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* As you know, the first day of summer was yesterday. Two of my nieces celebrated the solstice…

* The Question: What are your summer plans?

[Photo credit: Devin Miller]

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 1:10 pm

Comments

I retire from the State next Wednesday. I leave for my niece’s wedding on Thursday and I’m off to Alabama the following Monday. Then, of course, there’s the “Honey Do” list.

Comment by Springfield Skeptic Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 1:23 pm
Thesitating. Half the length and half the fun of dissertating.

Comment by NIref Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 1:29 pm
Waiting to see how badly my pension/health insurance will be battered by fall .

No, I won’t waste my time worrying about something I have no control over anyway.

My wife and I plan on enjoying our grandchildren, watching youth ball games, catching a few rays (and fish) on local lakes. All these sound good to me.

And kudos to Devin who captured that great photo. Summer joy personified, even if you can’t see the smiles on your nieces faces.

Comment by roadiepig Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 1:38 pm
Fantastic shot!

I’m painting and rearranging my house room by room. Cleaning out closets and eliminating excess junk and clothing. Hope to get most of it done before school starts in August.

Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 1:45 pm
FABULOUS picture. A keeper image that family will love forever. Plans? Hopefully take a few pictures of the wonderful bounty nature gives us every year.

Comment by sal-says Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 1:49 pm
Great photo, Devin!

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 1:49 pm
Correction: It was the solstice, not the equinox.

I will putter in my garden, enjoy evening fires in my back yard, and cook on the grill often. We may take a few small trips, but nothing beats a quite evening by a fire with a few friends.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 2:00 pm
After the sports and plays are done, a couple of weeks at Ludington, MI.

Take The Badger across the lake from Manitowoc, WI, enjoy the Lake Michigan shore, Hamlin Lake and an incredible state park built by the CCC boys.

Read, sleep, go to the beach, sleep, watch baseball, sleep, grill, sleep, hike, sleep, Summer Shandy, sleep, go out to eat, sleep….

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 2:12 pm
Oh, yeah. Walking in parades and canvassing for my favorite candidates.

Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 2:14 pm
I’m having my first child in August, I’m just taking in all the little things I usually take for granted in the summer. AND…if the timing on said child works out, I might get to see JD McPherson at the Blues & BBQ festival still…

Comment by Waffle Fries Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 2:29 pm
Enjoy my poolhouse that my wife and i built

Comment by Todd Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 2:36 pm
Word — I love that you take the Badger. We’ve thought about it, but haven’t quite made the schedule work. How high would gas prices have to go to make a similar service work from the Chicago area? I’ve always thought we shouldput that together.

Comment by soccermom Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 2:48 pm
Campaigning for state rep, working to make POTUS Obama a one term president, designing pipelines, pumps and compressors to bring natural gas from the Marcellus shale in Pennsylvania and oil from Albert, Canada….and, oh yeah, taking my wife and kids to the US Virgin Islands, deep sea fishing with my son, going shopping with my wife and daughters and probably a spending a week or two in Wisconsin. They deserve my support and business after the service they did for this country this month!

Comment by Palos Park Bob Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 2:48 pm
Grilling & photographing wildlife, especially bugs.

Comment by AFSCME Steward Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 2:57 pm
Great photo Devin.

Summer is a great time to not have any plans.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 3:05 pm
Soccermom, The Badger is way cool. About four hours from Manitowoc to Ludington. Time for a couple of cocktails, a little lunch and chill on deck.

The only competition I’m aware of is a hydrofoil from Milwaukee to Muskegon (built with federal loans obtained by a small government GOPer congressman in Michigan).

Ludington itself is perfect. Miles of Lake Michigan beach. The huge, inland Hamlin Lake for the pontoon or chasing Northern. Magnificent Ludington State Park for hiking.

The little town has a great produce stand, butcher, biker bar, redneck bar, not-so-redneck bar, stoner coffee bar, great bookstore, House of Flavors ice cream factory and fish fry at the
Elks Club. And sunsets.

My blood pressure gets so low I’m sure I’ve been clinically dead, happily so.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 3:13 pm
JammSammich at Mackinaw Valley Vineyard July 7th, camping close to Trigg County, Kentucky and the Bluegrass Hall of Fame in Owensboro to listen to an old recording of a young Jerry Garcia playing banjo with my uncle Vern Williams. I might get caught with an illegal smile if I’m lucky.

Comment by Jeff Trigg Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 3:17 pm
=Grilling & photographing wildlife, especially bugs.=

That sounds ominous, Steward. Should make for an interesting summer.

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 3:21 pm
Great photo….I will be spending the summer adjusting to having Mr. Cindy Lou around. It’s the very first summer after all these yrs of marriage. Summer vacation time off was just never even thought of for during the ‘busy season’.I have a list for him of everything he’s been putting off ad/or making excuses from.

Comment by Cindy Lou Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 3:30 pm
Great picture!!!!!

Comment by Just a voter Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 3:30 pm
Something like that picture! Me and my 3 sisters and a passel of husbands and kids at 2 Adirondack Park lakeside camps. Boats, kayaks, a 4th of July clam steam, slushy vodka drinks, bingo on the back porch with dollar store prizes, campfires with singalongs with the bullfrogs. No tv, limited cell phone access - bliss!

Comment by 10th Indy Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 3:46 pm
Anon

Actually, I don’t intend to grill the wildlife, especially the bugs.

=Grilling & photographing wildlife, especially bugs.=

That sounds ominous, Steward. Should make for an interesting summer.

