This is always a highlight because I pretty much see at least one concert every summer, but this year it was more bands that Phil got me into that I wouldn't have really listened to if he didn't tell me about them. He usually has a pretty good feeling of what I'll like and this summer he was bang on.
Phil and I hadn't really been on a trip together since our anniversary back in December, so we thought during the summer it would be fun to go on a little three day adventure to Montreal. I wrote a more detailed post about our trip here.
Every summer Phil has a tradition of going to Niagara on the Lake, and both summers since we started dating he's taken me along. Last summer was my first time there and I kind of fell in love. There are so many great shops along the main street there, and walking down by the lake is so gorgeous. We also wanted to get a chance to visit Niagara Falls this summer, and time was running out for us to do so, so we thought it would be a good idea to hit up both Niagara cities on the same day (one is on the way home from the other so we figured why not). We went into the Hershey and Coca Cola store which I'd never been to before, and played dinosaur mini golf. It was truly one of the best memories of my summer and one of my favourite days spent with Phil.
My best friend that I've known since the beginning of high school went to University in Toronto, but in the three years since graduating has lived in Michigan (which I visited a couple years ago) and now New Orleans. She comes to visit every six months or so (once in the winter and summer) and it's something I really look forward to, as you can imagine. So her coming to visit is exciting in itself, but her and her boyfriend got engaged a couple weeks before visiting so that was even more exciting. As I mentioned in an earlier post, her parents threw them an engagement party while they were here, and Phil and I hung out with them just the four of us as well. They'll be back again next year for the wedding and I can't wait, especially because I'm going to be the Maid of Honour! (To be honest, that is probably my biggest summer highlight!)
This summer Phil and I had the brilliant idea to get a Wonderland season's pass, and it was really a great decision. The pass basically pays for itself within two visits, and we made the most of it. We went to Splashworks (the waterpark there) a couple times and also went for the regular rides a lot, and one night we got to see Canada's best Beatles tribute band "Day Tripper" perform.
I didn't get to spend as much time by a pool as I would've liked to this year, especially with as hot a summer as we had, but the days I did get to were very fun. One day my family and I went to the Richmond Hill Country Club for lunch and swimming, and another I went to my friend's house to tan and keep cool in her pool in her backyard. She has two dogs and I brought mine over, so the dogs had a playdate and so did we!
Last summer I like to think Phil and I started a tradition of going down to the Harbour Front for lunch and to walk around, and then take the ferry over to the Island and explore there (since I made him do it again this summer because it was so much fun).
Working in retail, when weekends and especially long ones are some of the busiest times, it's hard to book them off. But somehow this year I got very lucky and was able to book off all three long weekends of the summer (Canada Day, Civic Holiday, and Labour Day) and spend the time at Phil's cottage.