmother’s cottage on lake Michigan. Swimming, boating, wiffle ball baseball on the beach, sand in our hair & pants, bonfires each night and watching thunderstorms out over the water…it was a golden time.

304. mostitch said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 12:42 pm

     Two memories – I grew up in Pico Rivera close to Los Angeles, CA. Twice a week the summer program took a busload of kids to the Montabello Plunge – a huge, as I remember, public swimming pool. Of the quarter my mother gave me, twenty cents got me into the pool and five cents went to the candy shop where all sorts of delights were to be had. It was such a simple trip, but so much fun to remember.

     Every night in the summer, the neighborhood kids played Hide ‘n Seek from after dinner to dark. Bobby, Tanya, Ruthie, Judy, David, Debbie, Maureen, Michael, the Sage boys and anyone else who wantered into our end of the street. We played until someone’s mother called them into the house. The happiest was the night school ended and saddest was the night before school started.

305. Oraxia said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 1:01 pm

     I didn’t really do a whole lot during the summer, admittedly, so my summer memories are pretty simple–going to the beach

306. Joy jarus said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 1:13 pm

     We would play on our slip n slide and eat watermelon.

307. ChristineK said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 1:53 pm

     The first day of summer vacation, my mom would pile all of us kids along with one friend each into the station wagon and take us to the beach. We’d have a picnic lunch of pb&j sandwiches, apples and kool-aid, then spend the afternoon playing in the lake.

308. Jennifer said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 1:58 pm

     My favorite summers were spent on the beach of Lake eerie. Presque Isle state Park in PA was fantastic and there was a great little ice cream shop that we would stop at on the way home.

309. Carrie said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 2:03 pm

     Go to the pool, all day, everyday! They filled it in a few years ago and made a “Splash Park” there that just isn’t the same

310. Marie said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 2:05 pm

     Money was tight when I was a kid so we didn’t get to go on vacations or head to the beach. We didn’t have a pool and it was always hot. Some of my fondest memories of childhood are how we cooled off. Water fights were always a blast! One time, when my parents were out of town, we decided to have a water fight with a neighbor. I ran inside and grabbed the shower nozzle to spray him out the window. It was either him or my brother that grabbed the garden hose to spray back into the bathroom….ahhhh fun times…of course a month later when the floor buckled up from the excess water we had some explaining to do…

311. Melissa said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 2:22 pm

     We would go to a KC Royals game with my grandpa each summer. I ALWAYS got a program, some peanuts, and a Frosty Malt. Back in those days it was easier to meet the players, so I usually had some autographs on my program.

312. Maureen said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 2:26 pm

     My family had a camper and we went to Cape Cod. It was a self contained piggy back camper that slept 7 and fit on a big 4 wheel drive pickup. It carried enough water for 4 days for all of us. My Dad got a beach pass to beach buggy on the beach which at the time was about 15 miles long. Once we were on the beach, the ride on the beach was about as long as the drive to the beach, had set up us kids were free to go anywhere we could walk. I spent hours beachcombing and collected all kinds of items from the shore and bay. We fished, surfed, cooked fresh fish, flew kites, went swimming in the tide pools left by the sand bars always on the lookout for sand dollars, made sand castles, buried each other and spent the weekend together. Some times, if we were good, we got to make somemores.

313. barbara said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 2:32 pm

     We would go down the Cape and go to the beach.

314. Jane said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 2:55 pm

     It seemed like we were always outside in the summer. No TV, computers, game consoles, etc. We made our own fun. The only rule we all had was to be home when the street light came on.

315. Joyce said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 3:04 pm

     My favorite summer activity was making homemade ice cream in our old hand-cranked ice cream maker. It was so yummy to slurp down the fresh soft ice cream even if you accidentally got a little piece of salt from when the canister was removed from the icy cold salt water. One bowl was never enough! I still have the ice cream maker even though it’s been a couple of years since I made any. Maybe it’s time to get it out and start cranking!

316. lisa oberteuffer said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 3:13 pm

     my favorite summer memories all involve water! I was never a big ocean swimmer, so it was always great to visit relatives in the midwest (indiana) where there WAS no ocean, only swimming pools. days of splashing in the evansville country club pool–the indelible smell of chlorine and the gritty feel your skin gets after hours of diving for rings underwater … and then for dinner there would be the best peaches and tomatoes and fresh corn!

317. Stella39 said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 3:33 pm

     When I was a kid summer was all about vacations at the beach with the following required activities – go carts, new t-shirts with iron-on designs, ice cream, trampolines and fried clams! Those are some of my best childhood memories.

318. Lael said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 3:40 pm

     My best summer memories are of going to my grandparents’ farm (which is actually where we live now!) – my grandparents had a show string of Angus cattle and I would spend as many days at the State and county fairs as I could!

319. Laura said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 3:49 pm

     Fun in the summer was going swimming, riding bikes, eating popsicles and going to amusement parks.

320. Kris said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 4:43 pm

     I love, love summer and I love July it’s way short I am always sad when Aug starts to come around it means fall is just around the corner. I remember swimming, and camping in and around the lakes and spending every minuet I could at the beach near my grans house. Who is now 94 but doesn’t have that house next to the beach which I dearly miss. I have never seen a fire fly, I would love to see them or try and catch them. We don’t have them in the north here but one of these summers we will plan on taking a road trip down and camp down the southern states. I have always wanted to do that.

321. Eileen said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 4:47 pm

     I have tons of fun summer memories from when I was growing up. My parents gave us a wonderful childhood. The first memory that popped into my head was playing “Kick the Can” with the neighbor kids. So fun! I actually played it again with my sisters and brothers-in-law about 10 years ago as adults. It wasn’t quite the same as when we were kids but it was still a lot of fun!

     Eileen

322. Phyllis said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 5:18 pm

     Running barefoot in the mud during a warm rainy day!

323. Jody said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 5:20 pm

     We went to the same place in St. Germain, WI every summer for a couple of weeks and would see the same families year after year. Those were magical days–swimming, fishing, catching frogs, jigsaw puzzles, walking up the road to the Muskie Queen for soft serve, looking for a special souvenir to bring home, and hoping to see a bear at the dump. Every week the owners would build a campfire and bring the hot dogs and everyone would bring a dish to pass and we’d eat, roast marshmallows and if someone had a guitar we would sing and watch the campfire die down and the stars come out. Sigh.

324. Lisa said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 5:45 pm

     We would, at night with our dad, go around the house with a flashlight looking and pulling out night crawlers. Then we would go fishing the next day. It was a special fun time with our dad.

325. Linda R. said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 6:03 pm

     favorite summer camp thing was build a tent in the backyard with blankets, catch lightening bugs, play hide and go seek, and yes ice cream!

326. Roxanne said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 6:46 pm

     My favorite thing to do in the summer was ride my bicycle all over town. I would go visit my dad’s office downtown, or I’d go to the library, or I’d take my allowance and buy candy at the corner store. I miss those days!

327. shelley said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 6:50 pm

     We used to spend our summers at my family’s home in Eagle River WI. Swimming, Water Skiing, getting lots of reading done while enjoying a view of the lake, boating, wandering around town. So much fun!

328. Jessica said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 6:53 pm

     I remember spending a lot of time trying to stay cool in the heat of an Australian country summer. We would have home-made icypoles and sit in water and climb trees to sit in their shade.

