The long awaited season of the year that's known for taking vacations can prove to have its ups and downs once the blazing heat starts to kick in. Sure we have air conditioning, keeping cool under the sun and water to keep you hydrated, but what about those personal pet peeves that obstruct the experience? Well that's what I'm here to bring up today as I talk about....
Hot car seats
Back in the day if your folks had leather seats for their car, the hot baking sun would burn them to the touch after being parked somewhere for hours, even if it was put in a shady spot. If that wasn't bad enough, getting your own sweat on the seats doubled with the heat made the seats somewhat sticky.
Metal playground slides
Speaking of hot things to the touch, going on school playground slides would become a chore if they were metallic. If you didn't mind your rump catching fire, you were considered the daredevil kid of the playground. Thankfully they aren't seen as much these days, but back then they could be the bane of anyone's existence.
Cutting yards
Mowing lawns may be the easiest way to make a profit in allowance when you're out of school, but during the summer it comes at the cost of being covered in sweat from the heat, and getting grass and dirt on your clothes. If you could at least make a solid $40 out of a job's labor I'm sure the temperatures wouldn't bother you, but for me if it got up to at least 90 I had to call it off for another day until the temperature would drop.
Diluted drinks
Ice water may always be the number one drink to look to during summer, but when you have iced sweet tea or iced soda, the ice can dilute your drink within just a couple of minutes if you don't drink it up quick. On the positive side when winter hits and you're drinking something like hot chocolate, that never loses its flavor when cooled down.
Bugs
I guess it's pretty obvious these were eventually going to be included. Mosquitoes, flies, ticks and even hornets are a hiker's fear to dread when taking time to unwind with nature during the season. Marks and rashes could lead to a frustrating afternoon or evening if not treated soon enough, and I once got a handful of bee stings for stirring up a hive I didn't see.
Summer school
In the early years of school, if you were dragging behind on getting good grades chances are you got dragged off to summer school to make up for your poor performance, either that or your parents just had you go regardless if you were the type of kid that spent more time in the house than outside. Either way you knew your summer plans were ruined if this happened to you.
Summer goes by quick during youth
An entire school year can feel like an eternity, but have too much fun during summer break and it can go by like you didn't even know it. Probably the best example of this happening to me when the Pok'emon fad of 1998-1999 was still happening, I got so absorbed by the show and the games that I was back in school and didn't even take notice of how quick the months went!
Longer lines for amusement parks
It's no surprise that just about everyone else wants a taste of their vacation time being spent at theme parks and water parks, but it can become a real slog when you're either in long traffic, or standing in a very long line waiting for either a ride or an admission inside as the hot, humid weather has you gasping for water. You feel like the moment you finally make it in, most of the day's already over from enduring the wait.
It's hurricane season too, huh?
Being in the wake of a natural disaster in your own state can be the worst thing to look forward to when it comes to the summer season. It doesn't happen to everybody, but there's still guaranteed to be some nasty roller coaster weather every now and then as a means of breaking the heat.
A low electric bill is a good electric bill
Turning up that air conditioner at its coolest and having a bunch of fans running might have one contemplate about how much electricity they're using at the expense of staying out of the sun when it's at its hottest, and when parents thought it out, it meant all of the house's windows had to get opened as everyone had to deal with the humidity stirring around.
What problems did you have with the summer season? Leave a comment and as always, see you next article!
