Sunday, June 6, 2021

Around the Kitchen Table: What Are Your Favorite Childhood Summer Memories? + #Giveaway




CLEO COYLE: The start of summer always revives wonderful sensory memories for me and my husband: the smell of fresh-cut grass, the crunch of corn on the cob, the splash of pool water, and swoosh and awe of fireworks. One of my favorite memories from childhood happened every year in early June.

Photos from our younger years!
Click here to learn more about us
and the books we write together
as Cleo Coyle.

After spending nine months cooped up in classrooms, we kids were rewarded with a special “school picnic” day at Kennywood, a charming, century-old amusement park south of Pittsburgh. As a budding foodie, I looked forward to noshing on the park's carnival food as much as riding its landmark wooden coasters. Corn dogs, candy apples, double-dipped ice cream cones, fresh-cut fries, and cotton candy (yes, all in one day of indulgence)! I loved it so much as a child, I even took a summer job there between high school and college. I was a “rides” girl and worked on crews that ran everything from the Ferris Wheel and Bob Sleds to the Pirate Ship, and even this locally famous old coaster: The Jack Rabbit...

Take a ride with us now in the front seat of this wonderful, landmark wooden roller coaster. To start the video, hit the white arrow in the center of the window below and don't forget to throw your arms up on the way down!

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This video is a real blast from my past and my husband's, who also grew in the Western Pennsylvania area. If you don’t see a window (above), click here to ride the coaster with us on YouTube.



Now it's your turn! 

Do you have favorite summer memories from childhood? 


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MADDIE: I was a big reader as a child. I lived in an inland suburb of Los Angeles, the Pasadena area, so it was not only hot, it was smoggy. One of my favorite afternoon treats was whirring up chocolate ice cream and milk in the old two-speed blender. I would pour it into one of the metal mugs we had and take my shake and my book outside to sit under a tree to read.

My parents had planted apricot, yellow and white peach, lemon, and fig trees when they bought the house when I was four. We never had an in-ground pool, but most summers saw a big kiddie pool with the inflated sides. I loved to pick a big ripe peach and dunk it in the pool to "wash" it (as adult I wonder how many kids had peed in that pool...). I would sit on a swing eating it, then jump in the pool to wash off the juice.

Now I find myself slightly allergic to raw peaches, which distresses me. But not to cooked! When the peaches are ripe at my local farm stand here in Massachusetts, I make Peach Pie.



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 LUCY BURDETTE: We spent a lot of our summer time at the beach with my mother's sisters, especially Aunt Barbara and her family. Sometimes we rented a cottage at the Jersey Shore, and sometimes a house in Hatteras, North Carolina. Our pets always came with us--dogs, cats, and guinea pigs. We spent hours and hours in the ocean, and when not in the water we played endless card games and kick the can. The adults played right along with the kids--such fun memories! We didn't have the extra money to eat out a lot (plus, four kids!), so those meals were special. My favorite was probably the fish fry at the Hatteras Fire Station. There'd be fried fish (caught that morning), delicious potato salad and cole slaw, and the biggest treat of all--hushpuppies!


PEG/MARGARET:  At least once during the summer, my parents would bundle us into the car after dinner and head to Asbury Park and the boardwalk.  We would begin to get excited when we crossed over the Driscoll Bridge and once we could smell salt in the air, we’d know we were almost there!  The  whirling teacups was the first ride we’d see when we entered the boardwalk and we’d wait impatiently as our father bought tickets so we could ride them.  Then we’d stroll up and down the boardwalk, which was all lit up and in stark contrast to the dark, mysterious ocean barely visible in the distance.  Oh, the noise!  Bells ringing at the booths with games of chance, people screaming as the roller coaster made its descent.  The smells!  Popcorn popping, hot dogs grilling and the ever-present tang in the air from the ocean.  We were allowed one treat and we usually chose cotton candy.  I can still feel the grittiness of the sugar against my teeth!  And then it would be back to the car where we’d inevitably fall asleep on the way home!