329. Naomi said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:02 pm

     My grandparents used to own an ice cream shop called The Dairy Sweet. We lived just a few blocks from the shop so my younger sister an I would frequently walk over to get a small cone or other type of frozen treat. I especially remember wanting to get a vanilla cone at dusk so I could lick the ice cream flat so that I could pretend it was a flashlight for the walk home.

330. angela said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:38 pm

     We used to camp in Northern California. I remember not liking much of that, but I do remember loving the California Junior Ranger program! My mom recently moved, and we found my badge and pin in one of the boxes when we unpacked.

331. Suellen said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:43 pm

     At least 2 or 3 times each summer, our grandfather would take the three of us on an all day hike. We’d fill our canteens, tuck packed lunches in our backpacks, and off we’d go. He would cut us all walking sticks, and would tell us about flowers and trees and birds and bugs and everything we would encounter. We would come home tired, sunburned, but somehow changed by the day,
     Every summer I yearn to be able to get that feeling back, but I do – every time I remember…

332. SallyT said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:43 pm

     Lightening bugs are a big part of my summer memories. We caught them, we made “jewelry” from them… After moving to the Deep South, lightening bugs disappeared. The insecticides sprayed to get rid od mosquitos also got rid of the lightening bugs.

     i was so glad to spend some time with my kids back in Delaware. The lightening bugs were there and my kids were able to experience the glow.

333. Cheryl said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:47 pm

     Every summer the whole family would go to our cabin on the lake. It was just a one room cabin so I’d get to sleep out in the tent all summer long. The tent was an old army surplus tent and THEY DO LEAK if you touch them when it rains at least this one did! Every night, weather permitting, we’d have a campfire and make Samores or Banana Boats. Ahh the good ole days!

334. Stacey said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:50 pm

     My favorite memories of summer are of spending weeks with my grandma and grandpa. My grandma would pack a lunch and we’d go to the zoo first thing in the morning and spend hours and hours there. I especially loved the petting zoo. Best of all was the time I got to spend just being with my grandma.

335. Angela said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 7:50 pm

     Every summer when I was in middle and high school my dad sent me to Florida for a month to visit with my grandmother, aunt, uncle and cousins that used to live up here in New England. So even though we were thousands of miles apart I still (and still do) feel very close to them.

336. Julie W said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 8:16 pm

     My parents owned a cabin on a lake in northern Wisconsin, and we spent the whole summer there. Fishing, swimming, climbing tress, and pontoon boat rides on a Sunday morning, drinking orange juice and eating Sara Less coffee cake.

337. Nebraska Knitter said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 8:46 pm

     Once each summer, my sister and I and two neighborhood friends were allowed to make a tent over two picnic tables in the backyard and then to sleep all night in the tent! Reading unlimited books from the library is another favorite memory of mine.

338. Agatha said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 8:53 pm

     Growing up my mom, dad, sister, and I packed up and shipped out to a little Polish “bungalo colony” upstate New York where we’d hang out for a month or so. There was a pool, hundreds of acres of grass and woods, blueberry picking, volleyball, bonfires, casino nights for the kids, a candy and ice cream shop, plus we were minutes away from a gorgeous state park where we’d hike our hearts out. Definitely some of the best memories of my childhood.

339. Megan said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 9:06 pm

     When I was younger, we would go up to Vermont for a telescope convention/camping every summer for a weekend. It was a really fun family time. We still go when we can. In fact, I think my dad, stepmother, and dog are heading up there this weekend.

340. marina said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 9:25 pm

     when i was younger we used to go to hong kong every summer to visit the relatives – i especially enjoyed walking thru the aviary near the apartment and looking at the goldfish in the nearby ponds (and riding the subway – yes, i was young and easily amused)

341. Mary said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 9:33 pm

     Every Summer we would drive from Columbus, Ohio to Put-In-Bay on Lake Erie to visit relatives and have fun. We had a 1954 Ford and there were 4 kids. The ferry boat ride to the island was the best!

342. Trish said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 9:40 pm

     Just wanted to say that your summer adventure camp is one of the sweetest ideas I’ve seen…it actually makes me sad that my 11 and 14 year daughters are a little past that stage…must remember for grandma hood. Much luck as you settle in!

343. Jeanne said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 9:42 pm

     My favorite summer memory was the drive-in on Friday or Saturday night. My parents had a Rambler station wagon and would put my brother and I in our PJs and head off to the drive-in. We got to eat popcorn and drink soda (which was a rare event) and would fall asleep on the back deck of the station wagon. I’ll never forget how those little speakers would hang on the window!

344. Lisha said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 9:49 pm

     I went to the movie theater a lot. Every Tuesday the movies are discounted and I would walk over to the mall close to home to catch the latest blockbuster

345. HeatherWB said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 9:58 pm

     My favorite summer memories are those that I spent away from home, whether at Girl Scout Camp, Church Camp, or on vacations with my parents. I really enjoyed getting to go to new places, see new things, and do things that I normally wouldn’t do if I were at home. I think all that travel instilled in me a sense of wanderlust that remains to this day.

346. Sarah said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 10:02 pm

     Every weekday at about 5pm, I’d put on my swimming suit and flip flops, get my towel and wait for Daddy to get home from work. As soon as he could change, off we’d go to the pool. The two of us loved the water. When I was very little, he taught me to float, to blow air out of my nose to keep the water out, to catch my breath going under and to bounce back up from the bottom. I’d swim laps with him when I got older and then he’d play with me. I’d take hold of his shoulders from behind and under water we’d go. His strong strokes would pull us along, me kicking my little legs to help. Good times!

347. Ellie said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 10:22 pm

     This Phoenix city girl got spend time at my cousin’s ranch in Oregon every year. I rode horses and milked cows and collected eggs and drove cattle and drove the truck while hauling hay. Heaven!

348. Wanda said,

     July 28, 2011 @ 10:32 pm

     My cousins spent one entire summer with us. I remember there was a big mud puddle down in the field. We had heard that mud bathes made you beautiful! So we covered ourselves in mud (we were wearing bathing suits so lots of skin was exposed). My Mom wouldn’t let us in the house. She told us to go to the creek and wash off. However, she did take pictures of us before we had to wash it off.

349. KarenV said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 12:16 am

     I have often thought of lightning bugs – I don’t see them anymore, and would love to find just ONE to bring back THAT magic.
     One of my favorite memories of summer was looking out the back door to see if Grandma was in her garden. We lived in a neighborhood that was all family – grandma and grandpa, and 3 sons and their families. Anyway, she had this huge garden, half flowers and half vegetables with rasberry bushes in between. I loved to go out in visit with her in the garden – she was often in her nightie with her big bare feet dirty from walking through the dewy grass and then into the garden.

350. Lindsey S. said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 6:30 am

     We used to hold lawn races with our next-door neighbors. We would wait for the day to cool off, then tear off across our front yard; the catch was that, in order to win, you had to successfully hurdle the low line of shrubs that divided our front yard from our other neighbors’ yard. Those shrubs ate many a front-runner’s victory.

351. Connie said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 6:42 am

     My fondest memory of a camp experience is the week long Girl Scout ones. We would sit around the campfire at night and sing songs, the same songs I then shared with my own children when we would go camping.

     The memories were so fond that as they grew up we would be camping every weekend, all summer long. Finishing with a 10 day trip just before school would begin. Our favorite campground had no pool, no special anything. Rustic indeed, bike trails, frisbee golf, an old fellow who played chess with them, and best of all a rope that swung to the middle of the creek just like Tom Sawyer movie. First they moaned, then by the end couldn’t wait to come back the next year.

