8 Things on My Summer Bucket List

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*pics are from last summer when we were vacationing in Florida!*

Hi friends! I hope everyone has had a wonderful week and is looking forward to the weekend.

Since we are into the summer season now, I figured it might be fun to come on here and share a few things on my bucket list for this summer. I know a lot of people might be just as bummed out as I am that we can’t do a lot of the things we would normally do during the summer like traveling to a beautiful beach or planning weekends with all of our friends, but I hope this list will still give you some ideas for things to do this summer that are fun and will still get you out in the sun.

1. Go kayaking or paddle-boarding. I’ve only been kayaking a handful of times before, but every time I absolutely love it! I always have a blast going out on the water and just getting out of the house for the day. If you’re looking for a place in Austin to rent a kayak or paddle-board for the day, I’ve rented from Texas Rowing Center before and have always had a positive experience! They also are making sure all rentals are wiped down with antibacterial spray after each person returns them, as well as implementing social distancing and mask-requirements (while you’re on the pier, not in the water!) so you can make sure you feel safe while you’re there.

Jordan and I are also looking into purchasing our own inflatable kayak! We don’t really have the room right now to store a regular recreational kayak, so this is a great option for us and for anyone else who wants to be able to go out on the water, but doesn’t have the room to store all the stuff.

2. Go on a hike. Austin especially has SO many places to go hiking and spend time outdoors. J and I both have the AllTrails app downloaded on our phones so we can see what hiking trails are around us and how long/difficult they are. They’ll also normally say how crowded they are and if they have places to stop near the water or places to rest along the trails. I usually take along a water backpack so I don’t have to worry about carrying a water bottle. Whatever you do though, MAKE SURE to stay hydrated!! Texas summer heat is no joke. (Fun fact: I used to use one of these water backpacks when I was in marching band in high school too so I wouldn’t pass out and have to go sit in the Weenie Hut. Yes, it was really called that hahahaha.)

3. Rent a boat to go out on the water. Can you tell I love being near/on the water?? I practically grew up either at the beach with my mom or the lake with my dad so I LOVE being by the water. I would spend the entire summer on the water if I could! My neighbor and I have been talking about renting a boat one weekend to go out on one of the lakes around here in Austin and just spending time on the water. I mean how fun would that be?!? I haven’t ever rented a boat in Austin before, but I found a couple sites HERE and HERE that look like they are really good and have fair pricing, if you’re looking for a place to start looking!

4. Find a beach or sand bar. Okay so I’ve done a lot of digging and I KNOW there are some beaches and sand bars in Austin. I just personally have yet to go out and find them haha. But that’s what I’m putting it on my summer bucket list for! Jordan and I are going to go out one weekend and just scope out places I find that might be a beach or sandbar and see how crowded they are. I don’t know about you guys but I normally don’t like super crowded beaches in the first place, but especially not now with everything going on! Although it won’t be an actual “beach” with the ocean and seashells and everything, if you find yourself going out on a similar search for sand and water, check out some of my past “beach day” posts like What’s In My Beach Bag or Spring Break Beach Essentials to check out what some of my go-to’s are when I go to the beach!

5. Have a picnic in the park. Jordan and I went down to a spot by the river the other weekend and had somewhat of a picnic by the water… and by picnic I mean we grabbed Taco Bell on the way and sat up our fold out chairs to eat on our laps haha. It was still fun, don’t get me wrong! But I want an actual picnic, where we bring a blanket, set out our food, have a little wine, etc. I think it’s just such a fun summery idea and would also be a really cute date! I found this Picnic Set for 4 on Amazon that I’m going to get for me and J! It’s so dang cute, it comes with a waterproof blanket, an insulated cooler, a full set of glasses, plates, and silverware, AND a little holder for a bottle of wine! It’s such a steal, I can’t wait to get it in and try it out for real!

6. Go camping. This is something that we’ve been wanting to do for a while! We both love being outdoors and we love the thought of going on a hike, setting up a tent, and spending the night outside just enjoying nature and each other’s company. We even watch a ton of YouTube videos of campers, hiking out and setting up camp for the night. I’d love to go to a national park or somewhere and get to go hike and camp for the night, I think that would be so much fun! HOWEVER. Last time we went camping, Jordan and I both slept in a 1-person tent that had absolutely zero padding on the floor. Long story short, I slept on a rock. I’m sure you can guess the kind of mood I was in the next day haha. So for this next time, I’ve been looking at some 2-person tents and found one I really like that’s lightweight since we will be planning to backpack and durable. I will also be getting an inflatable air mattress like this one so I do not have to sleep on a rock again heehee. Again, this one is lightweight and great for backpacking.

7. Drive out one night to look at the stars. Is it cheesy? Yes. Am I still set on doing it? Also yes haha. I’ve always been obsessed with learning about astrology and looking at the stars. (Fun fact: I actually took an Astrology course in college for a semester! It was so cool, we would go out at like 3am sometimes to look at the stars and learn about constellations. I LOVED IT.) When I was little, my dad and I would go outside and spend hours every night just looking at the stars and learning about the different constellations. We even had a book on the constellations that appeared during the different seasons that we would take outside with us and hold up to the sky to see if we found them! (They actually have an app that does that now haha. It’s called Night Sky and it’s AWESOME! I’ve had it for years, I use it almost every night on our balcony to look at the stars!) We also got a telescope eventually and would look at the craters on the moon and different stars. It was BEYOND cool, I get chill bumps just thinking about it!

Anyways, Austin has so many places, especially on the outskirts of the city, where you can REALLY see the stars. Once you get away from the lights of the city and everything, the number of stars in the sky just seem to triple and they seem SO CLOSE, like you can practically reach out and touch them. I love it so this summer, I want to go out one night and drive around and find the perfect place to just park, open the trunk of the car to sit and just look at the night sky.

8. Get Kawaii Shaved Ice snow cones. My aunt and uncle have lived in Round Rock (right outside of Austin) ever since I was born so I grew up getting to come see them here. One place they would ALWAYS take me every time I would come to visit was Kawaii Shaved Ice. They have the BEST snow cones in the whole world, they’re SO good! My favorite flavors are Piña Colada or Tiger’s Blood and I ALWAYS get them with the Kawaii Special (scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle and cream!) It’s SO good, trust me you won’t be sorry!

Whatever you plan to do this summer, I hope you have fun and I hope it’s a summer you’ll remember! I used to be OBSESSED with summer, I almost felt like I lived for the time when summer rolled around. Although it’s different now that I can’t spend every single day lounging around outside in the sun, being a beach bum and swimming in the pool everyday, I still love summer and look forward to it every year. I hope you guys get to try out some of these things for yourself this summer! Feel free to tag me if you do, I’d love to see your adventures! Also feel free to leave an activity that’s on your own summer bucket list down below in the comments! I’m always looking for new, fun things to do in the summertime.

Until next post, Xx.