Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time... And just like that, summer is over. I know, I know, there's this whole Indian Summer thing, but I'm talking about the true summer of a Bradbury childhood when school ends and hasn't a chance of starting for months to come. A summer of blazing sunshine and not a raincloud in sight unless one of those exciting thunder-and-lightning kinds suddenly rolls out of a darkening horizon and pelts you with hot, fat drops. A summer that's pretty much non-existent in San Francisco, but can be found just a few hours in any direction. That was my summer and it's almost impossible to believe how fast it went. Is it because each year that we get older, time goes exponentially faster? Or is it because this summer was filled with more awesome adventures than ever before? Whatever the case, this summer flew by like no other. Its start was officially marked by a trip to Sugar Pine Reservoir in mid-June, with camping, rope-swinging, fireside grilling and a crazy-steep hike to a secret swim spot on the American River. An auspicious beginning to any season.
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To hear the softly spoken magic spell...So much Floyd out of context, I know. But maybe it's one and the same, its just that instead of worrying about how little time we have and how much we have yet to do, the feeling that life is quickening should be the impetus towards focusing on what we really care about, what we find to be good and true and just honing in on those things while all the other shiny objects fade into the background. It's a nice practice to live by and one I hope to work on more and more each day. And so, places like Sugar Pine become annual favorites, new favorites are found and planning to return to places of happiness just makes the future even brighter. And you can be damn sure we're starting next summer as soon as the mountain temps hit 77 degrees. Though this particular trip was shorter than I'd like, it was the perfect way to start a season of sunshine and swimming and only left us with a tiny itch of poison oak to remind us of our good time.