     Eating s’mores, cooking over the open fire with a cast iron pan, and grate. Corn on the cob cooked in husk over wood coals has no comparison in flavor. Hmmmmm, I wonder if I could do that before freezing it. Then that memory would be there for me all winter long, bringing a touch of summer to those cold blustery nights.

     Yup those Girl Scout camps created a true love of the outdoors (and yes we got those fireflies/lightning bugs too).

352. Lynn Palmer said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 6:50 am

     Each year we drove up North to visit my grandmother, who owned and operated a drug store in Indiana. She’d let the grandkids “work” in the store, allowing us to run the registers, restock the comic book racks and sometimes work behind the soda fountain. After closing, we were allowed to prepare a treat to take home and enjoy that evening. I can still remember mixing up some wild concoctions, (half cola/half syrup using squirts of lemon, lime, cherry, vanilla) to accompany any number of available snacks (sesame stix, mixed nuts, barbeque beef sandwich, hot dog), all to be packaged up for the walk home with Grandma, each carrying our own, personal bounty. It was sheer heaven.

353. Wendy said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 7:07 am

     Going to Great Falls Park for the day! http://www.nps.gov/grfa/index.htm

     Early in the morning my brother and I would start pestering my mom to take us to Great Falls. She enjoyed it as much as we did, so she usually gave in. We went so often that she bought a season pass every year.

     Love your scrapbook page with the photos of you children when they were little!

354. Elizabeth said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 7:23 am

     As a young person I loved going to my aunt and uncle’s camp. I would play in the lake until my lips turned blue, and walk to the campground store down the road and buy lots of penny candy. When I got a little older I liked to pick rasperries or strawberries and make a cobbler to go with dinner, with my aunt’s permission. If it was too hot to turn on the oven, the berries were good with milk and sugar.

355. Leah said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 7:37 am

     I remember going to summer camp in SC when I was about 10 years old. Each cabin assigned their campers a number. We used that number to play games in which we shouted out our number after learning a specifuc series of numbers. The fastest cabin won! It is hard to explain but was so much fun!

356. JoAnn A said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 8:45 am

     Swimming lessons and lots of pool time for all of us. This sounds especially good this summer with our hear wave.

357. Anne said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 9:13 am

     Every summer growing up. We went to my Aunt and Uncle’s house for 4th of July. We would bbq and make homemade ice cream. Then once it got dark each family would take turns lighting fireworks. Lots of great memories with cousins and a few mishaps, like a burned bush, along the way.

358. Naryann said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 9:23 am

     I grew up in the 60′s and back then i looked forward to the Sunday evening Barbecues or the Sunday afternoon picnics. Good times.
     Also,our HS band practiced on saturdays and we could hear the music all the way to our house. Their music was great!

359. Shanna said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 9:26 am

     I never really went to summer camp. As far as favorite summer memories- catching lightening bugs, riding bikes and boating with my dad come to mind. One year, we took the boat from St Louis up to Hannibal, MO and camped out a few nights while we went to see all of the sights during the day. Then, back in the boat headed home. I was SO sunburned after that trip!

360. Connie said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 9:50 am

     I grew up on a farm in Western NY. At the end of a long hay-making day we would drive 10 miles to jump into cool Lake Ontario. Those days were the best.

361. Sarah Franklin said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 10:02 am

     One of my favorite memories of summertime is when I lived with my dad and brother. We lived on a Cul de Sac. On late summer night we would go outside with a blanket and lay in the street and watch stars. The memory is now bittersweet and very special as my dad is no longer with me. Maybe this weekend I will take my girls out to watch stars from our driveway.

362. Jan said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 11:57 am

     We rode our bikes, everywhere, all day long! I think our longest day trip was 44 miles — we were poooped!

363. Lisa in Los Angeles said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 12:20 pm

     My parents would take us to the local library’s booksale – where all paperbacks were a nickle and hardbacks were a quarter – and hand us a grocery shopping bag each that we could fill up with as many books as we wanted!

364. Jennie said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 12:47 pm

     My favorite summer memories are of our family trips to Ocean City, NJ. My cousins from FL would go along. We spent the day on the beach and the nights on the boardwalk eating junk food and screaming our heads off on the amusement rides.

365. Katy H said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 1:08 pm

     My favorite summer memories involve going to a local amusement park with my family. Mom wasn’t always in the best of health so we had to go on days when she was feeling “good”. My most favorite memory though is when my Mom (who had just had stomach surgery and wasn’t supposed to get her stomach wet) went on a water ride. Of course, she got nailed with every possible drop of water that she could…I don’t think I ever her laugh so hard or have so much fun!

366. Heather B said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 2:14 pm

     We are making memories right now with our kids! We have been going camping every summer! and when I say camping I mean the tent kind! my kids love it. we stay up late and make smores!

367. Sarah said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 2:20 pm

     My family would rent a cottage on Keuka Lake (NYS) for a week every summer until I was 18 years old. We would swim, bike, fish, and sleep under the stars. I still tell people stories from those trips!

368. Elizabeth said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 2:22 pm

     When I was about 13, we took our two-week “Northwest” driving trip from Kansas City through every national park along the way — the Badlands, Devil’s Tower, Great Falls of the Missouri River, Glacier, Crater Lake, Craters of the Moon, the Redwoods, and Yellowstone.

369. Penny said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 2:46 pm

     We used to go to the lake nearly every weekend. My parents had a small little cabin a couple of hours from our home, and I have wonderful memories of swimming, floating, boating, and fishing all day long. In the evenings, we would pop popcorn and work puzzles or play card games. When I was older my mom and I would take our sewing machines and make quilt tops.

370. Michelle B. said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 2:48 pm

     Summer was the only time of year we actually sat outside in the evenings and hung out with our neighbors. I used to love it. We would share hibachi platters, coleslaw, sangria punch, fresh home baked pies and mingle all through the summer months. We kids would catch fireflies and roll down the hills in each others yards in the soft summer grasses. The pets ran free and everyone was welcome in any above ground pool on the street. Ah, the sweet memories.

371. Penny said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 3:38 pm

     Oh! We had blackberry bushes too, which would be ripe around the 4th of July every year. I remember picking huge juicy blackberries, and then eating them later with sugar sprinkled on top. Also the homemade ice cream! It was my job to sit on the folded towel on top while the adults took turns turning the crank.

372. Julie said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 3:51 pm

     My favorite summer memories were going to visit my Grandparents. Being that we lived on the East Coast and they were in a small town in California we could hardly wait. My grandfather managed a small oil company and he would take us out in the fields with him. We had so much fun exploring.

373. Georgina Bow Logsdon said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 5:09 pm

     I remember driving to the edge of town and looking up at the stars. We could see the Milky Way and several constellations. I have never been able to show these to my children or grandchild because of light polution.

374. ikkinlala said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 5:28 pm

     We swam in the river. My dad would make a list of chores in the morning and if my brother and I finished them by lunchtime we’d go swimming all afternoon.

375. Katherine said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 5:58 pm

     I would stay at my grandmother’s house for the summer and would go swimming every day in her pool.

