Thinking summer on a rainy Sunday...

~* Adorable summer reading... *~

I am thinking summer on this chilly but kinda muggy rainy Sunday. Summer is a beautiful time in New England. It can also be ridiculously hot and oppressively humid but we won't focus on that right now. This is still the time of year when I am in my "appreciating summer" mode. Sure enough, though, I will be in my "autumn can't get here fast enough mode!" Just one little day of wilting, drenched in sweat (blech!), in the nasty humidity and I won't be singing summer's praises any longer.

So before I reach that point I want to list a few things about summer in New England that makes it special...so I can look back over it when I am melting and miserable!

~* Summer in New England means festivals! Maritime festivals, seafood festivals, ethnic festivals, beach fests, art fairs, strawberry and blueberry festivals, peach festivals...if it can be done outdoors there is a festival for it!

~* Speaking of seafood, there is nothing like eating freshly caught New England seafood (mmmm...Maine lobster, anyone?!) in the rough at a seaside lobster pound or crab shack.

~* Whale watching anyone? Off the top of my head I can count at least 20 different places in New England where you can set off in search of these majestic sea creatures.

~* Where else can you go from the ocean to the mountains in less than 2 hours? I am sure there are some places, somewhere, but I don't know of them.

~* For the sports enthusiast we have it all here in New England: world-class golf courses (if my hubs would update his blog...hint! hint!...he could share some of the best with you!), white-water rafting, ocean and river kayaking, sailing, mountain biking, rock climbing, spelunking, hiking, and more baseball than you know what to do with, from Little League to Major League and everything in between!

~* Relaxing on one of our many beaches from the coasts of CT and RI, to Cape Cod to Boston's North Shore, to the NH seacoast and up through the rocky and wild shores of Maine.

~* If music under the stars is your thing you have lots of options. From free concerts in the park outside of LL Bean's flagship store in Freeport, ME to a dockside intimate venue on Boston Harbor to larger summer sheds and huge stadiums, from little known local acts to some of the most famous bands in the world to a symphony under the stars at Tanglewood, there is something to suit every musical taste.

~* If the outdoors isn't quite your thing or if you are in need of some shopping or cultural activities or if the city is just more to your liking, Boston has it all. It is a very walkable city so on a nice day it is best to get out on foot and experience all this fabulous place has to offer. Want a high-end shopping experience? Hoof it up and down Newbury Street. Want to see a Broadway show without going to Broadway? Head over to one of the many majestic theaters in the Theater District. Want to see and be seen? Any number of outdoor lounges along Boston Harbor is the place to be in the summer. Love architecture? Walk around Beacon Hill. Love history? Follow the Freedom Trail.  This is a just a tiny sampling of what Boston has to offer.

I know there are so many things I am forgetting right now. It will all come to me....as I keep reminding myself that, even when I complain, I am blessed to be a New Englander.