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LESLIE KARST: I spent my formative years in Columbus, Ohio, and although my folks—both native Californians—detested the bitter winters and hot, humid, summers of the midwest, we kids adored the snow and fireflies that arrived with the change of seasons.

To flee the summertime humidity, our parents would drive us all up to Acadia National Park in Maine for a few weeks each August, and my most vivid memory of these camping trips is, not surprisingly, food-related. Each day, we’d head off to pick buckets of blueberries, which my mom would mix into pancake batter for a glorious breakfast the following day. I still can taste those plump, juicy, tangy-sweet berries. The flavor of summer. Heaven. (Here’s a shot of me with my younger sister, off for a blueberry-hunting foray.)



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MOLLY MACRAE: So many wonderful memories of summer! In sifting through them, though, I realized the common ingredient to most is being outside. My brothers and friends and I seemed to spend most of our days and evenings outside. Nights, too, under the stars - no tents - rolled up in our dad's old wool army blankets. We led charmed lives exploring, hiking, riding bikes, swimming, climbing trees. And picnicking! We ate at least one meal a day outside, sometimes more (scorched bacon, eggs, and toast over a fire, anyone? The best!). The weather didn't always cooperate, so there were also Monopoly games that lasted for days, each of us clutching fistfuls of sweaty Monopoly cash and arguing over what rules to follow. Here's a picture my husband took of us carrying on the tradition of outdoor eating with our boys and my dear old dad one long ago June in perfect (ha!) picnic weather. Makes me smile every time I think of it. 


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MAYA CORRIGAN: When I was 12, my parents drove across the country from the East to the West Coast, returning by a different route. The three of us in the backseat squabbled a lot on the way, but that trip was the beginning of a hankering for travel that my brother, sister, and I shared. Until then, our only outings had been the occasional weekend in the Poconos.

The place I remember best because we stayed the longest was Rocky Mountain National Park. I fell in love, not just with the mountains, but also with the local trout, my first experience with delicious fresh fish. Until then, fish meant my mother's perennial Friday meal of tasteless baked-to-death flounder. We drove on from Colorado, through Utah (Dinosaur Museum), to Las Vegas (where I illegally got the better of a one-armed bandit), across Death Valley (without air-conditioning in the car), to Hollywood, then on to Anaheim for Disneyland. The return trip highlights were the Grand Canyon and the Painted Desert.

That trip also inspired my first novel, which I pecked out on a manual typewriter, finishing it when I was 13. The book featured a group of older teens on a cross-country hosteling trip with adventures at each location. I added a few places to their itinerary that hadn't been part of our family trip--a stop at a dude ranch and in San Francisco's Chinatown, where the girls solved the mystery of a missing jade statue. I look back on that summer as the beginning of my writing life.

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LESLIE BUDEWITZ: Loving all these great memories! My father was a fly fisherman before fly fishing was cool -- I never knew the story of how he took it up, but he always kept a fly rod and gear in his car during the summers and fished during the evening when his route as a traveling salesman took him near one of Montana's famed fly streams. And on weekends, we often packed a picnic in a big old split ash hamper -- my collector self sure wishes we still had it -- and drove to the East Rosebud or Stillwater rivers in south central Montana to "wet a line." I fished and swam, and read by the campfire -- mysteries, of course, starting with the Happy Hollisters, the Bobbsey Twins, and later Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and eventually, Agatha Christie. No photos of me reading by the river, so I'll share this one, on the sidewalk in front of our house, selling KoolAid from the Funny Face Drink Stand I won in a coloring contest! 


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 TINA KASHIAN: For eight summers, I went to an overnight summer camp in Boston for two weeks. Camp Haiastan is a cultural camp--a camp for Armenian-American children, and I loved it. We did all the fun activities that summer campers experience, boating in a large lake, swimming, all types of sports, and arts and crafts. There was also an hour each day dedicated to language and culture. I met friends from all over the U.S. and even Canada (kids came from there, too), and I still keep in touch with many of them. When we drop our two girls off at the same camp each summer in Massachusetts, I see parents of campers I had camped with as well. As for the food, it was typical camp food and not very good. But that never mattered to me as a kid, and I looked forward to those two fun weeks every year. 

