A Summer Digest (and Autumn Anticipation Already Blooming)
Summertime Blog w/ a Hampton Roads Virginia summer guide, a Summer Faves to Shop List and more!
Marinarena recommends…
Roadtrippin’ It for less via DiscoverCars
Book summer and fall for your amusement via Musement
So… which camp are you in?
OR
I’m going be that annoying, wishy-washy one and say …
I’m in somewhere “in-between”!
LOVE
I LOVE summer, at least the idea of summer of it anyway. Time for extended leisure. Beachy days (at a less crowded beach with fewer pitched umbrella). Bluer, clearer skies, especially after a bit of summer rainfall. Yellow flower bloom. Hearing the fascinating cicada sounds, come July (especially along the US East Coast). The loveliest of sunsets and sundowns at 8 PM. Summerime fairs, parades and observations. BBQ get-togethers with smell and taste of charcoal meat. Playing summer music. Wearing summer dresses. Delight of eating seasonal fruits (more talk of the latter three things soon). Sweaty look to my face (sometimes, when it’s not too drippy!) …
HATE
I HATE summer. I HATE the heat (Hey, “heat is a switcheroo of “hate”) Well, “hate” is such a strong word— but summer heat past 90 deg F (or 32.222 for you Celsius reading folk) does not agree with me whatsoever. Or— maybe the issue for me is actually “the humidity”. This California girl is living in the Mid-Atlantic South now with the typical not-so-mid levels of summer humidity. “Deal with it, girlie”, I say under my breath. “Find some A/C , run that Vornado fan non-stop. At least the sweat looks attractive on ya!”
Come summer, come, of course also the bugs! I don’t mind cicadas but exotic spiders that seem to always appear near to me suddenly in summer give major cases of “the creepies”. Ugh, but mosquitos are legendarily the worst. With summer, the constant swatting or smacking of skin to destroy those s.o.b.s… Oh, and the bees…well, bee are great for the environment but the buzzing right by my ear is such… a bugaboo!
And let’s not fail to mention those slick, slithery ones are already bringing outgasp already seen a snake in the bushes. I just saw the longest snake ever just steps from my
Well, I can go on further with the HATE. Sadly, Summer season has some hateful tendencies as of late: ramped up street violence. wacky thing often deemed “civil unrest” which is really ol’ fashioned “riots”. On the BRIGHT SIDE however, a few poetic pieces have produced out of recent summer riotous affairs. Notably, RIOT and COLOR REVOLUTION. Also, I have done another acrostic on Los Angeles, which is inspired
One more bugaboo to mention—not about SUMMER precisely but, the bothersome tendency to think and focus on fall while not even the midst but mid-begging of summer. What’s the rush? Not even have the leaves changed color and started to fall—but Autumn or Fall season has taken presence in some instances already. Back-to-school mode is ramped commercially since the end of June. Halloween season has unofficially started. Costumes and merch are sneaking into stores. Additionally, Christmastime in July sentimentality and sales promotions have been going on.
OKAY, OKAY…the rest of this post will focus on good summer things to LOVE and DO!
How to Digest Summer: Lemon & Watermelon
LEMON LOVE
It may be sour and ridiculous to bite into, but lemon is quite lovely to digest in summer. Introduce one to plain water and add a good sugar, strawberries and/or other fruits and you got a winning summertime refreshment.
Primetime now for freshly squeezed lemon water and lemonade, lemon soda as ell as limoncello. That fancy hotel lemon water in an elegant glass pitcher located in the lobby is a nice find.
*** Careful with fast food lemonades (I’m looking at you, Chick-fil-a): ***
They may give you a headache from the gobs of sugary sweetener.
Best to make your own to control the sugar.
Something more to mention: The lemon is having quite a moment. Is it just me or is the bright yellow fruit popping out all over the place and more than ever before? I see it in fashion (lemons on pajamas, Limoncello tees) and home decor trends (kitchenware, wall art, figurines galore…) and see its imagery used in retail store to promote summer.
Read about Elizabeth Mincelli love for limon liquer, including limoncello.
(Get full recipe of her Crema di limoncello and Granita di Limonata if you pay to subscribe to her.)
Benefits of Lemon: high in Vitamin C. Help for better digestion and a healthy heart, help against bloating and kidney stones.
WAYS TO WATERMELON
What a melon! Should it be seeded or seedless? Ultimately, go with your prerogative. There is no official way to pick out a good one. Funny how people have their process of picking out the right one. Do you knock on it? Squeeze it? Come summer, come all kinds of folks digging into the joyous greenish bowling ball of a fruit to slice up.
“Watermelon Weird”, but I liked it:
Recently, I sampled watermelon with feta and a bit of chopped tomato at the grocery store. I found it surprisingly delightful. Great appetizer for a sophisticated summer party, perhaps. Also, I tried a watermelon shake at the Cookout joint. Dairy mixed with melon— not as gross as I thought it may be! Indeed refreshing— but I probably won’t order it again (Vanilla, strawberry, peach and nut flavors are my usual go-tos)
Benefits of Watermelon: Vitamin A and C, hydration, antioxidant (lysopene), potassium and magnesium source (good for body function)
Summer in Hampton Roads, Virginia
In my neck of the woods, any of these BEACHES are must dos for the summer…
You can join the crowds at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront (pictured above) for the beach, or at Buckroe Beach, in Hampton. Arrive early!