376. Mary Baxter said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 6:16 pm

     My favourite summer memory was being taken for a trip on the No 32 bus, which did an outer circle of the City of Edinburgh. We would get on the bus at the stop nearest to us and journey 3/4 of the way round. Taking in the Pentland Hills, the sights across the Firth of Forth to Fife, up and down great hills, with fantastic views of the city. We would then get off at Portobello and go for a walk along the promenade to the funfair where we would have Ice cream, then it was back on the bus for the last 1/4 of the journey home to the same stop we started out at about 5 hours ago.
     The local bus company ran a tour called The Sea, City and the Hills, which cost a few pounds. This was back in the 70′s. We were just my gran a pensioner = free and me under12 = 5p. It felt like our wee secret.

377. Paulette said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 7:04 pm

     Pre-air conditioning….on those nights when the temperature didn’t drop below 70, even in the city I grew up in right on Lake Michigan, we would sleep in the backyard “under the stars”. It was always different watching the stars change positions and set. THe big tree in our back yard looked like a huge giant bug in the dark. What usually happened was just before the sun came up, it got cooler outside and the humidity would turn to heavy dew. We’d go in the house and sleep a few more hours until it got hot again. We usually did it about once a summer—usually took the rest of the summer for all the mosquito bites to go away!

378. Kathleen said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 7:14 pm

     Lots of swimming, bike riding and horse back riding in the Catskill Mountains!

379. Jean said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 7:23 pm

     Bike riding to town to go swimming, and seeing friends. Plus catching lightening bugs and camping out in the backyard.

380. Sherri Carras said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 7:36 pm

     I remember exploring my grandparents’ acreage on their farmhouse in Missouri when we visited every other summer. I’d find frogs, tortoises, rabbits, snakes, and all sorts of spiders. I remember bringing a tortoise up to the back door of their house and my mom opening the door to see what I had. She let out a shriek of horror when she saw this tortoise airwalking in my tiny hands, while my grandmother laughed in the background. I didn’t know my mother was terrified of tortoises until then!

381. katiedo said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 7:53 pm

     One of most favorite things to do in the summer was walk over to my grandma’s in the evening (she lived a little less than a mile from us) & sit with her on her back porch. She’d fix us a big bowl of cut up cantaloupe that she picked that day from her garden & top it with butter brickle ice cream! The smell of cantaloupe to this day takes me instantly back to grandma’s!

382. ginni said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 7:59 pm

     One of my families fondest memories is playing cards with my kids on a bed in the back bedroom. One night my husband was outside watering his flowers when all of a sudden we all got sprayed (we didn’t have air conditioning) after the second time we got wet the kids & I ran out in front grabbed the hose & ran around towards the back where he was waiting for us with his hose on full blast! We all laughed so hard esp when we saw the neighbors looking at us like we were nuts! We were all soaked to the skin but my kids still talk about it & they have kids & grandkids of their own now & let me tell you the grandkids & great grandkids love hearing the story about PawPaw Art soaking us!

383. Caroline Crawford said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 8:13 pm

     My mom and aunt used to take me, my brother and my 4 first cousins camping each summer. Some years our grandmother would also come and pitch her tent. We would have fun cooking over the campfire and singing around the campfire.

384. Helen said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 8:34 pm

     Summer road trips. My parents took us everywhere. It was so much fun and I wish we still did it.

     As far as catching fireflies, I still do that. I consider myself a champ. I look forward to their emergence every year. It amazes my kids how easy it is for me to catch one. I tell them to be gentle and release. Although I remember putting them in jars when I was a kid with grass! I just don’t tell them that.
     We love to sit in the yard and watch their dance.

385. Nikki said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 9:36 pm

     We used to have four wheelers growin up on a farm. But every summer we woul go to the beach and stay in this lil podunk motel and take the wheelers. There was a place called radio island that the govnt owned we could ride. It was AWESOME! you got to ride the dunes and pick up sand dollars and meet tons of wonderful people.

386. Abby said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 10:31 pm

     I remember the epic game of Kick the Can we would play through out the neighborhood. It was so much fun running around through everyone’s yards and hiding in their shrubs. Then the game was called when the first parent started calling for their kid….

     Oh and we’d take a break when the ice cream truck came through!

387. Kathy S said,

     July 29, 2011 @ 10:34 pm

     When my aunt was a caretaker for a house up in the mountains, we’d go there occasionally in the summer when the owner was away. It had two pools with slides and they had horses there.

388. Nicole said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 4:10 am

     Going up to Minnesota to visit my grandparents. They live, as you may have guessed, on a lake. Going up there meant (and still does) random walks, fishing off the dock, catching frogs (ever catch a bullfrog the size of a dinner plate?), shopping with grandma, eating random veg from the garden, exploring the house, and so much more. We won’t be going up this summer; we’ll be making the trip in October instead, and I’m looking forward to it.

389. bunny said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 7:05 am

     I grew up in a small town near the Finger Lakes in NYS. During the day we would all head to Owasco Lake and swim and play all day long. As years went by and we grew into teenagers, wonderful Lake Dances took place on Saturday evenings in the same Pavillion my father used to perform as a Jazz musician.

390. Becki said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 7:23 am

     We caught lightening bugs too! Also spent many weeks of summer with my grandparents just playing in the brook and doing outdoor stuff

391. Suzanne said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 7:47 am

     Riding my bike ti my friends and playing barbies outide

392. Liz said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 7:53 am

     Playing “kick the can” till dark!

393. Debbie D said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 8:24 am

     Going to church camp in Lake of the Ozarks, MO – for 9 summers as a camper and 2 as a staffer!

394. Patsy (Rav :MissBabie) said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 8:46 am

     When I was 6, our house caught fire during the summer months. So my family stayed at camp while our house was rebuilt. That was my best summer ever! We did so many things like fish, frog catching, camp fires, the list goes on. I will always remember that summer

395. sharmie said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 9:49 am

     i love going to canada’s wonderland. hot sticky tiring expensive theme park day but WORTH IT.

396. kitrin said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 10:42 am

     My dad would take me fishing in our canoe at a nearby state park. We would get up real early and have breakfast at a little diner and then go out on the lake for the day.

397. Laurie said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 11:19 am

     It was always a big treat for us to get to sleep outside in the summer, either in Dad’s old army tent or just in our sleeping bags on the ground in the back yard. I remember Mom wouldn’t let us sleep outside unless the low temperature overnight was going to be above 70, so we anxiously awaited those warm summer nights!. We would usually built a campfire and roast weenies and marshmallows, play hide and seek in the dark and then roll out our sleeping bags…what fun!

398. Anne said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 11:46 am

     At least once a summer, my friend’s dad would set up a “Neighborhood Capture the Flag” game. All the kids would be split into teams and 2 houses would get picked for the flags. More often we went snipe hunting, and then would get to sleep out in the playhouse (friend’s dad was a carpenter, so they had the “cool” yard). Never did manage to catch one of those snipes….

399. Courtney said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 12:53 pm

     So many great summer memories, but the first one that comes to mind is riding my horse up the mountain to pick fresh raspberries and blackberries. What my horse and I didn’t eat while picking I would take home and make jam or jelly. Berries are the ultimate summer indulgence!!

400. Theresa said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 1:02 pm

     When I was growing up, my parents didn’t have to worry about where we were. We left the house in the morning after chores and spent the days with friends in the neighborhood. We walked to the swimming pool, played volleyball in the street until dark. One summer my friend and I took apart our bicycles and made a bicycle for two. We spent the rest of the summer riding that bike everywhere, it was great fun.

