Summer is a special time for most of us. For me, it evokes wet hair, popsicles, endless swimming, sand between the toes, sunburnt noses, sleeping in way too much and staying up far too late.
True to frugal form, the vast majority of my treasured summer memories were things that cost absolutely nothing. My parents, like many living in So Cal, had a large backyard pool, so we spent our entire waking hours swimming and playing poolside.
We were a very popular neighborhood destination.
Even to this day, I try hard to do things in the summertime that do not cost money. When my grandkids visited, they had theatre camp or, as my younger granddaughter would call it, ‘a nine to five’. She took her mission in theatre seriously and would even sing ‘Workin’ 9 to 5′ every day as I drove them to daily rehearsals. In retrospect, I don’t think she’s ever seen the movie, but she knew the song by heart, and it was utterly charming.
After camp was over and the girls came down from some frankly stunning performances (OK, I’m totally partial to their talents but even so, they love doing theatre), we spent the rest of their visit doing some fun things. Yes, the local aquarium cost money but visiting dear friends and bringing a BBQ feast was basically the price of eating at home. Bonus? My friends did all the grilling.
Walking on a nearby beach? Zero cost but be sure and get there at low tide so you can hunt for shells the way we love to do. The local park is free too and although it was far too hot to take the youngest grandchild there on the day we wanted to go, we did manage to have our nightly ‘family meetings’ on my back deck or, as we now call it, ‘The Deck of Destiny’. We also popped popcorn and had a family movie night one evening. Who knew that “How to Train Your Dragon 2” could be so much fun?
Probably our favorite no cost activity was watching a ferocious thunderstorm roll through in the evenings. Tucked safely under the sturdy roof of The Deck of Destiny, the thunder did boom and the kids were spellbound by the lightening show. Nature puts on quite a performance when she has a mind to.
We have a number of free ‘music in the park’ events coming up courtesy of our local symphony that are on the docket. We pack a picnic lunch, a bottle of wine and tote a large blanket so we can enjoy the music at our leisure. The cost is nothing but the cost of a dinner that we simply packed up and toted along.
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the house behind 