Summer Time In the City...

…and the weather is hot. Sunny Florida is just that. Sunny, hot, and humid. But I love it. I lived here all of my life, so I guess you could say I’m mostly used to it. I say mostly because high 90’s is pretty hard to be outside in for a long time.

Some of my best memories as a child were the times my parents would wake us up early in the morning and we’d grabbed our swimsuits and head to the beach. My dad would cook breakfast on the grill and mom would have sandwiches made for lunch. We’d spend the entire day playing in the water, building sandcastles, and trying to catch starfish.

Of course I would be covered in sunscreen because I burnt very easy. One year we stayed at the beach for a month and when everyone else was outside in the middle of the day, I would sit on the porch and read. Nancy Drew was my friend.

The coolest thing I remember doing during that trip was sleeping on the beach several nights. My brothers and sister and cousins (it was a really big house), spread out blankets and stared at the night sky. Back then the stars were easy to see and it was amazing. I can’t imagine doing that today or allowing my kids (even though they’re grown and I guess I couldn’t actually stop them), to do that. Back then we didn’t worry about crime like today.

We didn’t have a pool, but we had sprinklers and I can’t remember what it was called, but it was this swirling thing that when you connected the hose to it, it would stand up straight and swirl water around. And of course, who can forget the slip-n-slide.

We ran the neighborhood all day long and after dinner it would be time to sit outside with the family and play cards. My house always had family and friends over so it was full and there was lots to do.

Okay, one last memory. Homemade ice cream. Not the electric kind either. Hand turned, for seemed like hours. Your arm and shoulder would be so tired you weren’t sure you could make another turn. Then mom would say it ready, you can stop. Falling back on your bottom you sat and waited for the best ice cream in the world.

What about you? What summer memories are the best for you? Do you still do any of them?

WW’s and PD’s,
Vicki