401. Trish D. said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 1:07 pm

     We had a couple of summertime traditions. At the end of every school year my brother, sister and I would pack our bags and go to my grandparents house for the summer. Mom and dad would visit us on the weekends off and on throughout the summer. My grandparents only lived about an hour away. We loved spending the summer with my granny and pops and my mom loved that we weren’t at home alone all day getting into trouble. At the end of ever summer my parents would come get us kids and we’d go camping for 1-2 weeks before the start of school.

402. Michelle said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 1:23 pm

     Midnight runs to DairyQueen!

403. Dana said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 2:27 pm

     I used to love going to Boblo Island. You had to catch a boat to get there. On the way back from the Island, there was always dancing with a DJ. It was so much fun.

404. Judy Laquidara said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 3:07 pm

     I was a kid back when homemade ice cream was made using hand cranked ice cream churns. Every Friday night during the hot southwest Louisiana summers my parents would invite friends over and each family brought their ice cream churn, their favorite recipes made up to pour into the tank. The men and children would sit outside and churn the ice cream and then we’d all enjoy a little of what everyone had made.

405. Kim B. said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 4:40 pm

     We didn’t have much money so couldn’t go places far away. I remember the fun of going to local fire company carnivals with my parents. We also used to have lots of picnics.

406. Kei said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 6:50 pm

     I used to go to sleepaway camp every summer. Girls camp on one mountain and boys camp on the other. The lake was shared in the middle, where we swam, kayaked, sailed.

     The “cool” shoes to wear were Dr. Scholl’s sandals — the wooden platform ones — and we would tear down the mountain to the lake every single day.

     Ah youth….my knees are feeling the pain as I even think about doing that now!

407. Michelle said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 7:21 pm

     Summer Camp. Going away for four weeks every summer and getting care packages from home

408. Ana said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 8:09 pm

     Girl Scout Camp. Loved it so much!

409. Traci Lyn said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 8:26 pm

     My parents were very young when they had me my Dad was a full-time college student and my Mom worked full-time so summer was a time for any extra income while Dad was out of school. So my brother and I were shipped off to our Grandparents for the entire summer so once my grandparents retired we ended up with certain things we did every year with the neighborhood kids. My grandparents house became the local hang out for the summer with homemade popsicles and all sorts of other goodies like pancakes for breakfast everyday till we couldn’t eat anymore the same with homemade macaroni and cheese for lunch and dinner. We used to do a bunch of summer activities most kids do like swimming down at the river playing games etc. but we had a couple of things that got larger every year first was about the age of 11 or 12 I started a backyard carnival and the money raised we donated to the Muscular Dystrophy Association after the first year my granddad would come up with a couple new games to add each year we did this till I was about 15. Surprisingly the other thing everyone looked forward to was the major game of Kick the Can we played a couple times a week but the game everyone really waited for was the one planned on the moonless nights during the summer my grandparents had a huge grassed back yard with soft lighting surrounding the entire yard the game started at sun down and we would play till we couldn’t run anymore then gather around for dessert and then spend the night sleeping on my grandparents screened in back porch sometimes there would be as many as 20, 25 kids all squished in back there. I have no idea how they survived us but my summers with them were the best.

410. Rachel said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 8:52 pm

     My favorite summer memories are going to the State Fair every year with my 4-H exhibits. It was a lot of work but rewarding and fun at the same time.

411. Rachel said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 8:53 pm

     My favorite summer memories are being able to finish an entire book before supper.

412. Sophia said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 9:15 pm

     Every 4th of July, our little neighborhood had a parade. The kids dressed up and decorated bikes, scooters, trikes. We were led down the street by a police car (and felt quite important). When we reached the end, a little ice cream party was waiting for us.

413. Nicki said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 9:16 pm

     Summer when I was a kid consisted of trips out on my family’s boat. We would get up, spend the whole day on the ocean cruising, tubing, and fishing, and then coast into Boston Harbor at night where we would dock and walk to the North End for pastries.

414. Rachel said,

     July 30, 2011 @ 11:01 pm

     I remember we used to save frosting jars, use forks to punch holes in the lids, and then catch lightning bugs in them and keep them in our room overnight. So awesome!

415. Rachelle said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 12:03 am

     I remember most summer holidays involved a road trip from Wellington up to either Levin or Rotorua to visit one or other set of grandparents. I loved the arriving at either destination, especially as it was the beginning of Christmas for us. (southern hemisphere)

416. Betsy said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 1:16 am

     My favorite summer memories all surround water. Growing up in New Hampshire, we would make several trips to Hampton Beach to swin, sunbathe and walk the boardwalk. The trip there and the trip home were always such fun. All the anticipation and then all the retelling of the fun memories. We also made day trips to Lake Winnepesauke to sail all day-stopping and swimming whenever we wanted to- visiting family friends who had summer homes on an island within the lake. I would also go to friends homes who had pools and we would swim and sunbathe. As a family we always went to see the 4th of July fireworks at the park across the street from the junior high my sister and I attended. That was a highly anticipated event every year. I never saw lightning bugs until I was an adult and we had moved to Texas- I wish I could have collected them in jars, too! My Dad was famous for taking us on secret trips, too. We would pile into the car and end up in Salem, MA, or at the Stonehenge in MA, or at an airshow with picnic lunches and going for ice cream cones. There were public pools, and one in particular was very clean and my father had lifeguarded there in his teens-Livingston-and we would frequently spend the day or go for an evening swim after dinner. Aaaah! Such memories! I’m so glad you asked this question. The memories are such good ones.
     Thank you so much,
     Betsy Pratt

417. Erica said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 1:34 am

     2 great memories: summer camp at Camp Swoneky for one week every year until about 8th grade. And after 8th grade: working at Burger King. I’ve had many jobs since then and make A LOT more money, but I still think of it as the best job I ever had.

418. joanna said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 1:49 am

     I grew up in a small town where everyone knew each other. The best summer memory is the annual 4th of July parade – all the bikes in town decked out in red, white and blue – around the town square. This was followed by a tug of war… the town against the volunteer fire department…. they always won because they would turn a fire hose on the rest of us when tey were about to lose. ;D This happened every year and it was entertaining for everyone especially in the PA heat.!

419. Becky Fierberg said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 6:30 am

     Camp Shalom was the day camp of choice for all the Jewish kids in Waterbury, CT. I loved that little camp- taking the bus, swimming in the lake, making that enameled jewelry where you shake the powder on the copper blanks and bake it, pounding ashtrays out of soft copper sheets and driving the counselors crazy by talking “baby talk” with my best friend Jill. I also remember going into the woods to see the rock with the plaque bolted to it honoring my great grandmother, Rebecca Isabell. My great grandfather, Nathan had given money in her memory. Funny, the things we remember.

420. Sarah said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 8:33 am

     One thing I remember is eating popsicles in the summer. I loved them, and banana was my favorite!

421. Janet B said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 8:45 am

     Summer memories in no particular order: riding my bike with no specific direction in mind, Girl Scout camp, learning how to walk on stilts, going to the town pool, going to the library and taking five books out and reading them all in a week, jumping waves at Jones Beach with my father.

422. Robyn said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 8:54 am

     we would rent a condo at the beach each year, the same week, with another family and just had so much fun.

423. Ana said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 9:09 am

     My memories are of going to girl scout camp every summer. We would hike, cook around a campfire and just have fun.

424. Deborah VonBrutt said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 9:42 am

     We use to go to Crystal Lake every Sunday with about half of the neighbors. We had wonderful picnics and the parents all played penny poker while we swam and ate.