Comment by AFSCME Steward Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 4:04 pm
Ah, so your plans don’t include nouvelle cuisine or interrogating the wildlife, Steward. That sounds like a nice, relaxing summer without intrigue. Good for you. Enjoy!

Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 4:13 pm
Anon

No, just photographing them. Butterflies & Dragonflies are my favotire.

Ah, so your plans don’t include nouvelle cuisine or interrogating the wildlife, Steward. That sounds like a nice, relaxing summer without intrigue. Good for you. Enjoy!

Comment by AFSCME Steward Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 4:17 pm
I’m winging it this summer and will do things spontaneously. Last summer, I had a fantastic vacation in Greece and Amsterdam. The people were so friendly and hospitable in both places. The world famous ancient sites and beaches were incredible. This summer I want to hang out my own city, Chicago, since there is so much to see and do.

Comment by Grandson of Man Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 6:25 pm
beach at the big lake for some time away. running very early in the morning…can’t do my usual late start cause it’s too hot. breakfast on the deck. baseball with the radio on.

Comment by amalia Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 6:54 pm
–baseball with the radio on.–

Baseball, radio and summer are perfect. I can’t sit still long enough anymore to watch a ball game on TV. But I can putz around in the yard and the basement and get things done with a game on the radio.

Love Farmio and DJ. They’re very good together. I especially like the way how Farmio wanders around the glory days of the Catholic League until DJ reigns him in.

Pat Hughes is tops, Moreland, not so much (strange choice; I’m betting Kerry Wood is on his way).

I miss Ronny. He was like the Uncle Charlie of baseball: confused, overwhelmed, no legs, no hair, but a big fan and entertaining for a bad team.

My favorite Ronny moment was a night years ago driving back from Michigan. Juicer Sammy hit three taters in his first three at bats in Colorado.

When he came up for the fourth time, Hughes said gravely, “here comes Sosa.”

Ronny, oblivious, said, “Oh yeah, he’s due, we have to get him untracked.”

I laughed so hard I almost drove in the ditch. Hughes was laughing so hard he didn’t say a word for about five minutes.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 7:13 pm
Lots of good summer ideas here, thanks everybody. My wife and I will be mostly at home in the city. With two small kids, we can’t do the summer getaway things we used to do but there are enough day-trip or weekend suggestions here that will come in handy when we need to escape.

PS: Great photo! It’s like a postcard from summer.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 7:50 pm
47, the best investments I ever made when my kids were young were annual passes to Brookfield Zoo and the Museum of Science and Industry.

They’re about $100 a pop, but they’re open 365 days a year and you can let the kids run wild, wear them out and you might even get to sleep at night.

Brookfield Zoo is magic, amazing. You can walk for hours and hours. Buy a wagon, pack a cooler with lunch (beer, too) and just chill. Make sure to collect all the Plasto-Matics, too.

The Museum of Science and Industry is like your crazy rich uncle’s attic. Where did they get all this stuff and who put it together? Always a happy time.

I used to get a pass for the Art Institute until one day I lost track of my baby girl and she layed her fruit-snack-stained hands all over Picasso’s “The Old Guitarist.” I damned near died. Thankfully, the security guard pretended not to see that it happened, but I still wake up with a start sometimes over that.

For those who can make a trip to St. Louis, the City Museum is amazing. I can’t really describe it, but you should experience it if you can.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 8:20 pm
Thanks Word. I love Brookfield Zoo and a membership is a great idea. Our 2-seat Bob has cupholders, but the Zoo is worth at least a six pack, so the Radio Flyer is the way to go.

Got it. Good call.

Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 8:40 pm
47, my kids are older now, so we don’t socialize much anymore, of course, because why would they want to? It’s natural, I went there with my old man and mom, too.

But once a year or so, when we find ourselves gathered together, they want to go to the zoo. We wander around and do the same things we did twenty years ago. And it puts a smile on an old man’s face.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 9:00 pm
Going to fundraisers so that the Democrats can continue to control every aspect of State Government and continue to screw things up.

Comment by Just Me Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 9:16 pm
Word, have to agree about beer and the zoo. The St. Louis zoo is free and sells beer. One of my fondest memories is of spending a long Sunday there before a cards game. Saw the sea lion show after a few cold ones, I think we cheered more than any group of 8 year olds near us. Might have to work that into the schedule this year.

Comment by Small Town Liberal Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 9:18 pm
STL, St. Louis Zoo is awesome, too. Love that Marlin Perkins, Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom vibe (Jim is being strangled by a king cobra now).

Watch your head in the tunnels on that little train.

Forest Park is one of the great urban spaces in America. In St. Louis, and on Madison Street, too.

Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jun 21, 12 @ 9:30 pm
Rich: As a budding photog, I’d sure like to know what kind of camera (make and model) your brother used for that shot. It is really good!

As a new grandfather I plan to hold grandbabbies as much as possible this summer!

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jun 22, 12 @ 8:12 am
Beautiful picture!

Just enjoying whatever time I can get with family and friends. Each day is a blessing. During summer, those blessings are even more appreciated.

Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jun 22, 12 @ 9:18 am
My oldset friend and I are planning a Canadian
fishing trip.Plus I’m saving some money to see the
White Sox in the World Series.Add to all that with golf and some gardening.The photo was just great,ah to be a kid again,God bless them.

Comment by mokenavince Friday, Jun 22, 12 @ 9:33 am