I suppose it was the annual vacations when my father would pack us up in the family Ford, and take us on a ten hour road trip to some god-forsaken site north or south, with a young me scrunched up in the rear seat reading comic books to while away the weary hours. Mother was an antique fanatic, so we had to stop at every antique shop on route, which bored me to tears. I once rode back from Cape Cod, Massachusetts uncomfortably sharing the back seat with a deacon bench that my mother had to have...
I think my favourite summer memories are when I worked the summer season jobs as a teen and lived on the Scottish Islands.... it was my first real experience outside of the city where I was born and raised... I worked on this Island the isle of Arran for 2 seasons, and lived there for a total of 16 months...
No "summertime memories" when there is a farm to run. Although, I do remember spending weekends, while in high school, with my cousins and had a ball. My step-parents were very strict compared to theirs. On Saturday night, their parents were on a bowling league and we had the entire house to ourselves. Soda, snacks, tv and or stereo. On Sunday, my Uncle would hook up his ski boat and we'd go to the local reservoir. I'd really look forward to spending a weekend at their place.
Several of them would be placed at Boy Scout Camp, foremost among them the summer I was on the staff, at thirteen, the minimum age to be on the staff. Also high on the list would be the bicycle trip we took, from Wallace to Fayette, Michigan. Fayette was a ghost town along Lake Superior, which they have since made into a park, I think, but it was just a ghost town then, with some big buildings and no one around. I think that was in the summer that I turned twelve. I went with two cousins, both the same age as me; in fact, one of them was a day older than me only because I was born after midnight and he was born before. The 2 hr 17 min refers to driving time. By bicycle, I think it took us a few days to get there, we stayed a few days and took a few days to get back. We were invited to sleep in a church in Gladstone. There were no adults along. I had a feeling that my parents were going to check up on us, but I don't think they did. We all called home a couple of times. All three of us had bicycles that my uncle had built from scrap bicycle parts so it's not like we had those $7,000 bicycles that people traveling long distances use now.
Summer camp from fourth grade through high school. Swimming, games, sleeping in cabins. Making friends. Seeing friends from last year. Crafts. Campfires and songfests.
Nothing beats the summertime feeling I always had as a teen when I knew that two months of school vacations would begin very soon. Those were the best summers in my life because I could spend my time as I liked and just live without a thought for tomorrow.
Boy did I look forward to summer hols after months of restriction at my boarding school. I did all the things I was unable to do at school.. like catching up on the latest tv shows, watch my fave footy team or the cricket, play doctors and nurses with the girl up the road, ride my billy cart, catch cicadas and yabbies with my mates. With a bit of luck we may go on a weekend to some pretty seaside spot with mums boyfriend. The main thing was I was free for 6 long weeks.