(Modest) Qualities of a "Good" Summer

When I was growing up in the land of over 10,000 lakes, a couple of my summers were spent on boats at "the lake" with my friends.  I'd get picked up in the morning, we'd bake all day under the sun, and then we'd hang around wherever we might see guys in the evenings.  As I've gotten older and taken on more and more responsibilities, I've started to gauge my summers by a different set of standards.  Since I can't spend all day every day in a swim suit, and it looks like yet another summer has passed me by without the possibility of a hot summer fling, and seeing as it rained for 20 + days of June, I've become less discriminating about what constitutes a "good" summer:

• Being somewhere that is NOT New York City over 4th of July weekend (unless of course you have access to a fabulous high-rise apartment with a view of the East river, a.k.a. Mr. Smelzer's place two summers ago, OR you happen to be in a car going over the Brooklyn Bridge after a really great BBQ at Prospect Park just as the fireworks are going off and everyone stops driving and gets out of the car to watch the display). 
• A deck, some wine, some friends and a cool breeze on a warm night.
• A walk on a boardwalk.
• A swim in the ocean.
• A drive (or train ride) home from the beach, the salt in your hair, the feeling of the sun still on your skin.  
• A ride on a boat with the wind whipping through my hair.
• A float in a pool, preferably with some sort of fruity frozen beverage in the flotation device's cup holder.
• Pool Noodles. 
• Taking advantage of "summer Fridays" even if you don't get them; hey, we've all got to escape a little early on a Friday and belly up to a cool bottle of Sauvingnon Blanc with a friend once in a while!
• A much needed, humidity reducing rain (from the O.E.D. "Petrichor, n: the pleasant smell that often accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather in certain regions").
• A swing in a hammock. 
• A good table at an outdoor restaurant.
• Finally tracking down Big Gay Ice Cream Truck and getting one of these (thanks Blondie and Brownie!):

 

And I think that about sums it up.  If I can get most of these things checked off my list, even once, Summer '09 will officially qualify as a good summer.  More than once, I'm in heaven!  I'd love to hear anyone's "Summer Standards" and feel free to point out any glaring omissions! 

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