Comments on: It’s September — here’s how I did on the Summer Fun List https://lauravanderkam.com/2024/09/its-september-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/ Writer, Author, Speaker Fri, 13 Sep 2024 23:55:53 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2 By: BethC. https://lauravanderkam.com/2024/09/its-september-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-525599 Fri, 13 Sep 2024 23:55:53 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=19700#comment-525599 I also think it’s great that you create memories with your kids doing one to one trips. I didn’t do those until I took each kid on a one to one trip to Paris for milestone birthdays. I wish I had done it sooner, although I guess I should count all of those one to one college search visits. Some of those resulted in great conversations!
Here is how did for the summer fun list:
1. Visit 2 long time friends this summer. Already planned. We traveled a ton on long trios this winter and early spring. While I’m looking forward to being home more over the summer, I know that spending a couple of long weekends with some of my favorite people will fill my soul. Result: Both friend visits were great! Lots of catch-up, laughter and heart to heart talks.
2. Pick strawberries. Already done. This has been on my list for a few years, but I always wake up and think about it too late in the season. The strawberry place is around the corner from me, so I put it on the calendar for the first time this year and got there in time. Result: We ended up doing it twice. As a bonus, our ever-bearing strawberry plant was very late blooming this year, so I a hoping for more berries during ths mid-September week.
3. Get to the beach at least 5 times. We spent today at a sometimes light rainy Long Beach Island, NJ beach today. Had a free night certificate from IHG in my husband’s account so we booked a Holiday Inn not far from the LBI causeway. We’re only an hour from home, but we had a great meal at a little restaurant nearby (Mud City Crab House) and I got to walk the beach today. Result: I got to the beach 7 times-a record!
4. Go to some events with a Meetup group that I joined. It’s called the Novel Tourist Book Club-they are Philadelphia-based. They pick several suggestions of books to read and pair meetups that are tied to the theme of the book. I’ll be reading a lot in June, since I will be going out for lunch at an Indian restaurant and reading a novel set in India, visiting the largest Indian temple on the East Coast after reading Indian folk tales, and attending a performance of “Our Town” and then discussing Ann Patchett’s “Tom Lake.” This will help me fulfill my desire to explore more things in the Philadelphia area while feeding my voracious reading appetite. Result: I’ve had a great time with this group. It’s nice that it is comprised of women of different ages. Check it out, Laura…..
5. Take a tour with the Central Park Conservancy in New York. This has been on my wish list for years. I will be doing this with my sister and niece in June. Result: It was a good tour-a little too brief, but I saw parts of the park which I have not seen before. I thnk different tours cover different areas.
6 Go to the Mary Cassatt Exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and attend the Friday night cocktail event at the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia with my adult daughter. I’ve been to the Rodin Museum in Paris multiple times, but never visited the one in my own area. Result: Mary Cassatt and cocktails near Rodin were great.
7. Go to my 20th Major League Baseball stadium (Washington Nationals) and take in a game. My husband and I are on a mission to visit every major league stadium. We knocked off the 3 SoCal teams on a recent trip, so I’m excited that we’ll be 2/3 done with our quest. Of course, I’m not as excited about the prospect of planning future trips to Houston, Dallas and Atlanta in the heat of the summer….Result: Went to the game and am plotting to hit the Seattle stadium on the way to Hawaii next year.
8. Explore one or more new to us ice cream places in our area. My family enthusiastically supports this one! Result: We found one new place.
9. Go to an outdoor concert. Result: Went to see ZZ Top and Foghat (which none of your readers have probably heard of).
10. Walk outdoors more. We have a trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone planned around Labor Day, so I know that we’ll walk a lot then. Result: It was too beastly hot to walk much in the Philadelphia area this summer. We walked a lot in Grand Teton and Yellowstone NPs, as well as in Jackson and Bozeman. Just got back. Bozeman is now my new favorite airport.

]]> By: Laura Vanderkam https://lauravanderkam.com/2024/09/its-september-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-524530 Thu, 05 Sep 2024 16:31:58 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=19700#comment-524530 In reply to omdg.

@omdg- so glad you liked the Park Lane Hotel! The location really can’t be beat.

]]> By: Maggie https://lauravanderkam.com/2024/09/its-september-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-524512 Thu, 05 Sep 2024 12:49:45 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=19700#comment-524512 I started doing our photo album (yep, old school) for this summer and suddenly realized I did manage to do a lot of fun stuff!

]]> By: Louisa https://lauravanderkam.com/2024/09/its-september-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-524455 Thu, 05 Sep 2024 01:22:26 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=19700#comment-524455 I really commend you for your one on one times with each kid. I have three significant childhood memories of time with my parents: once with my mother, once with my father, and once with both. I think the reason these memories stand out is not because of what we did, but because they were the only times I remember being with either or both of them, without any of my four sibs. I wish I’d had more alone time with them.

]]> By: Lisa’s Yarns https://lauravanderkam.com/2024/09/its-september-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-524449 Wed, 04 Sep 2024 23:22:10 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=19700#comment-524449 We were in NYC at the same time and it does feel like so long ago! I thought to myself, ‘was I really there in June??’ I had a busier season of travel this summer with 3 trips in July so that made the summer go by extra fast. I am glad I didn’t travel in August. Our kids spent 2 weeks away from home – one with us and another with my parents. The 6.5 yo handled it well; the 3.5 yo seems to be punishing us a bit for leaving him there for a week. He’s spent a week with my parents before but was 2 then and I don’t remember this challenging re-entry period! But I know they had a blast and my parents loved all the extra time with them.

]]> By: omdg https://lauravanderkam.com/2024/09/its-september-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-524436 Wed, 04 Sep 2024 20:07:10 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=19700#comment-524436 Putting in a plug for keeping the hot tub open longer. My absolute favorite time to use it is when it’s about 20-30 degrees outside and you get all toasty in the tub and it’s cool and crisp all around you. (Admittedly getting out isn’t amazing, but it’s bearable and usually worth it.) We were told that it’s cost neutral in terms of expense.

Also I wanted to thank you for your detailed description of your NYC trip. We stayed at the Park Lane hotel because of your recommendation, and it was perfect.

]]> By: Laura Vanderkam https://lauravanderkam.com/2024/09/its-september-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-524429 Wed, 04 Sep 2024 18:57:01 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=19700#comment-524429 In reply to Kt.

@Kt – SHU had mentioned that as good. I hadn’t really thought of reading it but maybe!

]]> By: Kt https://lauravanderkam.com/2024/09/its-september-heres-how-i-did-on-the-summer-fun-list/#comment-524419 Wed, 04 Sep 2024 17:57:56 +0000 https://lauravanderkam.com/?p=19700#comment-524419 Is Catherine Newman’s “Sandwich” on your TBR list given your summer at the shore tradition? Might be thought provoking!

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