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debm55

(50,224 posts)
Sun Jul 27, 2025, 09:46 AM Jul 27

As a child, what were your favorite outdoor summer activities, Mine were swimming and biking. How about you?

Edit for biking
22 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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As a child, what were your favorite outdoor summer activities, Mine were swimming and biking. How about you? (Original Post) debm55 Jul 27 OP
Reading and bike riding. dhol82 Jul 27 #1
Thank you very much, dhol82. I enjoyed bike riding too. debm55 Jul 27 #7
Baseball CanonRay Jul 27 #2
Thank you very much, CanonRay. We had two parks near my house--Little League and Pony League. Would go up and watch in debm55 Jul 27 #12
Swimming and bike riding surfered Jul 27 #3
Yes, surfered, my two favorites. I enjoyed other outdoor games and and activities. However, swimming and biking were at debm55 Jul 27 #11
Swimming was my all time fave, but no swimming places near home. lark Jul 27 #4
Thank you very much lark for your wonderful summer choices.We had one of the inflatable pools. When we moved, we had a debm55 Jul 27 #10
Fishing and hunting Fichefinder Jul 27 #5
Thank you Fichefinder for your summer choices. debm55 Jul 27 #9
Thank You for asking debm55 -- Neat topic! We lived near to a creek back east. George McGovern Jul 27 #6
Thank you, George McGovern for your wonderful choices. debm55 Jul 27 #8
Biking at my cousins, swimming in pools, listening to/watching the waves at the beach, and their shuffle board electric_blue68 Jul 27 #13
Thank you very much electric_blue68. Such wonderful activities. debm55 Jul 27 #14
And TY. Brought back Fun Memories! electric_blue68 Jul 27 #15
Thank you very much, electric_blue68 debm55 Jul 27 #16
Swimming and biking for me too nuxvomica Jul 27 #17
Thank you very much nuxvomica for sharing your memories for us. And thank you Pete Seeger for getting the kids there a debm55 Jul 27 #20
Sailing justaprogressive Jul 27 #18
Thank you very much justaprogressive. It looks like a heck of a lot of fun. debm55 Jul 27 #21
My family lived on a military base LogDog75 Jul 27 #19
Same here, LogDog75, it sounds like you had a fun filled summer vacation. debm55 Jul 27 #22

debm55

(50,224 posts)
12. Thank you very much, CanonRay. We had two parks near my house--Little League and Pony League. Would go up and watch in
Sun Jul 27, 2025, 03:58 PM
Jul 27

the evening when it cooled down.

debm55

(50,224 posts)
11. Yes, surfered, my two favorites. I enjoyed other outdoor games and and activities. However, swimming and biking were at
Sun Jul 27, 2025, 03:55 PM
Jul 27

the top.Thank you.

lark

(25,384 posts)
4. Swimming was my all time fave, but no swimming places near home.
Sun Jul 27, 2025, 10:30 AM
Jul 27

We were lower middle class and lived in a neighborhood with no amenities - no parks or pools. However, my friend down the wealthier part of the street got an indoor pool so as a young teen I swam a lot at her house and LOVED it! We also roller skated, rode bikes, played baseball, Red Rover and dodge ball. There were many kids on our block and we had so much fun playing. It wasn't nearly as hot then as it is now in these climate changed times. Sad.

debm55

(50,224 posts)
10. Thank you very much lark for your wonderful summer choices.We had one of the inflatable pools. When we moved, we had a
Sun Jul 27, 2025, 03:53 PM
Jul 27

larger pool, not built in though, You liked the same activities that I did. I agree with the heat. I really don't remember the extreme heat.

George McGovern

(8,917 posts)
6. Thank You for asking debm55 -- Neat topic! We lived near to a creek back east.
Sun Jul 27, 2025, 01:19 PM
Jul 27

It was known as Salmon Brook. Free flowing, in summer the water was CCCOLD! Learned to dog paddle there the not-so-easy sink-or-swim way. Played Little League long, long before T-Ball came along. (Although that modern method may have helped tone down a little boy's "swing for the fences" whiff dropping a frustrated fanny in the batter's box dirt.) After each win or lose game Coach Pete treated us to a bottle of Fanta Cola, Root Beer, Orange or a Nehi Grape soda.

Hmmm, maybe growing up wasn't so bad after all.

electric_blue68

(23,387 posts)
13. Biking at my cousins, swimming in pools, listening to/watching the waves at the beach, and their shuffle board
Sun Jul 27, 2025, 04:04 PM
Jul 27

No bike at home. Big pool 1/2 mile away from our neighborhood, pools on vacation.

I liked to stand in the ocean water but didn't swim. Oh, and building sand stuff!

Playing skully/skelly (street game) in the neighborhood park. They had a dedicated,6painted one. Otherwise kids would chalk it out. Square w small boxes with numbers : 1 - 12 ; corners, one on each side, and in the center with four numbers surrounding a blank box.

You used a bottle cap to advance, and knock your opponent away from the they were aiming for.


nuxvomica

(13,566 posts)
17. Swimming and biking for me too
Sun Jul 27, 2025, 05:06 PM
Jul 27

Before we had our own pool, we would go to Haviland Cove, right on the Hudson River maybe a mile downstream from the paper mills. The water was highly polluted and we were warned not to open our eyes underwater but I did a few times and there were various and sundry particles floating around. My eyes stung for a while afterward. Digging in the sand on the beach was perilous as it usually revealed old sewage. Thanks to Pete Seeger et al. the area is now decent for swimming.

debm55

(50,224 posts)
20. Thank you very much nuxvomica for sharing your memories for us. And thank you Pete Seeger for getting the kids there a
Sun Jul 27, 2025, 06:20 PM
Jul 27

decent place to swim and socialize.

LogDog75

(792 posts)
19. My family lived on a military base
Sun Jul 27, 2025, 05:28 PM
Jul 27

During the summer, we'd hang out at the base pool. When we weren't at the pool, there was a reasonable size field where the neighborhood kids would get together to play baseball. This was in the very early 60s when we had to keep ourselves entertained.

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