As mid-summer approaches, my mind drifts to vacation times, getaways or mini excursions out and about. One tank trips. Parks to explore.
Do you take a summer vacation or do small getaways? What do you have planned? If not, what would be your ideal vacation or retreat? What are your favorite local haunts? Give us some places to check out!
It’s been a glorious and busy summer already with much needed vacationing. My planned trips are about finished and in the books for summer 2017. We do have a mini excursion coming up later this month for our wedding anniversary, but the details haven’t been worked out yet. For July, I’m looking forward to lounging around at home, reading on the deck and enjoying the relaxation that June’s hectic schedule didn’t afford.
As far as local haunts, we hail from the land of amusement parks, a water park tribe we are too. The Midwest may not tout “the Biggies” of Orlando or California, but we have access to approx. 25 parks in our region of Ohio and Pennsylvania alone. It’s been a summer family tradition for about the past 8 years to take a 1-2 day trip to visit a park. A few favorites have been Hersheypark and Kennywood in PA, King’s Island near Cincinnati, and this year’s trip to Zoombezi Bay in the Columbus Zoo. This time, my nearly 75 year-old dad outlasted me in the wave pool, even returning for more after taking the brunt of tidal punishment, you gotta love him.
My favorite amusement park from childhood will forever be Geauga Lake in Aurora, OH. The site of my first roller coaster ride, The Big Dipper, at the invincible-feeling age of six, snuggled safely against my dad’s side. It was a sad day when it permanently closed in 2007 after it changed ownership a few times. It’s probably cliche, but nothing beats a long summer day at a water or amusement park.
I am not going to lie…. as summer starts revving up… I am catching myself not only daydreaming about vacation but also fall scents. I am sure it may be too early for some and others melt fall scents year ’round, but I must ask… where are you planning to order your fall smell goods from? It can be vendor wax, candles, bath and body or perfumes. ❤ Just spill!
To quote from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18, “…Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date…”
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date…”
That’s my way of answering that summer comes and goes too quickly as it is and I’m not looking forward to fall anything. (Not the intention of the poem, that was about comparing a young man’s beauty to nature and assuring him his beauty surpassed it.)
But since we know that resisting summer’s short lease is futile and for the purposes of this blog question, I went ahead and looked into some fall fragrance possibilities;)
In wax melts, Julie’s mention of Dessa’s Homespun Scents led me to the creation of a to-try list at least 20 scents long. Dessa’s branding especially says fall, but I spied a few tempting summer scents too. I appreciate that her shop is open for several weeks a month with all scents available, an August order looks imminent.
If we’re talking fall candles, I already have loads that I’m actually trying to unload. Naturally, I’m keen to check out the newly arriving essential oil candle collection from Bath and Body Works previewed on social media. The Incense, Chamomile and Cypress are giving me a fallish vibe.
I’ve sniffed and really liked Yankee Candle’s new fall collection and even discovered a Woodwick or two that held some fall promise.
Perfumes. The one fragrance area I don’t change seasonally, or much at all. The Solstice Scents siren song is luring me in thanks to my indie perfume loving blogger friends. This autumn could finally be the time to go for it, I just need to do my scent research. Until then, I’ll be resisting the reality of summer’s end as long as I can.
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The Scented Library 
“not looking forward to fall anything”
I can’t even understand those words. I mean, I’m starting to twitch over here. I must leave this scary place at once.
~The Fall Slut
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Lol! Oh no, I’ve sent the fall slut running. I thought you were made of sturdier stuff. Take heart, fall gets closer with each passing beautiful day. Every store aisle displays it and every other social media post proclaims it. Meanwhile, I’ll be hanging on to July/August from the vice grip of my fingers down to my summer sherbet-painted toes.
-The Summer Tart(?)
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Sounds like you have a plethora of theme parks to choose from! I love visiting aquariums. I took the girls to the Clearwater Aquarium today for the first time to see Winter the dolphin. It was a cute place with adorable sea turtles as well.
I think I need to pick up a few woodwick candles for fall myself.
And not saying I am ready for summer to end (you do remember I AM a teacher?!) but I like to have my wax on hand once that first fall urge strikes and that will be in less than 2 months for this chick. ❤
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Indeed the heart of a teacher must always be replenished in summer, though fall holds it’s special place too. I know what you’re saying, it’s just that I’m not ready to accept it–the less than 2 months part:/
How did the girls enjoy Winter? Shel’s nephew visited Orlando a couple years ago and stopped to see Winter. He must have really enjoyed it, because I remember trying to get Wizarding World details from him but he was much more excited about the dolphin!