 


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 MARY JANE MAFFINI:

I loved seeing these photos and reading everyone’s happy summer memories.  I grew up on Cape Breton Island and my summer memories have to do with water views. 

Every year we would drive around the Cabot Trail, a stunningly beautiful trip over Cape Smokey with its twisty roads and steep, terrifying drops straight into the Atlantic. As kids, our job was to scream our heads off during the scariest parts.  My mother (nervous at the best of times) would cover her eyes and my dad would do his best to keep the car on the rough roads. 

When we made it alive, we would spend a week in a rustic cabin in Cape Breton Highlands National Park with day trips to dash across the rocky beach and splash briefly in the icy Atlantic before settling for the afternoon at the calm, warm lake further inland with its sandy beach. Culinary highlights included my mother’s very delish chicken sandwiches, chocolate milkshakes and ice cream sundaes at the local restaurant, and, in the evenings, nicely scorched marshmallows over a fire. Here’s to happy summers, my friends, past and to come!

 

 GIVEAWAY!


To be entered in this week's drawing,
join us in the comments: 

What are your favorite summer 
memories from childhood?


Include your email address,
so we can contact the winner!


Comments Open through
Saturday, June 12.

 

> MURDER AT THE TAFFY SHOP by Maddie Day

> SCAM CHOWDER by Maya Corrigan

> DEATH ON THE MENU by Lucy Burdette

> HEATHER AND HOMICIDE by Molly MacRae

> CARRIED TO THE GRAVE AND OTHER STORIES by Leslie Budewitz


Comments Open through
Saturday, June 12

Don't forget to include
an email address!


CONGRATS TO OUR WINNER...

KATHY L. 

🌼


66 comments:

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    1. Every summer we would go on a vacation. Some visits to relatives along with new places for us to see each year. My favorites were the years we went to the Frio River and went tubing. They had cabins along the banks that we stayed in. We had so much fun there. 3labsmom(at)gmail(dot)com

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  2. Almost every summer my family and I would go up to Montana. We go camping, horse back riding, white water rafting, and driving through Yellowstone.
    Kitten143 (at) Verizon (dot) net

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  3. That roller coaster looks like so much fun! Thank you for sharing your stories. My friend's family had a pop up tent, and we would go camping. It was so much fun. Thank you for this chance. areewekidding(at)yahoo(dot)com

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    1. Hi, Robyn - Thank you for stopping by! Many of the old wooden roller coasters are protected now with landmark status. The Jack Rabbit is one of them. These days, new parks are building super-high, super-fast steel coasters, but I still love these more gentle wooden coasters and the rickety click-clacking sound of their tracks. For me, nostalgia wins. xoxo

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  4. We almost always went somewhere that I could go horseback riding. Although a couple of years we went to the Jersey shore which was fun.
    sgiden at verizon dot net

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  5. As an old Army brat, our summers were first about Dad's 30 day vacation where we came back south to visit relatives from my Mom's parents and siblings living in Arkansas, by Dad's father and siblings in Oklahoma and and an Aunt, Uncle and cousins in Texas. Along the way there were fun things that made for special memories like going to Six Flags Over Texas or seeing the Carlsbad Caverns and the bat flight right at dark. There was fun times with cousins as we tried to do crazy things and not kill ourselves in the process and times along at my grandparent's farm where we learned to keep ourselves occupied without a TV by using our imagination.

    After vacation and back on base, we had summer school. It wasn't until my Dad retired and we moved back south that I realized to most summer school was a punishment for having failed a class during regular school months. While growing up, summer school was fun. It was where you got to go to school to take classes like art or join in a reading group to explore wonderful stories through the pages of books. Yes they had classes like math, and since I loved math, I took some of those too. The teachers made it fun to learn. Since you were there because you wanted to, there wasn't any pressure. The only pressure was if you were a constant goof off you knew you would be sent home and not allowed to return. Personally, I think it taught us early on that it was your own responsibility to learn, creating your future with how much you put into it and that learning can be fun.

