Summer is here! Schools and colleges are out, the weather is warm, the pools are open, and the fruity drinks are flying. A lot of people love summer but ultimately end up doing the same old stuff. Why not make this summer a little different? Here are some awesome things you should definitely do before the end of this summer!
1. Go for a picnic.
It seems a little old-fashioned, but a picnic can still be a lot of fun. Put some food in a basket or a cooler, go find a grassy spot somewhere, plop down, and have a meal. Take your friends or your family along and make an experience that you’ll remember. Just be sure to avoid the ant hills!
2. Unplug and go connect with your real life friends.
Everyone is on the Internet these days. Some people will keep their face pointed directly at their phones even when they’re outside. Sometime this summer, make sure you set the phone down, step away from the computer, and experience life without the Internet. Make sure you stop by and see your friends. Catch up; do things that you used to do before the Internet became a dominant force in our lives. Your brain will thank you because sometimes, you just have to get away from the web.
3. Go find your nearest body of water.
Water is an amazing thing and you can do a lot with it. Go visit a body of water this summer, be it a lake, an ocean, a river, or something else. Go fishing and swimming. Lie on the beach or go for a boat ride. There are a hundred things you can do once you hit water. Visit one and enjoy yourself!
4. Walk somewhere.
We have legs that we are using less and less these days. Do your body, your cardiovascular system, and your health a favor and pound some pavement this summer. Find a park or a trail and walk around. If you live close enough, hoof it to your local shopping center. Whatever it is, just get off your behind and walk around outside for a while. Did we mention that the sun gives away free vitamin D?
5. Try something you’ve never tried before.
When we were kids, summer was the time of exploration. We took the time off of school to try a lot of new things and begin to compile the experiences that would eventually become treasured memories. Why does it have to stop now that we’re grown up? There are a lot of things left to experience and you have three whole months to do them! Go skydiving or water skiing. Take a road trip to a place you’ve never been before. The possibilities are endless and they’ll be your treasured memories years from now.
6. Start a garden.
There is almost a primal satisfaction in making things grow out of the ground. A lot of people plant gardens and you should too. You can grow flowers, vegetables, fruits, or even herbs and spices. Finding what to grow can be fun and weeding your garden can be oddly calming and therapeutic. Plus at the end of the season, you can pick what you grow and use it for indoor decoration, as food, or to spice food. That’s a win-win!
7. Plank yourself three times a day.
Summertime is the best time to get yourself into shape. It’s nice outside which makes outdoor activities more fun. People generally lose weight over the summer because there is so much more to do. When we say plank, we don’t mean the silly thing that people do where they lie down on random things. We’re talking about the ab exercise that can help you firm up that tummy. If you start doing it now and keep going until fall, you’ll definitely see results!
8. Go on a vacation.
This one is self explanatory but nevertheless it’s important. The routine of day-to-day life can be stressful. Going on vacation allows you to get away from all the stress of your every day life. You can decompress, recharge, and give yourself a mental and emotional makeover. It also doesn’t hurt that vacations are fun.
9. Have a BBQ.
Fire up the grill and the smoker because it’s summer! There is no better time to have a BBQ and invite your friends, neighbors, and family over. It’s a fun time and it’s a great way to bond with the people you care about. BBQ is also delicious and with all of the other activities you’ll be doing, it’ll be easy to keep the weight off too.
10. Do some house work.
There is no more snow on the ground which means it’s a lot safer to get up on your roof and finally clean out those gutters and re-shingle the roof. Your yard could probably use some TLC too and the siding on your house is probably in need of a good power wash. We’ve no doubt you have a to do list and there is no better time to get it done than summer.
11. Attend a parade.
Parades are a celebration. It’s people celebrating ideals and holidays. The feeling of going to one is generally uplifting and joyful. You get to see the artistic talents of the community through floats and presentations and you’re shoulder to shoulder with people who feel the same way. It’s a good time and worth checking out.
12. Go see some fireworks.
In the United States, we have a special day specifically for this event every year. Granted it’s our Independence Day, but until kids learn the value of the holiday in school, it’s known as the day where tens of millions of people across this country get together and fire things into the sky. A good fireworks display can be beautiful and breathtaking. It’s an experience you can’t miss.
13. Go hiking and camping.
Enjoying the great outdoors is always a good suggestion. Grabbing the old tent and sleeping bag, trekking out to the middle of nowhere, and sleeping there can be a liberating and refreshing experience. You’ll be away from civilization, away from the Internet, and bonding with nature. It’s great exercise too!
