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May is when my family and I start really solidifying our summer plans, starting to block out chunks for camping and visiting out-of-state family. To get a little inspiration, I spent some time clicking through Offbeat Families archives looking for great ideas for things to do this summer. Join me in some schemes, and then tell me… what are YOUR family plans for this summer?
Camping
Doodling back through our camping archives, we’ve totally got posts for car camping, tent camping, and back packing. We’ll be sticking to car camping this year… I hope, once our van comes back. (It was stolen last month, and is going through a vigorous 12-step rehab program thanks to our car insurance, complete with biohazard cleaning, ozone shock therapy, mechanical work, and body work.)
Day hikes
Even if you’re not camping, you can still do some hiking with your kiddos! Hell, even if you can’t get out of town, you can still go hiking!
Music festivals
I wrote last year about taking my son to his first music festival and how in many ways it clarified our family values. It was a life-changer, for sure! We’ll be headed to the Beloved Festival in Oregon again this summer — will we see some of you there?! I would love to have an Offbeat Families meet-up on the dance floor!
I know that there are lots of you taking your families to music festivals this year — anyone headed to Bonnaroo? What about Burning Man?
What are YOUR plans?
Are you road tripping with the kids? Swimming together? Playing outdoors? Hosting your niece for an auntie overnight? Summer is coming and I want to be inspired by your schemes!
After TTC for too long, my family, my partner and I and our dog, are taking a break this summer! Well, my lovely big pitt terrier mix will be taking a vacation to a ranch house while my husband and I go to San Francisco! Since we have to work all summer, it will be a much needed breather and respite to reconnect and recharge. SF Pride here we come! I have been to the marches and Pride day festivities for many years but since I moved to NYC and now Austin, it’s been too long.
I look forward to dancing my butt off at the various music stages and laying in the grass in Dolores Park. Also, we might catch up with some old friends too.
We are using the ClearBlue Easy monitor starting this month (I know, why haven’t we tried it until now?? who knows) so I’m going with the flow and maybe I’ll be blessed with more family by the end of the year.
Happy Summer, everyone! Austin is really fun in the summer too, albeit hot. 😛
I’m making a family this summer.
Our first baby is due the end of July!
So our summer plans will involve some BBQs some cuddling and some sleeping (and hopefully a couple of baby hikes thrown in there too)
Cuddling and sleeping on the grass in some shade on a blanket… baby’s best first summer! 🙂
we’ll be going to the strawberry music festival in the sierras – it’s a very family friendly 4 day bluegrass festival, which my partner and I have both been attending since we were toddlers. now we have a little toddler of our own, and he’s going to love it.
Second generation festival toddlers! YAY!! That’s awesome. If you want, you should totally share how it went with us afterward!
Going to the Mariposa Folk Festival in Orillia, Ontario. This will be my first trip but my parents and sister have been going for years and years. There’s apparently a lot to do for kids too so I’ll be taking my 2 year old. We’ll be camping too!
It’s winter here and since we’re expecting an addition in early July, our plans include much snuggling, hot chocolate, a waddle through BookFest (massive secondhand book sale), jam making, baking, and resting.
After many, many years of waiting, I am finally going to my first Atlanta Braves game for my birthday. We are going to see Ben Folds Five, Barenaked Ladies, and Guster in concert the day before the Georgia vacation. Heading up to Baltimore for the first time for an Orioles game. Planning several day trips to major cities in NC as well. I think almost every weekend is filled up with some sort of trip or adventure over the kids’ summer break.
All of these things sound soooo great…in the Pacific Northwest. We live in Missouri and here, ugh, the weather makes me want to curl up inside. I don’t sweat correctly and so I just overheat and pass out. Nice! The 100 degree, humid as hell, life sucking air makes these activities horrible. (To me, your mileage may vary.)
So we’re headed up to Washington to be outdoorsy with our kids this summer!
Tell me you live in Kansas City! We almost moved to Oregon last year, and by August we were really regretting sticking around. Ugh, muggy. Ugh, bugs. Ugh, narrow-minded people.
We might be crazy but after attending 7 times on our own…we are taking our 1 year old son to Glastonbury Festival with us! I cannot wait and am terrified at the same time!
We’re taking our one-year-old on his first plane ride this summer to spend some time swimming and hiking near the New York-Canadian border. Then, at the end of September, he’ll be going to his first music festival when we spent three days camping at UtopiaFest in Utopia, Texas. I can’t wait to see him dancing around to the music. It’s going to be great!
@Ariel: I would LOVE to go that festival!!! We have taken our two younguns to a few psy-trance festivals but I don’t think we will do that again…The eldest said the music was too loud last time and he didn’t seem to enjoy himself so I was thinking of a rainbow gathering this summer. But the Beloved festival looks fantastic and exactly what I was looking for (more world music, more mellow)! Maybe if we are home stateside for the summer but we are so far…Pre-baby, I would have just gotten on a plane for a festie but that’s not so obvious anymore.
@Donna: Brave! We thought being in the UK we would hit a bunch of festivals in the summer until we realized what a UK summer is…Just can’t stomach the thought of camping in the rain with kids to boot! Have fun though!
We are taking a week off for our little guy’s first birthday- attending my brother’s college graduation, going to the beach, and our first camping trip post-baby. Later, I’ll be spending my first nights away from my little guy when I join my Peace Corps friends for a weekend reunion. Then, we’re braving Outside Lands music festival in SF with our baby. I’m hoping camping goes well and we can do more of it! Oh, and as many street fairs and farmer’s markets as I can handle.
Deer Shed festival in North Yorkshire, is a fab small British festival for families. We don’t have kids, but went last year with people who did and we all had a great time.
They have a entire field of swing ball, hula hoops and stackable blue barrels for making dens. They have amazing kids activities every day that made me long to be 20 years younger! And they have great music and such a variety of delicious food stands too – I’m pretty disappointed I can’t go this year!
http://www.deershedfestival.com/
I’m excited for our family’s second trip to the Starwood Festival in Ohio. It’s held on a campground in a remote area that was once a strip mine and has been beautifully reclaimed. The variety of offerings for grownups were great, and my 4 year old had a great time in the kids area. I also loved watching my kid boogie down with a pack of other kids right in front of the stage for the evening concerts.