Shhh! Don’t spread this too far but you can beat Oceanfront crowds and still have a pleasant beach day at Yorktown Beach and at Sandbridge (secret’s out on SB in this video below)
If you like it super quiet and very campy, seek out Huntington Beach, in Newport News, and just outside the H.R. region, in Gloucester Point.
Upcoming H.R. Summer events include:
Join up on a cruise from Norfolk
Visit Busch Gardens and Water Country USA (largest water park in VA), in Williamsburg
Go on a H.R. roadtrip (gas is fairly inexpensive here, usually under the national U.S average) Gas Buddy
My Featured Roadtrip Stretch of Hampton Roads:
Ocean View (Norfolk neighborhood along the Atlantic coast) to Virginia Beach Oceanfront, via Ocean View Ave, leading to Shore Ave and Pacific Ave (Route 60)
Summer Sounds
Don’t you just love a free summer park concert? It’s a seasonal ritual of culture. I’ve already caught a concert-in-the-park in Williamsburg on Memorial Day weekend. I grabbed a bite, chilled out a bit at a nearby marina and grooved out to the cover band on stage doing mostly 80s and early 90s music *back in the good ol’ day of fun and popular music).
My summer roadtrip music pick is…
The Doobie Brothers- Walk This Road
This old soul Xennial is stuck on “dad music” lately— and likely will be a forever thing. The Doobies are still alive and just released a new collection of songs. Lots of feel-good throughout Walk this Road, particularly nice to blast if you happen to be cruising down the highway or a country road, say, in Bayou country. Michael McDonald is back in the band offically after 45 years! These songs, including the title track and “Angels & Mercy”, are the good stuff that will make you bop along with Pops. A full album review to come.
Summer Playlist 1
Great hook and vibes here. So smooth! I just discovered this song about 4 months ago in Spring, while on a merchandising assignment organizing bras in a dept store. But this song came out back in 2018. Where was I then?
Summer Watch
Movies
By end of summer, I’ll probably will have likely given in to a few built-up blockbuster hopefuls to watch on the big screen. Literally two or maybe another and that’s it. Something that’ll draw me into the traditional cinema house theaters (surely) is Naked Gun. I’m so in-the-mood for slapstick old school comedy. Where have you been, baby? Time for Hollywood to be likeable and allow non “wokey” silliness and laughter again.
Something I won’t be seeing at the movies is Jaws- 25th anniversary release. No, thank you. However, I don’t slight the phenomena that is Jaws. It’s good for summer pop culture lore. Kinda fun to see the new JAWS merch thought. On my merchanding assignments, I’ve come across a dedicated coloring book as well as Life Mag’s Cover Issue recently on newsstands.
JAWS :
Check showtimes here
TOUR The JAWS filming location
Search FILM THREAT for “summer” new and older movies and film talk.
Best of Summer Substack Posts I’ve come across
In other Summer Substack waters…
Summer Faves at Marinarena Shop
BEACHLY- Cutesy apparel stuff for beachy days, always 365 days of the year. Womens and Me styles plus home decor. Summer Boxes may be sold out but Fall Boxes are available and not too much different.
COFFEE BRAND COFFEE ( Batches Made-to-Order Coffee ) Summer Legendary Flavors series Kona and Tiger’s Blood. Limited supply left.
MELALEUCA- Splash H20 single packet drink mix - flavor your water w/o the crazy chemical sugar stuff. Meat Sticks and Beef Jerky (new!)- Yummy with no filters. My new fave for snacking! Great items to carry along while on-the-go or for you special summer outing at camp or beach.
Get Marinarena’s EXCLUSIVE INVITATION Melaleuca for yearly membership
THE GOAT FARM- G.O.A.T in natural Summer skincare. Get actual Goat Milk soaps and lotions plus much more. Products are made in the USA, and free from bad stuff, like sulfates
DEFENDER SHIELD- EMF Radiation Shielding Laptop Sleeves and more protective items to use while on-the-go
Other Faves to Recommend
GCI Rocking Camp Chair- whether you’re a camper or not, rock with this!
BEACHY READS Light-hearted, romantic novels as a beach and/or boat read.
Story of My Life- Lucy Score AND Love on Paper- Danielle Parker. Main characters from each book happen to be portrayed by female writers and fall for a special man.
SUMMER DRESSES Love these from mid-range to high-end fashion dept store, Dillards Brands like Angie have beautiful boho and floral flowy dresses. Also, options recommended by Evie Magazine. Super feminine, pretty maxis (EVIE is on Substack)
REFRESHING DRINKS
Spindrift- Best when served chilled. No sugar added
Olipop - Probiotic drink Root Beer is my fave. Healthier alternative to Coke;
Harmless Coconut Water - super hydrating and expensive but hey, it’s your health!
SUMMER TREATS- Jeni’s Ice Cream; Helados from Mexico
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