100 Days of Summer

On Wednesday, Andy tagged me in a blog post about his summer bucket list. The concept is straightforward – a list of things you want to accomplish this summer.

In Edmonton, I consider Victoria Day weekend the official kickoff of summer, which extends to Labour Day weekend (just over 100 days, hence the title of this post). Never one to shy away from an invitation/challenge, and thinking it would be fun to brainstorm what I want to do in the next 3 1/2 months, I decided to write down my own list.

I enjoy summer, though it’s not my favourite season. I like spring best. You can feel a change in the air, the weather is getting warmer. Spring is, to me, fundamentally about optimism. Everything is new again; you can feel things getting better.

Summer is my second favourite season in Edmonton. Our fall is too short and erratic to truly enjoy, and winter is too dry and cold for me to embrace to the same extent as other seasons. My winter wheelhouse is +5 to -10 (celsius), with healthy doses of snow on a regular basis. We don’t get enough of those days.

But I digress. Summer in Edmonton (and elsewhere) is a great time of year, and I resolve to make the most of it. Here is a partial list, in no particular order, of things I want to do between now and Labour Day.

The 2010 Summer Bucket List

1. See a ballgame at a Major League Baseball park I’ve never been to before.
2. Visit a city I either haven’t been to before, or one I haven’t been to in a long time.
3. Have an awesome summer vacation.
4. Get reacquainted with my guitar.
5. Sit on the grass and play guitar.
6. Take a nap in the sun.
7. Play basketball on the outdoor courts.
8. Sit on the banks of the Bow River at Prince’s Island Park in Calgary and tune out the world.

#8 on the list.

9. Enjoy the view of Jasper National Park from up high in the mountains.
10. Go for a walk in the rain.
11. Drink gin and tonic on my balcony.
12. Publish two blog posts per week.
13. Live simply.
14. Play soccer with Yanick (my 4 year old nephew, who is just learning the game).
15. Break out my golf clubs for the first time in 2 1/2 years.
16. Enjoy the outdoors and great music at some of Alberta’s finest music festivals (Edmonton Folk Fest, Calgary Folk Fest, maybe Sled Island too).
17. Read two books per month.
18. Take lots of photos of Edmonton in the summer (so I can do another photo essay).
19. Ride the High Level Streetcar.
20. Take a trip by train between cities.
21. Eat breakfast at my kitchen table and watch the LRT go back and forth (okay, I do this almost every morning).
22. Scream along to “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” at the U2 concert on June 23rd.
23. Reclaim the Golden Tee crown from Duncan Taylor.
24. Visit the art vendors on the street in Quebec City.
25. Watch the first two seasons of The Wire.
26. Unveil my rebranded/retitled blog.
27. Enjoy my last birthday before I’m “almost 30”.
28. Play at least one game of croquet.
29. Wear my seersucker suit.
30. Re-read “The Great Gatsby” and “This Side of Paradise”.
31. Visit Transcend Coffee in its new Garneau location.
32. Try the gluten-free burgers at DeLux Burger Bar.
33. Spend a quiet summer evening listening to Vin Scully call a ballgame.
34. Ride the LRT all the way from Century Park to Clareview and back.
35. Stay awake for an entire #wirecamp.
36. Watch the sun rise.
37. Drinks, popcorn, and politics at Martini’s.
38. Write down my actual bucket list.

Alright, this ought to be enough to keep me busy for now. Post yours in the comments.

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