Weeks on vacation, days on the trail, and sunlight that stretches into the middle of evening. It’s my favorite time of year. WZPL’s has posted Smiley’s Summer Guide. All of us on the show had to come up with three things we like about the season. It’s a pretty interesting mix. Here’s my portion:
1-We spend a lot of time biking in the summer. There’s a top secret route we’ve devised that gets us into Zionsville, where Eagle Creek Coffee Company serves a delicious drink they call a mocha frappe, but pretty much tastes like a chocolate milkshake to me. A really good chocolate milkshake. We also bike up and down the Monon from Carmel to the Rip, and will sometimes stop and eat at Bazbeaux, or Bub’s, or Three Sisters, or La Piedad, or just get an ice tea at the Monon Coffee Company.
2-Summer always meant a some kind of vacation/trip when I was kid, and it’s still a tradition with us. We just got back from Niagara Falls, and Canada, where my comedy-loving youngest son joined us in taking in a live performance on the Toronto stage of the famous Second City. Over the years we’ve taken our kids to the Grand Canyon, the mountains of Colorado a couple of times, (via a narrow gauge railroad train last year) a cabin in Montana, the Atlantic Ocean, Disney World, King’s Island, the whole nine yards. Many summers ago me and Mrs. Poteet hiked up Pikes Peak, and we also have some great Summer memories of white water rafting and horseback riding while on our getaways.
3-State parks are always a good cheap Summer date. We really liked the hotel at the Clifty Falls State Park near Madison down by the Ohio River. Brown County has plenty of trails, and of course nearby Nashville where we usually go at least once a year. There’s a really cool place in Montgomery County called the Pine Hills Nature Preserve. It’s got rugged hills and deep gorges carved by two streams. The pathway over “Devil’s Backbone” is 6 feet wide, with a sheer drop-off on either side. Good times. Also: we finally made it the Indiana Dunes earlier this Summer when I was in the South Bend running a race. We should have gone earlier. Beautiful beach, the biggest bunch of fresh water you’re going to see in these parts, and a distant view of Chicago, across Lake Michigan. We’ll be back.
P.S.–Anything in Summer can be a good thing. I HATE WINTER!
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Renee says
hey paul, renee here (starbucks barista chick he he he) and i thought i’d tell you my 3 best things about summer….
well for starters august 3-MY BIRTHDAY!!!!! im ready for this one i’ll be 21!! (a little tidbit, the starbucks i work at, actually opened on my birthday…one year ago. and of course, my boss would have to call me seeing if i want to work, the only problem was… i was in chicago at a cubs game..
indiana state fair takes number 2. ok, so my cousins and my aunt and uncle live veryclose to the fairgrounds, and there is a little open hole where me and my cousins can sneak through to get into the fairgounds. i dont know if they finally fixed it, but we’ll see come next month.
and finally number 3, indiana black expo or otherwise known as the spot where you keep up the latest dances, fashion and new terms. its also a great place to catch up on friends you haven’t seen in forever and doing people watching…a lot.