Every year, I highly anticipate the activities I will partake in when summer arrives and the excitement they will bring, and every year, post-summer, I am disappointed. 

Now, this is not because my summer isn’t fun because usually, it is. However, while I predict all of this joy, I do little by means of planning and predicting what will bring it. In order to avoid this dissatisfaction for the coming summer, I have composed a list of simple and obtainable must-dos in order to have a successful summer. 

Picnic 

Recently, I have been very into the idea of picnics. Whatever meal, time, or setting, I love sitting on a blanket and eating odds and ends out of a bag or basket. Picnic meals can be fancy with cute glasses and delicate finger food or gas station cuisine. This could bookend a long drive or a beach day; either way, add this to your summer bucket list. 

Beach Sunset

Living in Michigan, Grand Haven—or any lakeside beach, for that matter—is the perfect opportunity to set up with blankets and snacks to watch a sunset. Bring Spike Ball, Kan Jam, or any game you can quickly set up in the sand as well as hoodies to combat the wind. Bring whoever you can drag with you; maybe even bring a picnic. In my opinion, Michigan sunsets outdo nearly any other state’s. 

Boat Day

Whilst I don’t have a boat, a multitude of my friends do, and we spend much of our summer attempting to surf and being thrown from tubes, and they make up some of my favorite days of the season. However, surf boats are not the only option as swimming in small lakes off of pontoons and fishing boats provides its own comparable type of fun.

Drive-in Movie

I haven’t been to a drive-in since the COVID-19 pandemic, and now that I can drive myself, I anticipate a few visits this summer, ideally with someone with a truck. My optimal set-up? Mattress in the bed of a truck, filled with blankets, pillows, Dot’s pretzels, and Reese’s cups. I don’t really mind the movie as I suspect my friends and I will talk through most of it. 

Bonfire

The smell of a bonfire stuck in your hair and clothes is a summertime staple; no one should go a summer without it. S’mores for some—Reese’s cups as the chocolate, obviously—laughing, probably hearing a story from someone’s grandpa. Nothing can substitute it. 

Slip-and-slide 

When I think of slip-and-slides, the first image that pops into my head is a colorful two-foot-wide tarp with a fountain-like ending. Likely, it has a hole in it somewhere, and the hose has a coil so the fun stops every once in a while. However, for this summer, I think that a large tarp, hose, and a hill will be sufficient.

Road trip

Road trips are presented as these cross-country journeys where you pack food for a month and camp out. Yet, in my opinion, any decently long trip can constitute a road trip. Whether it’s a beach semi-far away, Somerset Mall, Ann Arbor, or anywhere you are subject to the enclosed space of your car for a little too long, everyone should take one this summer simply for the experience.