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Those local amusement parks sound really fun! My hubby and I delivered truckloads to the Hershey plant many times and I was always wistful going past Hershey Park; I would love to go back and enjoy it sometime.
You really can’t go wrong with Solstice Scents; their fall fragrances are the best!
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Hershey was awesome, one of our favorites. Too bad you couldn’t spend any downtime visiting the park. Do you remember the park/surrounding area smelling like cocoa? It was said to be scenting the air! I do remember taking the route in from Gettysburg and there were so many hills with crazy steep runaway semi lanes in order for them to slow momentum. That must have been an adventurous trip.
I think it will be Solstice, likely anyway. I’ll be asking for scent tips, fragrance advice from you Solstice queens. I’m out of my depth with artisan perfumes.
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I have to be with Deb on this one.. lol! Fall is just tremendous! But hey, our differences is what makes us all unique. Summer doesn’t stop me from having my ceramic pumpkin out in my living room all year around.
Those turtles though!!! Awww!!🐢🐢🐢
I am wondering if I should go ahead and get my Dessas coming than if I like something I can get more her August opening.
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I understand the fall love, it used to be my favorite season. I did participate in the Fall Fun Series last year which helped me overcome the dread, but the best it will ever be to me now is sadly bittersweet. Even the sight of my fun halloween decor lost its appeal. Maybe someday, I’ll be able to enjoy it again.
I’m thoroughly enjoying Summer for less sad reasons too, with Fall, my and hubbie’s responsibilities increase megatons, summer makes me feel so young and carefree in comparison.
That turtle, I felt an unexplained kinship:)))
I think there will be a lot of Dessa’s going around, I’m only planning the one, sometime in late August. Hopefully the scent of the fall goodies will get me more in the mood when they arrive in September. If you order beforehand, I’ll see what are musts/ones I should skip.
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Aw, sweet turtle face! I love turtles, they all look like such goobers. Weeeellllll, not ALL of them – ever seen a Loggerhead turtle? They’re friggin’ terrifying. Crush from Finding Nemo they are NOT.
I thoroughly support any and all adventures into Solstice Scent-ing. I’ve really loved just about everything I’ve gotten from them (tip: trust the scent descriptions, because they are quite accurate) and even though you’re looking for warmer (probably) fall scents, I love the lighter, more summery scents I recently got, even a couple of dreaded florals. I’ve been splashing them on with abandon (well, okay, rolling them on) and that is quite unlike me.
I love that your dad took on the wave pool! That’s totally something mine would do, too – something else we have in common! Actually, the last time we went to a water park, he got a massive burn because he refused to wear sunscreen, and then spent the next day and a half frantically throwing himself up against any slightly rough surface to scratch his back like a grizzly that’s just snarfed down a baggie of coke it found in the woods. I’m such a jerk, but it was friggin’ hilarious – and he just kept yelping, “Oh no, you don’t know what it’s like!” To my mom and I, who know ALL too well what it feels like to have a burn. Heh, I’m laughing now just thinking about it, and that was about 15 years ago. Seriously, though, kudos to YOUR dad. I just hope he wore sunscreen. And you too for that matter.
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I’ve now checked out the Loggerhead and I don’t know, they seem okay to me. Maybe a bit beakish, with freakishly large eyes. What I love about turtles, land or sea, is their expression always reads like an “I’m NOT having it face.” I could be one with the turtles. On the car ride home, I showed off my 20 or so odd photos of this guy, but nobody else seemed as enthralled.
Thank you, my dad deserves a huge kudos. He served in the US Navy and wore his Navy ballcap to the water park. After the inner tube in the lazy river got the best of him, he rallied back in the wave pool. There may have been a few too many jokes about a Navy man always finding his sea legs, etc. He was a source of loveable hilarity the entire trip.
I can picture the sunburn episode your dad faced vividly, lol! Wouldn’t ya know, mine slathered the stuff on, but his face still turned beet red. You can’t take the Eastern European out of him, no matter where we go😆
Yes! I was just telling Amanda I’ll need Solstice specific tips, thank you, that’s what I was looking for. Not sure about her release schedule, but maybe I’ll do one light, one fall spicy-definitely need to make some lists…
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