With all this traveling, another thing that has been neglected is my blog. So this is a quick play-by-play with some of my favorite photos, of course.

Bonnaroo Music Festival - I met several friends in Manchester, Tennessee, for a day and a half of music and catching up with old friends. I caught sets from Wilco, “The Boss”, Jenny Lewis, Nine Inch Nails, and my personal favorite Ben Harper. I reconnected with several old friends that had traveled from Tennessee and beyond to take in the festival. And although I admired how hardcore all the campers were, I was relieved to be able to rest my head and take a warm shower at Manchester’s new Comfort Inn. If you haven’t ever experienced Bonnaroo, I would highly recommend checking it out. It truly is a site to behold.

Rosemary Beach - For the last three summers, I have vacationed in Rosemary Beach, Florida, with one of my closest friends Kristie and her daughter Sarah Trammell, who is my goddaughter. This trip is good for me. It is good for me because not only to I get some quality-time with Kristie and her family, but also I get some quality-time with me. I sunned, I played, I acted like a kid at Big Kahuna, I enjoyed the quaint beauty of Rosemary, and I read and read. I finished two of the best books I have EVER read, Richard Stearns’ The Hole in Our Gospel and Donald Miller’s fall release A Million Miles in a Thousand Years and two uber-light beach reads.

Dallas and Lake Texoma – My sister Marcie lives in North Carolina. Each summer she packs up her three little ones and heads to Texas in the heat of the summer to spend two weeks with my parents. I flew down and hung out with the family one of the weekends that they were there. We enjoyed the two best things Dallas has to offer, good restaurants and sh0pping. And then fled the big city and had an overnight at Lake Texoma. Being on the water is the ONLY thing that made the Texas heat bearable. Oh and enjoying my adorable nieces. They make EVERYTHING bearable.

Elk River – Last weekend, twenty friends and I headed to a river house on the Elk (a tributary of the Tennesse River). We laughed, played card and board games, ping-ponged, skied, went on boat rides, inner-tubed, jet-skied, hammocked, jumped off the diving board, read magazines, sunned, swam, BBQed, drank and ate. (Actually we ate A LOT.) And we didn’t turn on the television once. Mostly we just enjoyed each other. It was a perfect weekend. (I just hope that someday soon the soreness from all the “river fun” will wear off. Because right now walking is challenging.)

Next up: A quick low-key weekend getaway to Raleigh, North Carolina, to hang out with Marcie, Stephen, and the girls. Thankfully this is my last trip of the summer (or it least that is the plan but I’m gonna be honest, I am not very good at saying no to adventure).

How has your summer been? What memories have you created?

Here are 10 of my favorite things about summer:

1. Road Trips – trips to the lake, the beach, neighboring cities. For some reason, no place seems to far to drive in the summer. I need to start making some playlists on Itunes right now! (Some of my twitter buddies, helped me start a wish list. Now I just need to find some time to download.)

Macon and Anne Shelton - Lake Texoma 2008

2. Music Festivals – City Stages, Bonnaroo. One of my first jobs out of college was planning music festivals. And I love them. There is nothing better than being outside (when the weather’s nice), listening to good music, drinking a cold beer, and hanging out with your closest friends. This summer I plan on hitting CityStages (my personal favorite) and Bonnaroo (to see what all the fuss is about). I am excited because for the first time in several years, they don’t fall on the same weekend.

Me and Carey Martin - CityStages 2008

3. The 4th of July- fireworks, parades, bbq. I think the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. Okay, I have a lot of favorite holidays. But I do love reconnecting with my American pride. (Cue Lee Greenwood, “God Bless the USA“)

Anne Shelton - 4th of July 2008

4. The Beach – Bald Head Island, Rosemary Beach. I love the beach. Everything about the beach (well not everything about the beach, sometimes the sand bugs me. Oh and the jellyfish, I don’t like them either). I love listening to the waves. I love reading a good book under an umbrella. I love renting bikes. I love eating ice cream. I love the youthfulness that the beach brings back.

Papa and Macon - Bald Head Island 2008

5. Amusement Parks – I admit it, I love some roller coasters. I even like waterparks. I don’t like hanging out with 1,000 strangers in bathing suits, but I love the slides. I am a thrill junkie. I step foot into an amusement park and I lose all decorum. I revert back to age 11. And everyone liked me at 11 (except my sister, she hated me at 11.)

Joey, Roman, and Sarah Trammell - Big Kahuna Waterpark 2008

6. The long days – I wish that every day was long like the days of summer. There is nothing better than leaving work and having several hours of daylight to enjoy. The long days totally energize me. Who wants to lay on the couch when the sun is beaming?

Me and Joey - Rosemary Beach 2008

7. The food – Barbeque chicken, corn on the cob, fresh tomatoes, basil. I could go on and on. Summer foods are fresh. Summer foods are delightful.

Macon & Anne Shelton Enjoying Cotton Candy - 2008

8. The weddings – Although I don’t have them back-to-back weekends like I did a few years ago, there still is a big wedding or two on my schedule every summer. This summer one of my best friends from high school is getting married. I can’t wait to watch her walk down the aisle and I can’t wait to reconnect with many long-lost friends.

9. The quiet absence of the college kids – In Nashville, the college kids all vacate mid-May which is divine. The town is reclaimed by the rest of us. It is just plain easier to get around. Come August, we’ll be ready for the energy that the college kids provide but right now, I am ready for them to hit the road.

10. The glow – I am not a big tanner but you have to admit everyone looks better with a little sun. I am not talking we all need to go orange, but can we leave the pasty white behind? Just for a few months?

What are your favorite things about the Summertime?