What I loved about this summer

This summer has been a little weird and different in many senses. It was my first summer married, there has been a lot of stress sometimes and it has been somehow like an emotional rollercoaster.

As summer just ended and cooler days come to stay, I wanted to take a look back and appreciate the best moments of summer. It’s not something that I usually do (look back to appreciate things), but that’s one of the changes that I want to make in my life.

There goes a list of the things that I loved the most about this summer.

• Panama City Beach mini vacation. Ok, it was a month before summer, but I usually link everything beach related to summer. And it was amazing. I couldn’t get up early to see the sunrise, but I got to see every sunset there. The apartment was right next to the beach and it felt like paradise to me. For those who don’t know me, the beach gives me life. When we got to PCB we had the windows down in the car, and the moment I could smell the sea I went crazy happy. It just changes my mood completely. Does anyone feel the same way?

• My sister finished her classes in LA and came to spend a whole month with me and my husband before going back to Spain. She didn’t have a good experience in LA so I was hoping that month would somehow make up for that. We didn’t get to do all that we wanted as it was really hot, but we still did a lot of fun things.
• Also, in late august, my parents came to visit for a couple of weeks. We mostly stayed in the city and walked around. A lot. One of the days we were walking for about 5 hours nonstop. Yeah, crazy, right?
• Hiking in the Cloudland Canyon. Nature is such an amazing thing. And I’d like to go hiking more often. Not only it’s a great way to stay active and work out, but you get to enjoy wonderful views. Also, if I get to see some squirrels I’m like a happy kid LOL. *Yes, I have a really weird arm in that picture… but it was the best one haha*

• Second 4^th of July for me in the US, but last year I had to work. This year I got to enjoy the fireworks with my husband (although I was a little… ahem… disappointed. More on that later). Next year I hope we can go/make a barbecue that day and then go see some other fireworks. We’ll see.
• We were invited to a Pakistani wedding. I have been to several weddings, but it was the first time that it was a muslim one. I enjoyed and learnt a lot. I’m still amazed with the dresses. OMG! *picture is not mine for personal reasons*

• I hiked a couple of times Stone Mountain. Both times in the late afternoon, so we could enjoy the sunsets. It doesn’t matter how many sunsets you see, it is still something magical!
• The airport is a place that I enjoy going to. Usually I prefer when it’s because I’m going to fly somewhere, but I also love to pick up people. It is something about planes. And the thought of traveling. I don’t like that much to drop people off, though. Mostly if talking about my parents or my sister.
• Even if I’ve been in Atlanta for a year and a half, I hadn’t visited the aquarium It was amazing to see all the animals. The belugas were huge and the dolphins super cute. Our ticket didn’t include the dolphin show, but a behind the scenes tour. Although it makes me sad going to a zoo (I haven’t gone to one in 15 years or so) or an aquarium (again, first time in like 15 years), it was really nice to have a closer look to all the animals. One day I’d like to swim with dolphins (one of my favorite animals), but I’d have to make sure that they are free and well treated. They should definitely not be in a pool.

• The DragonCon is something that I wanted to see since last year. Working in a hotel in downtown Atlanta, I could see the costumes, but I had to work every afternoon while it lasted. This year, though, I went to see the parade and walked around watching the costumes and taking pictures. Sadly, the first day I couldn’t take as many pictures as the battery of my phone died, but I still managed to take some. Kudos to the participants, as I know that many of them spent several months making the costumes. I saw three people “dressed” as the Avatar characters and it was mostly body painting. How many hours did they spend in the morning getting ready? WOW.

I’m leaving out a lot of things (2h Skype sessions with my friends, going out with some friends to have dinner, pool days relaxing and playing…), but the list could be freaking long.

Now, tell me. What are the things that you loved the most about your summer?