    Thank you for the fabulous opportunity to win some awesome books! Shared and hoping to be the very fortunate one selected.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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    1. Kay - I laughed at your memory of trying to do "crazy things and not kill ourselves in the process," so true. My husband and I have some choice memories like that and can relate! Thank you so much for stopping by today and sharing your memories. xoxo ~ Cleo

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  6. Every summer my family would take a vacation road trip. Sometimes out of state (usually in the Southeast). Sometimes we would camp with my grandparents and other miscellaneous aunts, uncles, and cousins at one of our favorite lakes. Some of my favorite trips were when we stayed in Texas and went to San Antonio, the Hill Country, or Austin. Once while touring the Texas Capitol Building, we rounded a corner and my sister ran into John Connolly, who was the Texas Governor at the time. My parents loved to travel and passed that love on to me. cking78503(at)aol(dot)com

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  7. Summer memories include my time at a sleep away girl's camp, yearly trips with our family to a resort area, and enjoying the great foods of summer. I loved my father's BBQ chicken, grilled aluminum foil wrapped whole onions with a pat of butter on top, corn on the cob, and red, juicy summer watermelon.

    Nancy
    allibrary (at) aol (dot) com

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  8. As a child I too looked forward to summer vacation. A few days before school let out we would take our class field trip to a local amusement park. We loaded up everyone on the school bus and had a great time. We always packed a lunch from home because the prices of food there were out of our budget.I remember I would pack a lunch with treats from home in a shoe box until I could not fit anymore. Lots of sugary stuff , cake , cookies etc. Sadly the amusement park is no longer there so my kids missed out on all the fun.But good memories for me . 1cow0993(at)gmail(dot)com .

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  9. Swimming in Sebago Lake Maine every summer till I was 16. cheetahthecat1986ATgmailDOTcom

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  10. We were packed up with an 18 ft fishing boat behind the car. My grandparents had a cabin way way up North Wisconsin on a Lake. Generations of the family loved fishing. Pictures of me at 2in sweatshirt with the hood on my head, lifejacket on fishing pole in my small hand, tiny sunglasses on & the original pedal pusher pants. On a boat seat by myself like a Pro or some thing. Not fishing tiny bluegill but muskie. That's all you know when you grow up like there. Dad, granpa, and your Uncle fishing on the boat. Gran back at the house. Beautiful forest all around, wildlife, nothing build up back then. No stores. Sandwiches & thermos.




    Gkathgoldin@yahoo.com

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    1. Congratulations, Kathy! By now you know that you have won our giveaway (by random selection). Thank you so much for taking the time to share your summer childhood memory. We all enjoyed reading about your wonderful experience fishing with your family. You put us right back there on the beautiful North Wisconsin Lake. Take care and have a lovely summer!

      CLEO COYLE

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  11. I, too, remember summer as the fragrance of newly mown grass, fresh tomatoes from the garden and honeysuckle. Mid-summer the Strawberry Festival was held on the town square. Carnival rides, booths, food, etc. It was the place to go and see your friends plus wear your new Bobbie Brooks short set and Aigner sandals!!! Oh the fun we had!!!!

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  12. Swimming and reading--loved those open days to do whatever we wanted.
    JHolden955(at)gmail(dot)com

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  13. I liked to go fishing with my mom & sister & the neighbors.

