The Good Old Summer Time

Back in the olden days when I was a kid Summer was a time of freedom.

We would go to the local Fourth of July Fair and later shoot off firecrackers and have our own fireworks like sparklers and Roman Candles when it got dark.

At other times we might go on an overnight camping trip with the Girl Scouts or our family would go to Yosemite National Park and stay in a tent cabin. Our family couldn't afford expensive vacations, but we'd often drive up to Camp Taylor in rural Marin County for a picnic and play in the creek.

When I got older I usually went to Church Camp for a week.

But most of our childhood Summer Vacations were spent playing outside and having fun with no adults around. With permission from our parents we might go up the hill for a hike. We'd play with squirt guns or wade in the creek and get wet. Sometimes we'd put on a show for our neighbors. And we always used our imaginations to play pretend games.

Once in a while we might even pay to go to the town swimming pool or see a movie.

But the most fun for me in the Summer was performing in Marin Junior Theater. I was always a good girl, but I'd usually get the part of somebody evil in the plays, and enjoyed that a lot. And we even got to be on the new Television channel to advertise our productions.

What do you remember about childhood summers?