14. Get yourself some fruity drinks.
One of the best things about summer are the fruity drinks. Smoothies are amazing and there are hundreds of places that sell them. If you’re into making them at home you can find thousands of recipes. For adults, adding a little alcohol to them is never a bad idea. The Piña colada was invented for this time of year. Do yourself a favor and make yourself a nice big smoothie.
15. Volunteer.
It’s never too late to help those in need or to volunteer in places around your community. Volunteer to be a life guard or to help clean up trash out of your local parks and woods. It’s your community, so why not help keep it safe and clean? We’re sure your local church and school have an activity list long enough to fill your entire summer if you so chose.
16. Have a garage sale.
During the winter, we’ve no doubt that you stocked up on stuff during the holiday season. That means it’s time to climb into the attic, venture into the garage, and dive into the basement to find all the old junk you don’t need anymore. You could throw it away, but one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Drop it out on the lawn, put some for sale signs on it, and make yourself a few bucks while you remove some clutter from your house.
17. Attend a bonfire.
Bonfires are a lot of fun. You find a friend with a house in the middle of nowhere and build yourself a fire that Running Man would be jealous of. Grab the kids and some s’mores ingredients. Call up that hippie friend we all have that can strum practically every hit from the 70s on an acoustic guitar. Make a party out of it. As humans, we’ve always bonded over fire. Why not be a part of the proud tradition?
18. Visit the zoo.
Going to the zoo can be a fun activity, even if you’re an adult. You can visit the animals and learn a little bit about wildlife. If you have kids then this is practically a mandatory event. There is practically an entire day’s worth of activities to take part in and going to the zoo isn’t all that expensive either.
19. Find a movie drive in.
This can be difficult one to accomplish because so many drive in movie theaters have closed down. If you’re up for it and you can find one relatively nearby, it’s totally worth driving out a couple of hours. There is something that is just fun about lying on your car or the bed of your truck while you watch a movie on a gigantic screen. It’s an experience that won’t be around for much longer, so it’s recommended you try it at least once.
20. Take a nap in a hammock.
Homer Simpson makes taking a nap in a hammock look fun because it is fun. It can be a challenge to find a hammock and find a place to put it up. It’s worth the effort because it’s the next best thing to going camping. You’re sleeping outside with nature and hammocks can be pretty comfortable if you set them up right.
21. Watch a sunset from an epic location.
Everywhere is within an hour of a great spot to watch a sunset. You may have hills in your area that you can climb where you can watch the sunset over your town. You may live near a beach where you can watch it happen over water. Sunsets are among the most popular computer and cell phone backgrounds ever because they’re absolutely gorgeous. You’ve seen the high resolution photos, but there really is nothing like experiencing the real thing.
22. Go to an outdoor concert.
Summer is a great time to go see an outdoor show. A lot of artists tour during the summer and most large cities have an outdoor venue. There are even a boat load of festivals available where you can go see acts from multiple genres. Outdoor shows have more freedom than indoor shows and there is nothing that isn’t enjoyable about sitting in the grass with a beer and listening to music you enjoy.
23. Pick some wildflowers or fruit.
Everything is growing back and that means flowers and fruit. It doesn’t really matter where you live—you are within 30 minutes of a place where you can go pick some flowers in a field or find some wild fruit bushes or trees. Grab a basket and go pick some flowers!
24. Enjoy some summer sports.
There is no doubt that winter sports are the most fun to watch, but summer sports are the most fun to play. Find some friends and a baseball diamond and have a game. Tennis can be fun if you only have a couple of people. Horse shoes, badminton, and volleyball are also fun. It’s a great way to connect with friends and it’s good exercise!
25. See a summer blockbuster.
Some of the best movies come out over the summer. You’ll see them in commercials on TV and your coworkers will be talking about them around the water cooler. Grab the family and head on over to the local movie theater to enjoy it for yourself. Summer blockbusters are often the talk of the town. You’re going to hear your friends spout quotes, Saturday Night Live will play parodies, and it’ll get referenced a hundred times anyway. You may as well see them so you can get the jokes.
There are thousands of things to do over the summer, but the important thing is that you enjoy yourself while you can. Soon the snow will be back, flu season will be in full effect, and you’ll be craving that strawberry daiquiri or firing up the grill. As the old saying goes, get it while the gettin’ is good!
Featured photo credit: Drew Dau via unsplash.com
