My End of Summer Bucket List

As the end of summer draws near, I feel like there are still a handful of things I want to do before the season is over. Summer in LA always lasts for a long time, so sometimes I take it for granted. This morning though, there was a slight coolness to the air, which made me realize that summer in fact does not last forever – even in LA – and that I better hop to it.

Although September is always one of the hottest months for us, nights can still get chilly and the days definitely aren’t as long. The sun starts to set earlier, so those endless-feeling days get shorter. So before September comes and goes just like summer, here are 5 things on my “end of summer” bucket list:

Go to the beach one more time. Now I definitely, 110% take beaches for granted. Other than my trip to Trinidad and Tobago in June, I’ve literally only gone to the beach two times this summer. I live close enough to them where I can always “go next weekend,” but I live just far enough away where I don’t want to deal with LA traffic. I partially blame this for the ease of beach days in San Diego. They were always so easy. I’d just hop in my car and 20 minutes later after easily finding parking in a neighborhood, I’d be on the sand. In Los Angeles, you have to worry about traffic, finding and paying for parking, and truthfully the beaches aren’t as clean. It’s more of a hassle and takes more effort for sure, but it’s doable, and I love reading a good book on the beach.

Utilize our outdoor dining table. We can all get into ruts with dinner and other plans, and one thing Matt and I have really failed to do this summer is eat outside on our deck. We’ve been busy with some backyard projects and it always seemed like something was going on when I wanted to eat out there. So in September I plan on getting a new cookbook, serving up some new dishes, and taking the cover off of that dang table I had to have when we moved in.

Take advantage of outdoor exercise. It has been SO HOT this summer and nearly impossible to run outside unless you’re up and at ‘em at 7 am. But once fall and winter come (or whatever that means to us Angelenos) I know I’ll just say that it’s too cold to exercise outside. Even if I don’t go running, a nice walk with (somewhat) fresh air (thanks Los Angeles pollution) or a hike is still a way to get blooding running and endorphins going.

Take a mini road trip. Earlier this year Matt and I took a spontaneous last minute trip to Santa Barbara and it was so much fun. We’re so close to Palm Springs, Big Bear, Ojai, and bunch of other little perfect-for-a-weekend-getaway towns. Matt can only go somewhere on weekends, but it’s still possible to fit in a 48-hour vacation if it’s close by.

Go to Disneyland! We used to be Annual Passport holders at Disneyland and honestly it was a great investment because it always gave us something to do on the weekend, and it took the pressure of having to fit in everything at the park each time we went. We even would meet our friends for dinner inside the park to shake things up when we had our passes. I’m not sure that we’ll get passes this year, but every now and then it’s fun to ditch adulthood and take a break at the Happiest Place on Earth. Plus now that school is back in session, weekends are a little more tolerable.

What are your end-of-summer plans? Do you feel like you took full advantage of the season, or are you like me and just now realizing you need to live it up before temps drop?

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