Summer Dreams

Summer Dreams
            Open skies, open roads, open schedule. When I was a kid, the start of summer brought a feeling of endless possibilities. In the weeks before school ended, my brothers and friends and I imagined what kind of adventures we might have together in June, July and August.
            For a brief moment, the world held infinite possibilities. In an era when weeks packed with summer day camps were not a thing, unscheduled free time was plentiful.
            However, as a natural born workaholic who can’t bear to be still, within a day and a half of summer break starting, my excitement about wide open weeks soon turned to frustration at the lack of routine.
            Despite that, I still felt that exciting, visceral sense of freedom and possibility every year as summer approached.
            In modern American society, the idea of long summer breaks without structure has largely disappeared for both children—who are booked to the gills with summer activities—and for parents who have fallen into the ever-shrinking idea of a vacation, with many thinking even a five-day weekend is too long to take off.
            Though the idea of summer break has evolved, I believe that kids still get excited when the school year winds down and summer looms ahead.
            Is there something that brings that magical feeling of anticipation for you? Tap into things that transport you to a special time and place, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives, Dipsea Trail from Pantoll, takes readers on a key segment of one of the iconic trails of Mt. Tam in Marin County.
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This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 122: Dipsea Trail from Pantoll