425. Janice said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 10:42 am

     my family had a little camp in north central PA and we spent almost every summer weekend up there–a 5 hour drive each way! Looking back, not sure how my parents handled all that travel time with kids….. But, we have so many fond memories of time spent wading in the little creek on our property, swimming and fishing nearby, hikes in the woods, reading on the porch, and campfires most evenings. We generally spent at least one week there each summer as well–a little bit of heaven.

426. Mary Jane said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 11:30 am

     Berry picking! We would head out in the morning and “hunt” for wild blackberry bushes in the woods. We always ate far more than we ever brought home…

427. Ruth said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 11:38 am

     Every summer we spent a week with my grandmother in the country. It was pure heaven, we could run and play anywhere on 13 acres and were only cautioned to be careful around the stream. We had responsibilities too, but they never felt onerous. We’d help harvest raspberries for jam, kill potato bugs (not my favourite), and generally help in her enormous garden. At the time it was fun, now I see how much I learned. My city garden is much smaller, but bountiful and as I right this my raspberries are ripening beautifully

428. Deedee Winters said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 12:56 pm

     I broke my right wrist and cannot knit socks right now but I’d still love to win.

429. Jeanne said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 2:01 pm

     1. Swimming at the pool in town.
     2. Grilling steaks/hamburgers.
     3. Asparagus “hunting”
     4. Bullhead fishing
     5. Marching Band
     ~ A weird list , I know, but I grew up on a farm, so it was mostly a lot of work and not a time of year when my family could vacation. With that said, I did enjoy summer.

430. Kathy Cooper said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 3:48 pm

     My most “memorable” memory is at 4th of July time, my dad didn’t watch the fireworks. He said he saw enough fireworks (bombs) during WWII. Each July, I remember what he went through & it reminds me that war/conflicts affect everyone differently…. and some for the rest of their lives.

431. Sarah Shoo said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 3:59 pm

     My favorite summertime memory is going down to the creek and swimming with my Gram and little brother. It would be so hot, and that water always felt so good. We’d come back up to the house filthy dirty, and she’d hose us off before we were allowed to step foot in the house. This was usually followed by blackberry cobbler and ice cream. Yummy.

432. Windy Brown said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 4:30 pm

     Going to Ocean City and walking on the boardwalk. Eating the fries with malted vinegar.

433. Wasie said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 4:34 pm

     I would ride my bike to the library every week and get a basketful of books to read! Then I’d sit in the shade of some of our big trees and read to my heart’s content.

434. Lynne E. said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 6:19 pm

     We drove from Nebraska to Iowa to visit my mother’s parents on their working farm.

     Sheri, no wonder your grown kids come back to visit you! You have so many creative ideas for enriching daily life!

435. Jeanne said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 7:06 pm

     I grew up on a dead end street in a small town. almost every one of the 12 houses had at least one kid, most had 2 or 3. All summer long we would ride bikes all day, down to the local Y to swim, or just hang out. We’d return home for dinner then regroup in the street for some kick the can until 9pm or so. So simple- so fun!

436. Margaret said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 8:17 pm

     Summertime includes so many memories for me: swimming lessons and days at the pool, playing baseball in the neighbor’s field, working on jigsaw puzzles when it was rainy or too hot and had to be inside, climbing and sitting in the apples trees. Then when I was teenager, I would help with the garden and canning and making pickles or jellies. The favorite thing with the family for me was going to grandma’s, having steamed hardcrabs, and making homemade peach ice cream for granddaddy’s birthday. I did attend summer camps away from home which added another bundle of memories – having block of ice cream on cornflakes for breakfast, learning about sports which we didn’t have in small rural school such as lacrosse, swimming in the ocean, beautiful location at one camp in the mountains for night vespers which we had to go down about 200 steps to get to and it was located beside river which you did not hear from main campsite, and all the people met from so many locations. These are some of my memories as a child but then did many activities with my own children which included summer reading programs at the library, gardening, and many happy days at Girl Scout and Cub Scout Day Camps.
     All and all summer to me means outside fun and family time.

437. Kathleen said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 8:17 pm

     A childhood friend’s mother used to make excellent maple shakes every summer. We’d sit out on the porch with our maple shakes and talk about whatever we wanted until the bugs started biting too much. I really miss that part of my childhood, especially since that friend recently passed away unexpectedly. Maybe I’ll have to whip up a maple shake of my own.

438. Anne said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 8:20 pm

     Going to our grandparent’s lakehouse/camp was always the highlight of our summer. Swimming from morning to night, going out in the rowboat and sometimes we got to go horseback riding.
     One summer my parents took us to Atlantic City (before casinos). We biked on the boardwalk, ate lots of seafood and ice cream, and rode the rides on the pier.

439. Jennifer said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 8:28 pm

     When I was little my Opa and I would go to this little popcorn wagon that used to be downtown and get bags of fresh popcorn and once in a while for a treat some licorice too. We’d take them down to the park and eat popcorn on the big swing together and watch all the ducks by the river. I wish summers were still that tranquil now that I’m an adult.

440. Larissa said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 8:56 pm

     I watched Star Trek (original) at my Grandmother’s summer lake house with my cousin. My grandmother made hot fudge sauce and we had ice cream sundaes. I was about 13 – we did this every week night for two weeks. It remains one of my most powerful memories of Gram.

441. Karen said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 8:57 pm

     For the last 16 years, we went to the ocean for 10 days in the summer. I miss that! As a kid I spent my summers with my beloved grandparents. Doing not much of anything…..helping in the garden, swinging in my tree swing, baking cookies, coloring, putting together jigsaw puzzles with them.

442. Heather said,

     July 31, 2011 @ 10:40 pm

     I swam at the pool a lot. I remember we’d take a boat with friends and our dads and sleep on a sand bar for a night or two. That was a lot of fun.

443. Rae said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 12:27 am

     When me & my sister were kids we would go away to camp. Every Friday was pizza day & dessert was an all you could eat Ice Cream bar followed by midnight swims. They had arts & crafts, boating, dancing all kind of fun stuff.

     I wish I could find a place like that for adults lol.

444. Courtney said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 12:31 am

     Every summer my family packed up and headed to my great-grandparents’ riverside cabin. The days were filled with canoeing, rock skipping, and picnics on the dock. The nights were cool and I remember falling asleep to the echoes of bullfrogs and the laughter of grown-ups gathered around playing games until the wee hours.

445. Mel Ireson said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 6:40 am

     My favourite summer memories are from when I was about 5 and I had an older brother and sister and we used to jump off the garage roof onto the trampoline and then into the backyard pool, strangely enough when my mother caught us doing this we were in trpouble and forbidden to jump off the rooof onto the trampoline anymore so we jumped off the roof into the pile off grass clippings and then ran to the pool, thios wasn’t as good though as the pool got lots of little bits of grass from our feet in it-lol
     It was so much fun getting to spend time with my siblings all day everyday :0)
     Love Mel

446. Holli said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 7:15 am

     Growing up one of my favorite things was eating watermelon on the picnic table in my grandparents backyard. We always picked which watermelon we wanted from the farmer by the length of the pigtail. The longer or curlier the pigtail, the better the watermelon.

447. Cheekyredhead said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 7:24 am

     I spent my summer with my Aunt and Uncle who live on Long Island. Some mornings I would get early and ride my bike down to the the docks of their small town. I’d bring some bread with me to feed the ducks.