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  14. We would go to Tennessee to visit family most summers but for a short trip, we would go to Atlantic City for a day or two. That was always fun.
    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

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  15. Popping tar bubbles after the village repaved our street. My mother always complains about the tar on our clothes and us but those bubbles were just too tempting not to pop olomuss at Gmail dot com

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  16. Some of my favorite summer memories include listening to the Mets baseball games my dad would watch with the windows open and a fan blowing (no AC then!) after swimming in the pool, our large Italian family reunions at the beach with tons of food, games, and time spent with cousins, and the 4th of July fireworks competition between us and the neighbors. What I wouldn't give to go back!
    Lisa77hughes at Gmail dot com

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    1. Lisa - I laughed over the fan blowing memory! We didn't have air conditioning, either, and I remember the fans humming all over the house. And the baseball games! Only with my dad it was the Pittsburgh Pirates. He'd listen to the games on his portable radio, while enjoying the summer evening, rocking on the back porch, puffing on his pipe. Good memories all. xoxo

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  17. What a wonderful collection of memories!
    My family went camping every summer. We started with tents, moved "up" to a pop-up tent trailer, and finally a motorhome. My father was an airline pilot and would travel with us until he needed to get back home for a flight. We'd drive him to the nearest airport where he'd hop a plane home. Then we'd pick him up some days later at another airport!
    One graphic memory is being at Ten Killer Lake in Oklahoma. It was 100 degrees at midnight! We thought that is we needed to make a deal with the Russians (cold war era) we should offer them Oklahoma!
    libbydodd at comcast dot net

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    1. Libby - The story of your airline pilot dad sounds so exciting, dropping him off at one airport and traveling to pick him up at another. That must have been great fun. LOL on the Oklahoma foreign policy strategy with no offense to that great state, and the only state that has a perennial Broadway musical dedicated to it (Oklahoma the musical, one of my faves)!
      xoxo ~ Cleo

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  18. We had a big weeping willow tree in the backyard that grew down to the ground Would sit inside and read for hours. Catching fireflies at night with my friends. So many more. bobntoni@aol.com

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  19. So many memories! Waiting for Dad to get home from work so he could take us to the big community swimming pool in the evening. Mom didn't swim. Going to Galveston to the beach for the day. Mom pulling out the turpentine to rub the tar off our feet bottoms. Getting into mischief with my cousin Ginny at our grandparents' ranch. We would hunt for arrow heads and fossils, go after scary hairy spiders, catch lightning bugs at night. It was wonderful.
    patdupuy@yahoo.com

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  20. My best summers were spent at Girl Scout Camp and I am still in touch with some of the women (as we say from prepuberty through menopause). Not a fancy camp, though we did have a wonderful swimming pool. We did chores and had a great time together. The roller coaster video was great. I hope you went on it before trying all of the fair food fare. LRJ

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    1. LRJ - Like you, I enjoyed my Girl Scouting. So great that you are still in touch with fellow scouts. We had Girl Scout Day Camp, and I still remember making my "sit-upon" (that's what they called it) and gathering around the campfire for stories and songs. LOL on the roller coaster + day of indulgence on carnival food. As a chunky monkey I was a pro at eating and never had a problem keeping the goodies down, no matter how many dips and spins I took on the rides. I doubt I could do it at this age!! xoxo ~ Cleo

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  21. I pine for the days when summers were long, memorable, fun, and simple with the freedom to go bike riding through city streets, walk to a friend's house, play outside all day long, go to the pool and the park. The most wonderful summers took place when I was 8 or 9 when we drove in our station wagon to a beautiful, pristine lake 2 hours away, yet it seemed life it was another world. We rented a very rustic cabin lining the shores of the lake and swam everyday, went fishing, boating in the small rowboat with a small motor and enjoyed these pleasures. No worries, no gadgets, no television. Just books, games and the beauty of our surroundings. During the 1950's what else was there but fun and laughter and family. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  22. I grew up in Philadelphia, PA, where summers were hot and humid. We had a cottage in the Poconos that belonged to my grandmother, and that's where we went to get away from the worst of the heat. My favorite time was the last two weeks before Labor Day, when my Dad took his vacation and we spent them at the cottage. The best of it was the county fair over Labor Day - animals, rides, fair food and the fun of being around everyone in the county.

