Didn't you hear we're making summer bucket lists again?

It’s June, which essentially means summer. Summer’s here.

I’m writing this outside and I can smell the wafting smoke of a grill somewhere out in the distance. Birds gossiping about what happened over the weekend and the sound of wind rustling the crown of the canopies above. All clear signs.

Most of us save our curiosity and PTO for somewhere else. But what if you gave your own city the same energy you give a new one?

Here’s your summer bucket list – no flight required.

• Eat at the restaurant you’ve driven by or walked past a hundred times and haven’t tried

• Go to the local farmer’s market with zero list: buy a few items and make dinner with it

• Find a new coffee shop in different neighborhoods around your town: make a list of them, what you ordered and if you’ll be back

• Try a new cuisine you’ve never had from a spot you’ve never been to

• Eat at the counter alone somewhere. Order what the person next to you is having

• Find the bakery that opens the earliest and be there when it does

• Do a taco crawl – three spots, one night, compare notes

• Eat inside the restaurant you usually get takeout from

• Bike somewhere you’d normally drive

• Pack a picnic, find a park, stay there for hours

• Find the best sunset spot and watch it quietly

• Swim somewhere that isn’t a pool – a lake, a river, a swimming hole

• Find a new hiking trail within 30 minutes of you

• Do an activity on the water like kayaking, canoeing, or paddle boarding

• Find your city’s smallest and most obscure museum

• Take a guided walking tour like the tourist you are

• Catch an outdoor movie in the park or at the drive-in

• Visit a new bookstore and ask the staff for their favorite – buy it

• Sit in on a free lecture, reading or workshop at your library

• Go to a show – local band, comedy night, open mic – something you haven’t seen

• Go on a photo walk of a neighborhood you’re unfamiliar with and see how much you take notice of

• Find public art you haven’t noticed before

• Find the oldest building, the oldest restaurant, the oldest bar – visit all three

• Ride public transit ‘til the last stop and explore around it

• Attend a sporting event for a team you know nothing about (watching a game with fans in a random pub counts)

• Spend an entire Saturday with no car – walk, bus, bike, subway

• Stay at a hotel in your own city for one night (indulge in the pool, spa, room service & other amenities)

• Take a class in something you’ve never tried – glassblowing, flower arranging, archery

• Find a bench with the best view

• Sit in a new park or green space, bring a book

• Find a body of water and just sit near it

• Watch the sunrise

• Write a postcard from your own city travels & mail it

A good adventure doesn’t require PTO and a plane ticket. (We’re sold otherwise.) Sometimes it really is just as simple as getting out Google Maps and reframing your town with fresh eyes.

When was the last time you made yourself a list purely for fun, for enjoyment? No goals. No errands. No to-dos. Just a season to be curious about where you already are. That’s the summer assignment. 🤍

Raye 💌

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