448. Joy Linn said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 7:34 am

     We grew up in a lake front home in Michigan, so from the beginning of may we would be begging to swim. we swam all the time and Mom had suchh trouble getting us to come out for meals! I have the same problem with my 4yo daughter nowo

449. Pamela said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 7:43 am

     Summers were always crazy- my parents worked so it was a flurry of camps and other things to keep us busy and then things like yard work on the weekends. We didn’t stop long enough to have many traditions besides driving to Memphis to see family and the last week of the summer on Cape Cod or Nantucket. In truth, many of my favorite summer memories are of rainy days when you would just sit on the screen porch and read all day. They were nice relaxing days.

     and I love lightning bugs! Years ago I took some people from CA up the Washington Monument at 10 pm, which was amazing. But when we came out, they started squelling and running around- they had never seen lightning bugs before! I can’t imagine never having seen them!

450. Denese said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 8:47 am

     One of the things I remember doing in the summer was playing four-square out in front of my house under the street light. We would play every evening. When we got tired of the game we would sit on the curb under the light until our parents called us into the house for the night.

     There might be day camp or baseball games or chores during the day but come sundown we gathered like moths under the street light.

451. Amber said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 8:50 am

     Staying up late reading stacks of books from the library and then of course sleeping in the next day!

452. Jennifer said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 9:26 am

     Playing hide-and-go-seek after dark with my neighborhood friends. My parents would sit out on our porch swing and be our safety tag.

453. Catherine Ristola Bass said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 9:43 am

     I’ll always remember the summer we stayed up until 3 watching the late movie while playing poker and rummy every night.

454. Mandy said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 9:43 am

     My favorite summer activity was tying together white clover flowers to make necklaces, bracelets, and chains. We would use them to decorate our porch and the trees in our yard. Every now and then we’d find a four leaf clover!

455. Ronni said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 9:50 am

     I never got to camp as a kid but one summer I spent several weeks with my grandparents at their house on a lake and that was a lot of fun. Nowadays though, I like this kind of camping better.

456. Kathleen said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 9:51 am

     We did so many things to make summer fun. We made tents out of blankets over the swing set to sleep out. We made up a game where a crumpled up piece of aluminum foil was the “diamond” which would get hidden in the woods or the yards of my family or our nearest neighbor. One set of kids were the jewel thieves, the others were the detectives. Sometimes, things got a bit serious, like the time the smallest kid got tied up with my jump rope to “get him to talk.”

     We would stay out and procrastinate even when our parents kept calling us to come in, waiting until it was completely dark.

457. Kim said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 9:53 am

     We used to run around at dusk catching fireflies (we didn’t call them “lightning bugs” and playing things like “ghost in the graveyard”!!

458. Rachel said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 10:00 am

     We played “shoe golf” at camp. You start at one end of the camp and have a destination pretty far away. You have to fling your shoe off of your foot towards the goal until you eventually reached the goal. It was a blast until people started getting their shoes stuck on top of buildings and we weren’t allowed to play anymore.

459. Kelly said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 10:11 am

     We used to spend time at my cousins house up North. It was on a river, they had a pool, tennis courts, ATVs….lots of fun!

460. Cathy smith said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 10:21 am

     Lake Antoine in Iron Mountain, MI–the UP, the best.

461. cls said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 10:31 am

     We had a sleeping porch that overlooked the back yard. Best memories would be of sharing that space with friends, watching the last few lightning bugs, and sometimes even the lightning from a storm coming up. There was something safe about those days.

462. Diane said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 11:02 am

     My favorite memory is going to the Jersey shore – Sandy Hook with my family and friends. Salt, sand and sun – there’s nothing better!

463. Page said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 11:06 am

     Hide and seek after dark. It was so exciting to get to stay out late and play with friends!

464. Christina said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 11:19 am

     Best memories of summertime had to be riding our bikes down to the lake. We lived in a small mountain town, so the bike ride was filled with hills and vales, exciting in itself, but culminated in a pair of lakes, Twin Lakes, one for fishing and one for swimming. So much freedom and so much Fun!

465. Kathleen said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 11:20 am

     My Mom and Dad would take my brother and I down to the river on really hot nights. Mom brought a bar of Ivory soap and we would get washed up and put on our p.j.’s.

466. Linda L said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 11:28 am

     I remember going camping at Mammoth Lakes in California as a kid, sleeping in the old canvas tent, my grandparents went with us often too. We camped plenty of other places too, it was a cheap vacation for my parents with all of us kids ( I have 5 siblings)

467. Sue said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 11:58 am

     A month with our grandparents in Kentucky every summer. It was magical!

468. Lauren said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 12:08 pm

     Summer camp! My favorite memories are from summer camp, and now I work at one.

469. Amy said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 12:31 pm

     We don’t have lightning bugs here. I’ve never actually seen one! I did alot of summer activities that I loved – swimming, going to the lake, summer camp on an island in the middle of a large local lake for a week with our church. . .but my favorite memory, I think, is my dad setting up the tent in our back yard and us living out of it for the week. He print of fake camp cash with his face on it that we used to buy our meals and such and we could earn extra for doing things (like being nice to each other and laughing) and once during that week, mom prepared food fight friendly foods. We were sitting out back at the picnic table and I got hit in the side of the head with mashed potatoes Lots of fun.

470. Stacey said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 12:56 pm

     We used to bbq on the back patio, but it was after dinner I loved the most. It would get very dark and my dad would sit and point out the different constellations to me. I loved that.

471. Jill Touchette said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 1:47 pm

     I used to go gold prospecting with my dad every summer. My parents owned shares of a gold mine in California and we would drive from Vegas to the mine and camp for the weekend. We would bring big tubs and fill them with water and pan for gold.

472. Marie said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 2:15 pm

     Each summer we went swimming in the lake and grilled hot dogs on a camp grill. It sounds simple but it wasn’t close. The women in our family are geographically challenged so each trip was an adventure and I swear we never took the same route twice. We all tried to help my mom navigate. We’ll never forget that my youngest sister’s sage words of encouragement were “This is the right way, Mom. There are trees on both sides of the street.” If you’ve ever lived in New England you know that could apply to any street!

473. Mona said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 2:42 pm

     The simple summers were my favorites. Long days in the pool, hanging with friends, staying up way too late snacking and watching old reruns.

474. Lisa said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 3:29 pm

     Every 4th of July, my mom would make a special dessert, Ice Cream Peanut Butter Pie. We looked forward to this all year with the really tall creamy slices.

475. Cindy said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 3:41 pm

     My brother was a big baseball star in a small town. We spent most of our summer chasing after him to all of his games. This was fine with me because I loved baseball, got almost all the snacks I wanted from the popcorn stand, and each trip away from home was like a mini-vacation all throughout the summer.

476. Lynn said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 3:42 pm

     For many summers, it was a vacation out west. Wyoming was my favorite, because of the horses. I remember the lodge that we stayed at. It accomadated a couple of families. It was run by a local family. The food was from scratch ie pancakes in the morning and fresh fish ie rainbow trout in the evening. There were horses to be ridden and the trails were so beautiful. I could hear a little gurgling creek as I fell to sleep at night. I was around age 9 or 10. Best summers ever! Lynn

477. Laura said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 3:47 pm

     Spitting watermelon seeds and eating half a watermelon– fresh from the field in the morning and then cold from the freezer in the late afternoon heat. Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina… but we could do without this 100 degree summer!

478. Carol F said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 3:50 pm

     We’d often spend a week with the grandparents in Indiana – playing Old Maid and Chinese Checkers out on the porch in the evenings, looking for that elusive breeze – and of course, catching lightening bugs!