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    1. Kitty - County Fairs are the best, almost forgot about those. Cottage in the Poconos, great way to beat the heat!

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  23. I just started reading the Cleo Coyle books and really enjoy them. I grew up in foster care but during school the library was my escape and I became a librarian at the ripe age of 40. Books rock. Sorry. No summer memories.
    Joliver284@yahoo.com

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    1. Roving Oliver - Thank you for the very kind shout-out, and I'm so glad to know that you were able to find escape and happiness in books. And, of course, librarians are the coolest people on the planet. Thank you for helping to keep the joy of reading alive. xoxo ~ Cleo

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  24. My favorite memories revolve around food. I remember carrying a salt shaker through my mom's garden, picking ripe tomatoes and salting them right there in the garden, with tomato juice running down my chin. And also being at my grandparents, them cutting a ripe watermelon for all of us kids, and eating it in the front yard on their farmhouse. After playing hide and seek on the farm. There are a lot of good places to hide on a farm. Thanks for the opportunity to win new books. gnetteler@gmail.com

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    1. Oh, Ginger, your fresh garden tomato memory has my mouth watering!

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  25. Summer is my favorite time of year. Our summers were something which we loved, looked forward to and longed for. It meant school was over and our time was free and easy. Before I spent summers at a camp in The Laurentians we would drive up North to Ste. Agathe or St. Donat and spend a week or so at a cottage. We either overlooked a lake or were down the road from the lake and the dock where we would swim everyday. Special, and perfect setting which I wish that I could bring back once again and experience. No luxuries at all but who needed them? We had our coloring books, books and were happy. Weather seemed to be ideal and there were only good times. After that summer I attended several summer camps. Many years later when I had little ones we went to Lake Huron for a week every summer and rented a cottage which was modern but small and simple. I wanted to recreate the summer for my children. We did. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  26. I grew up in Michigan and spent a lot of time on the beach on Lake Michigan. My parents would take on a road trip every summer which usually included visiting a fun or historical attraction. We also took many road trips to California to visit my grandparents and other family.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

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  27. I am also a Kennywood Park child. My great Aunt worked every summer at a ticket booth and always treated us with extra tickets. My niece worked there during her high school years. What a great park, so many wonderful memories. lindalou64(@)live(dot)com

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    1. Linda - Over a century old now, Kennywood holds many good memories for many generations. Great story about your aunt treating you as a kid. Cheers to your niece. My sister and I both enjoyed working there, too. xoxo ~ Cleo

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  28. Thanks for the great topic, Cleo. I loved reading about the summer memories of the MLK writers and readers. The roller coaster video was a blast from the past I would enjoy only virtually now, though I went on every coaster I could as a teen. Happy summer, everyone!

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  29. Fun to take the virtual roller coaster ride! I also grew up in PA. My grandfather had a cottage in the Connoquenessing Creek so we would go swimming in the muddy waters and have a grand time. That was where my dad taught us all to swim.
    Bleakney750@yahoo.com

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    1. Karen - Glad you like the coaster, thank you! Learning to swim memories are powerful ones. For me, too. My father taught me at a community pool. Summer cottage and swimming in the creek memories, so great. So many lovely creeks and streams and woods in PA and all over our great country. Summer is a wonderful time to enjoy them. xoxo ~ Cleo

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  30. I was about 10 and my parents took us fishing with a bunch of their friends and families. I cannot remember where exactly but somewhere in California in a good sized boat on a lake . I was the only one in the group that caught a fish ( out of everyone. ) I also remember a few people got sea sick. I did not . Loved every minute of it.

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  31. Every August my family went to Santa Cruz, CA for a week. We would visit my dad's aunt while we were there. One year, we got to go to Disneyland!! Amazing! lindaherold999(at)gmail(dot)com I would love to win these awesome books!

