It’s the end of summer already. Here in the US, the summer season is usually demarcated by two holidays, one on either side of the summer. Memorial Day happens on the last Monday of May, and Labor Day, the first Monday in September. Rates go up for rental properties at the beach on Memorial Day and start their decline after Labor Day. Barbecue grills get cleaned off at the beginning of the season, and are cleaned and, for the most part, stowed away at the end.
I remember that, while I lived in Charleston, SC, the beaches became noticeably less crowded after Labor Day. That was a great time of the year because it was still warm, sometimes quite warm, and all of the tourist had gone home or, if they were planning a beach vacation, were thinking of Florida, not South Carolina.
When I was in elementary school, we’d start our school year after Labor Day and it was a tradition, seemingly, with most teachers that we’d have to share, aloud, with each other about what we did this summer. The usual talks would center around vacation and summer camps.
As I look back on this summer, I can hardly believe that:
- I went to Australia and back.
- I saw my older son, Pedro, get married.
- I took my younger son, Tony, to begin his life in college.
- I made a couple of trips to the mountains to The Blue Ridge Parkway as well as to Dupont State Forest to see some waterfalls.
- I saw my first ever double rainbow.
- I got to see some live jellyfish for the first time. I’d seen live jellyfish in the aquarium and seen dead ones on the beach, but not live ones swimming in the water.
- I introduced my friend, James, to Charleston, SC
This weekend, I finished off the summer season by taking my friend, James, for an overnight stay in Charleston. James is a huge history buff and was just quite pleased with all of the history to be found in Charleston, dating back to times before the Revolutionary War, prior to our gaining independence from England back in 1776. No, this is no history as old as European history, but it’s pretty far back for us. It was cool to see the look on his face as he got to touch canon from the civil war, see a church that George Washington visited, and walk the halls of a slave mart where our ancestors were sold into slavery. It was a pretty engaging visit. We even took time to do a bit of Tai Chi on the beach. 
While we were doing it, a lady walked by with her friends and said:
Alright fellas! Go ahead and get your Tai Chi on!
What a great way to end the summer. Today, Labor Day, it’s raining. A great day for reading.
Looking back, I can say that it has been one heck of a summer!
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What a summer, it will be tough to top this one.
This has indeed been a great summer and a great year thus far.
We had a great summer, too, but I’m not ready to call it over. We have two weeks left and i hope to make the most of it.
Love that first photo, care to share the processing?
Sure. iPhone + Hipstamatic (lens = Kaimal Mark II – Film = Kodot XGrizzled). Cool phone + cool application.
Yours is a lovely tribute to summer, but I, too, am hoping to eke out a few more weeks of this lovely weather.
Well, here the trees are starting to loose their foliage. And daylight is once again longer in Germany than in Sweden. So no doubt, times are a-changin’… Let’s what the autumn brings!
I’ve been absent for a few days so catching up on your blog posts and again you helped me to both smile and laugh. Today is cloudy, breezy and cool. This is just what I need to see.