479. Shannon said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 3:53 pm

     We used to go camping at the beach every summer. I can remember jumping off cliffs into all the icicle plant, playing ditch ‘em in the cliffs of San Clemente, and of course body surfing at all the beaches we went. I will always remember the fun we used to have and stories that went along with every trip, since it seems like something funny happened on every trip.

480. Bev said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 3:55 pm

     I loved trips to the library for the annual summer book reading contests! I was always the winner of the most books read during the summer break. I could crochet almost as fast as I could read, but it was hard to buy enough yarn to complete the afghans that I always had on the go. 40 years later, those Red Heart blankets still look good– I actually have 3 still from my childhood!

481. Lisa said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 3:59 pm

     Spending 2 weeks on Martha’s Vineyard in the 70′s when the rental properties were dirt cheap! My parents were not wealthy by any means… But they always managed to take us every year!

482. Patti said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 4:13 pm

     Always going on a vacation as a family. VIsiting relatives and seeing new places.

483. Julie said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 4:16 pm

     I always spent a month (without any siblings!) with my Grandmother and Papa. I learned a lot from them – gardening, sewing, baking and golfing. And now, looking back, I was so blessed to have that time alone with them every summer!

484. Wendy said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 4:30 pm

     Taking our family suburban up to Canada for a 10 day road trip. We had a mattress in the back and baked monster cookies for the trip. We had a tent for us kids to sleep in and mom and dad slept in the back of the suburban. If we could not find a place to camp we all slept in the suburban that night.

485. Laura said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 4:44 pm

     This is an easy question for me…FIrst of all, I love Summer and all the outdoor fun it brings with it! My parents owned a cottage on a lake in New York state. We spent almost every weekend there during the summer and often weeks at a time. We had a boat that pulled 6 water skiers at a time; so we spent time with the family and friends showing off our great nautical abilities (ha-ha). We swam, had picnics on our dock, and campfires at night. They were all cherished moments that bring back a host of wonderful memories. Thanks Sheri for prompting a few moments of nostalgia. Good luck with getting settled in

486. Ruth said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 4:47 pm

     We played hide and seek at dusk, and mom and dad let us. LOL It was SOOOO much fun!

487. Pam said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 5:07 pm

     I lived in Thailand for a few years during my childhood, and attended summer camp in Pattaya. One time, we took boats over to a tiny island that had NOTHING on it, and we pitched tents and really camped out there. It was pristinely beautiful, with crystal blue water and pure white sand. Something I will always remember.

488. Nicole I. said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 5:33 pm

     My whole life I’ve been an outdoors person. In my younger years, I spent most of my summers climbing different trees on our property, figuring out how I could make a little tree “nook” into a “clubhouse for one.” I employed a bucket and jump rope to get my books, crayons and snacks up to where I made my scattered about tree clubhouses. If I wasn’t doing that, I was smashing leaves and berries with water using a carefully chosen stick, trying to make my own “painting potions.” I will never forget the one and only time I fell out of a tree and broke my right arm. You can’t forget something like that! I was only half upset about my arm, more upset that I couldn’t climb for the rest of the summer! Oh… kids!

489. Bev Love said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 5:35 pm

     I earned my swimming badge for Girl Scout Troop 1390 during summer camp. My best friend Carin Christensen taught me, and our friend Virginia Stringer cheered me on.

490. Kandice Force said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 7:11 pm

     I remember going to summer camp every year for about 10 years in a row. My family went with my uncle, aunt and cousins. We did crafts, swam, hiked, horse-backed, and everything else you typically do at camp. Some years we got to stay in cabins, and some years we had tents.

491. Michelle said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 7:24 pm

     We swam on the swim team every summer… up at the crack of dawn each day to practice, and then swim meets on Saturday mornings. So much fun!

     Also, waiting for the Good Humor man to come jingling down the street. We’d grab our nickles (wow, I’m dating myself!) and run after the truck, buy a popsicle, then sit on the curb eating them until the sun went down and the street lights came on — the signal that it was time to head back home.

     Ah, summertime.

492. Fern said,

     August 1, 2011 @ 7:28 pm

     We lived across from a park that had name entertainment under the stars in the summer Bob Hope for one ( I know I am dating myself). There was limited parking on the street, so my neighbor and I would park cars in our driveway of 25 cents a car. I would always fill up first being a girl. We thought a $1.00 was a fortune.

493. Clara said,

     August 2, 2011 @ 1:47 pm

     When I was a teenager (back in the late 60s) we had a party at my house during the evening. We had several friends over and we were outside, listening to a Beatles album. It was dark and we could see all the stars shining. And I was just so happy and acting silly, dancing the night away — so much fun!!!

494. Savannagal said,

     August 2, 2011 @ 3:02 pm

     The best part of my youth were my friends. We were best friends then and still are today, over 35 years later. We could have fun with a box of rocks as long as we were together.

495. Marseille said,

     August 2, 2011 @ 3:57 pm

     I remember catching lightning bugs and running around the neighborhood with the boys who lived nearby (I was the token girl on my end of the street……). And playing in our little pool in the backyard!

496. Elise said,

     August 2, 2011 @ 3:58 pm

     Growing up we went to the pool just about everyday, or at least it felt that way. It was my favorite part about summer, splashing around in the pool, taking swimming lessons, etc.

497. Natasha said,

     August 2, 2011 @ 6:01 pm

     Oh! My favorite summertime activity was plucking smooth stones from the creek and rubbing them together to make “face paint”! We were able to create some lovely shades of red and brown and painted our faces in all sorts of funny looking patterns .

498. De-De said,

     August 2, 2011 @ 9:57 pm

     My mom and my favorite aunt arranged summer swaps for us and our three cousins. Each of us spent a week at the other home, and it was the absolute highlight of any summer. I loved my aunt’s cooking, a week away from garden and normal household chores, and all the adventure that went with living in a different family, not to mention the fun of having my cousins come visit one at a time at our house. If not for these summer exchanges, I doubt I’d have ever learned to ride a bike or that vegetables can actually taste good. ;o) We didn’t even have to do anything “special” during visit weeks. Just the novelty of it was enough. That’s probably the one thing I miss most from my childhood.

499. Orli said,

     August 3, 2011 @ 4:01 am

     My favorite childhood summertime tradition was, after the ridiculously loooooong flight from Los Angeles to Israel, arriving at my grandma’s house and being welcomed with fruit parfaits and our favorite cartoons. My brother and I would veg out in front of the TV for a few hours so the grown-ups could relax from what must have been a hellish flight (we were not easy children to deal with) and wake up the next day ready to go swimming and do all the fun stuff we did in Israel that we never got to do in LA.

500. Beth Bachuss said,

     August 3, 2011 @ 3:20 pm

     Every summer, for our vacation, we would drive from Alabama to Toledo, Ohio to visit my grandparents. Even though money was tight, our parents always stopped off to let us do something fun. We went to Cedar Point, Ruby Falls, and even thought we went to Mammoth Cave until we were underground and the tour guide said, “a few feet on the other side of that wall is Mammoth Cave.” We were in the wrong one! I can still remember the songs that were popular on those car rides (when we were listening instead of complaining that “he/she is on my side!).

501. Naomi said,

     August 5, 2011 @ 8:35 am

     We used to go visit my great Aunt every summer (4hr drive away) and then on the way home we would take the coast route, spend 1 night in a hotel, and get to play on the beach (this added another 4 hours to the trip home).

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