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  32. My favorite childhood summer memory is swimming at the local state park. sue.stoner72@yahoo.com

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  33. I think that my all time favorite summer memory/trip is when I was 12 and after a fun week with my Grandparents in Wilson, North Carolina, I spent an even funner (yep, funner because I was 12 and that is what I would have said), week in Tennessee on my Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred's farm. They had cattle, pigs, ducks, and blackberry bushes. Being a girl from the suburbs I had never come so close to farm life as I did that summer. I even got to make a little money picking tobacco, now that is definelty an experience, and probably not a well thought out one LOL. Petting the cows and playing with piglets when I wasn't picking the blackberries to be made into cobbler and jam. It was usually one for me one for the bucket, one for me and one for the bucket. I think every city kid should get to spend a couple of days in the country communing with nature and gathering eggs. Life is so carefree and full of wonder. You also don't seem to mind the smells or those things that cause them. Thank you for the trip down memory road, I haven't thought about that summer in quite a while. tracy.condie@gmail.com or tracy dot condie at gmail dot com I can never rember if we are supposed to spell it out or just get to the point. Thanks for the opportunity for a cozy as well! I'll keep reading if you ladies keep writing!

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    1. Tracy - I'm so glad this post helped you recall some happy memories. And you're right. When we're young especially, life can feel full of wonder. It's a good thing to remember, no matter what age we reach. xoxo ~ Cleo

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  34. Because my father worked away during the Summer for a few years my Mam, elder sis and myself ended up heading to North Wales, we rented a house with another family and then we would also meet yo with three other families! We went swimming in the sea, went sailing and would have bbqs on the beach! Bliss :D

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  35. Some of my favorite memories are of our widowed neighbor, Jack. He worked for a local company that made flavorings and would bring us bottles that were tested for quality control for us to make snow cones with. (We had the machine that made them from ice cubes, too). He also would take me on a "date" to the ice cream stand when his lady friend worked, I got a treat and he got to see his "friend". He passed away when I was in the first grade. Fondly remembered. egoehner(at)roadrunner(dot) com

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    1. What a sweet story about your neighbor, Emily, thank you for sharing! xoxo ~ Cleo

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  36. My favorite memories are the family camping trips. It was the one thing we did all together. We'd pack the camper and jump in the station wagon with our two poodles. So much fun swimming, fishing, biking and playing Sorry! in the camper. I still love camping to this day.

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  37. My parents were farmers, so the summer was always a busy time of the year. But my favorite memories would be the picnics we'd go on a few times during the summer. My Dad would find a new place for us to go...a museum, a festival of some sort. We'd take a picnic lunch. We always grilled hot dogs where we had the picnic. Mother would make potato salad and we usually had a can of pork and beans and perhaps whatever vegetables the garden was providing plus pie of some sort and usually lemonade to drink. dbahn(at)iw.net

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  38. Best summer memories were camping and swimming. We had a farm so it was always short notice when we would be able to get away for a few days.
    sandra shenton 13 at gmail dot com

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  39. It was fun reading about some of your summer memories. Some of my favorite summer memories were: we went camping for two weeks into Yosemite National Park. Every year there was something that happened. Like one year dad bought a "special" sausage. The rest of us wouldn't eat it. Too spicy. One night while it was up in the tree, a bear came to the camp. Mom was holding onto the dog with one hand and dad with the other hand. We had a huge tent that all seven of us could fit into. In the morning we went out and sure enough the bear had only gotten dads sausage. We followed the trails of little bits of sausage and turns out it was too spicy for the bear also. Dad was hopping mad all day long. Another time on the way home we stopped for gas. As we stopped and dad was ready to get out, he told my mom to lock the doors after he got out. Up pulled a lot of Hells Angels. So cool. They didnt bother us. They just wanted gas like the rest of us. I was only eight. Cool. So I was waving at them and smiling. The ladies waved back and smiled. We have a lot of memories from those many years camping. quilting dash lady at comcast dot net

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  40. My best summer memories were camping with my family growing up. We would swim, hike, and cook over the campfire. Smores!! I would read all summer long too! Thanks so much for the chance! What a great giveaway!

