Dog Days of Summer...

[Spawn67]

Sitting here on my day off from work remincing about long gone summers from when I was about 5-13 I would say looking at old pictures. Literally my routines everday back then consisted of waking up watching some cartoons followed by a gameshow . Then at noon going to our local swim club after that coming home and playing outside in our old neighborhood (EVERY kid where I lived was out playing outside) followed by dinner with the family (my father worked alot but would come home for dinner and sometimes go back to work) followed by a evening of my favorite shows ..Repeat everything the next day..Weekends were at my grandparents. When it was a rainy day we would go to the movies. Once I started working summers when I was 14 everything changed.

What are some memories you have of those long gone summers?

[Starroid Raiders Dagon]

My cousin and I used to walk to a neighbors and pickup his dad' boat he stored there and carry across the highway to the beach, row out and tie up to the kelp bed and jig for codfish. We would get the motor once in a while but it was notoriously bad for breaking down. They are awesome memories.

[Mikey]

Used to damn up the ditch behind my house and sit in it on hot days

One time I seen a water moccasin swim by and that marked the end of my ditch sitting

[HardyGirl]

As a kid growing up in NYC, July was spent at day camp. I went to 3 different day camps (all on the same street) 3 blocks away from my apt. That was cool b/c there were field trips, swimming, art classes at the Indian Museum (yes, and that's what it was called then), and hanging out w/ my friends. July is also my birthday, so there was cake and presents to look forward to. August was pretty much mine. I'd hang out w/ my friends, playing jump rope, tag, relay races, hopscotch. Loose change from the couch could last me all day for the candy store and the ice-cream truck. At some point during the summer, our family would head to upstate NY to go to Echo Hill/Camp Henry for the day, a retreat area in the woods owned by my dad's job for training and relaxation. It had 2 swimming pools, a meeting cabin, and the caretaker had a son that I could play with. If my dad had to train employees, sometimes we'd go up at night, and me and the caretaker's son (named Kit) would hunt for fireflies. At the end of the summer was the annual block party. It was always held on my street, but was for entire neighborhood. Banner flags would be stretched from one end of the block to the other. The street was blocked off, there was a bandstand at the top of the block, massive BBQ area at the bottom of the block selling hot dogs, chicken and burgers. Sometimes there were vendors selling stuff in the middle for part of the day. It went on from noon to midnight. There was also a similar deal at my dad's job called Festival every year. Except that one had 2 carnival rides on the back of trucks, and the school grounds next door had booths, food and drinks. Prizes, balloons and all kinds of fun.

Man do I ever miss summers back then!

[Sideshow Spock]

Riding my Huffy and playing with my friends, fishing in a pond a stone's throw from my house, playing little league baseball..

All very bucolic.

[Nostalgiabuff]

you name it we did it. fishing, hiking, biking. we were always outside in those days. fort building, swimming in the local creek where three was always at least one tarzan rope tied to a large branch you could swing out over the water and jump off of. sometimes I thinks it's amazing we survived some of the crazy stuff we did

[Apjac Corny]

Waking up early to get to the baseball fields before the teenagers got there and chased us off. Fishing at the creek all day. Flying model airplanes with my Grandfather. Going up to strangers houses to ask for a drink of water. Riding our bikes to Burger Chef. Spending most of the day at Two Guys looking at the toys and mini bowling in the arcade they had there. Playing stickball until the street lights came on and I had to go home.