Summer Fun on the Frugal

Summertime. It brings back all kinds of memories. Playing Grocery store in my garage or putting on a play, hopscotch and freeze tag with the neighborhood kids, sitting on the front porch reading. Riding my bike with my sister to the library to find another mystery to read . We had only one bike growing up and would share it. One of us on the seat and the other on the back pedal. Going to church summer camp for a week or 2 weeks. We would swim, ride in a canoe go to church of course , and best of all meet the new cute boys from the big city of Minneapolis. We would buy candy or chips and drink sodas that were so cold they were half frozen. We would playing for hours on end outside, coming in only for potty breaks and to eat lunch. I grew up in Duluth Minnesota and we lived 1 1/2 blocks from Lief Erickson park. Lake Superior was my front yard. My mother would pack us a picnic lunch and off we would go to sit on the rocks of Lake Superior. And of course going to the old downtown theater every Saturday morning to watch 3 Horror movies. Frankenstein, the Mummy, Dracula oh so scary.I hope that my 2 boys who are now grown men also have great summer memories from the past. And of course I hope that my grandchildren will some day look back to wonderful summer memories.But let’s face it, times have changed. I can’t fathom my small grandchildren going out to play all day long with what we now know about sun exposure. And in this post-Adam Walsh world we live in, I can’t imagine their parents sending them off on a bike to a day camp, park or library one or two miles away.I have come to the conculsion that you do not have to be a child to enjoy the summer. There are things we as adult's can do and still keep the cost reasonable. I will be searching for things that my husband and I can do this summer.We have a beautiful pool at our complex and already have been down there 3 times. But that is only 3 times in the month we have lived here. So one plan is to spend more time there. We love to search thrift stores for things to sell on eBay. I have compiled a list of thrift stores in the Houston area. From this list we have only visited about 10 of them. So we have many more thrift stores to visit. I love to wander old cemetaries. Just miles away I hear there is a wonderful cemetary in Richmond Texas with lots of history. That is on my list for this summer. Maybe I can find more interesting old cemetaries with history. We are not that far from Galveston, walks on the beach how great can that be.And of course there are the movies. We do not go to movies often, so this is on my "to do" list this summer. When we do go, we always go to the early movie that has reduced priced tickets. So I hope to see more than one movie this summer.As I was searching for movies I found that at theaters owned by Regal Entertainment, free movies are being offered every week from June 16th through Aug. 13th. In our area, the theater is offering its Free Family Film Festival on Tuesdays, Wednesdays. To top it off, the theater is offering a G-rated movie and a PG-rated movie so you and the kids could see as many as 18 free movies over the summer on the big screen. Some of the offerings at our local theater include Charlotte's Web, Kit Kittridge and Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.Now that’s a great deal. Click here to check for a participating theater near your home. The selection of movies varies by location.So while you and your children are enjoying a movie hopefully dh and I will be next door seeing the latest Tom Hanks movie or what ever is playing at the time. Watch for future posts on fun adventures we are having this summer on the frugal. My picture is part of my back yard as a child. Lake Superior at Duluth Minnesota. Of course the picture is from the present.It is so built up with shops and restaurants. Not the same that is for sure. Hope that you will share with us some of your summer plans on the frugal. This post was put on my other blog site but I feel it fits here also. Watch for future blogs on fun adventures while still be frugal this summer