    jarjm1980(at)hotmail(dot)com

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  41. Summers were special. When I lived in W. NY, We spent a lot of time at Niagara Falls- still a magical place for me . We would also go to Crystal Beach Amusement Park or just spending time with Grandparents. We moved to Ohio when I was 9. There was a local amusement park at the time called Idora Park that we would go to, also Cedar Point amusement park on Lake Erie. As a teen, summer was all about spending time with best friends, riding bikes and spending endless hrs with my boyfriend. ( we just celebrated 40 yrs since our first date :) He was 15, I was 16. It's been a wonderful ride :)

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    1. Niagara Falls is indeed a magnificent site! Congrats to you and your husband, Wendy, on 40 years together since your first date. That's fabulous! xoxo ~ Cleo

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  42. my favorite summer memories are of our family road trips. Usually, we would drive from New York all the way to Florida. I would be so excited and stock up on books weeks ahead to read in the car. cherierj(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  43. On a weekend, my dad would drive the family station wagon over the twisty highway to Santa Cruz beach hoping my sister wouldn't get carsick. My mom would make fried chicken to take for lunch. We'd spend the day playing in the sand and the ocean.
    wskwared(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  44. Haha, I chickened out while watching the rollercoaster video!~ :D Some of my favorite childhood memories center around the one week we spent in Cape Cod. We were surrounded by family the whole week long, and the beach, and the salty air.


    It genuinely felt like my adult self was being formed by the waves. Early morning walks and investigating tidal pools taught me about the magic of little things.

    I identified with the crabs who had one large claw and one small - I felt all gangly awkward like them, too. I learned about how nature gets along just fine without the interference of humans, a hard won lesson.

    This is also where I developed a love of small towns, the best places to go to on vacation, in my humble opinion. They provide solace like nowhere else. jaimie.cura(at)gmail(dot)com

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  45. Summers as a kid involved travel with family, usually camping trips with a travel trailer and yes, amusement parks! I grew up in MI and there was Cedar Point in Ohio plus King's America just north of Chicago. But we would also go visit family and found tons of stuff to do in other places, too. robinswebhotmailcom

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  46. Summers I rode horse 🐎at my grandparents and swam at my other grandma's cottage on the river. In August I was in a horse show at the county fair. I read alot too. Thank you for the chance Donakutska7@gmail.com

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  47. Every summer our parents would take us to Conneaut Lake Park. My first roller coaster was a wooden one called the Blue Streak. I remember being terrified and then wanting to get right back on. Those summers were very precious. Thanks for the chance!
    Jess
    maceoindo(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  48. Best summer memory! Sooo many especially when you have a summer birthday and your cousins, friends, and the rest of the relatives are there for your party! Trips to Lake George to Storytown or the Catskill Game and then picnics with the whole family at Lake Taconic! Can't forget the Dutchess County Fair (now on this summer so I can enter brownies scones, and photos for competition). A poignant memory is the Labor Day picnic knowing school would start and trying to remember the summer fun as I looked at Seventeen Magazine! Ah, Summer!

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  49. So many favorites... we lived about 4 blocks from the library and I could walk there whenever I wanted, which was often. After getting a few library books, I would come home (which was right on the Eagle River) sit on the porch swing and read the day away.

    I also looked forward to the fair each year. My grandpa would save up all his change over the year and then my sister and I got to split it and use it at the fair. We would always go on wrist band night, for unlimited rides, so I got to use the rest of the money on food and carnival games. The fair was towards the end of August so it was fun seeing friends that I hadn't seen all summer.

    kimheniadis @ gmail dot com

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  50. Thanks to EVERYONE for leaving such wonderful memories about your childhood summers. These were a PLEASURE to read.

    Alas, there can be only one winner and we have one.

    Congratulations to Kathy L. who won our prize package of books by random number selection. Thanks again to everyone, and stay tuned for many more giveaways in the Kitchen. We love hearing from all of you!

    CLEO COYLE

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