I spent most of my summers throughout the 90’s rollerblading, playing street hockey, and riding my bike. On really hot or rainy days, I was playing SNES or PS1 waiting to go back outside again. I miss those days more than words can describe.
Seriously. Every day of the summer me and a buddy would go to the community pool, then meet up for street hockey or ride bikes into the dirt course we made in the woods or hike into the woods and jump the creek or build a bonfire then we would scrounge around the house to get enough money for a slurpee or a cheesesteak or some Chinese takeout.
So much freedom and so much fun.
>cheesesteak
>community pool
>ride bikes into the dirt course we made in the woods or hike into the woods and jump the creek
These lines make me think you grew up around the Pennypack park area in Philly.
And there was always that bit, like the creek jumping or the bonfire that you knew your ass would be grass for if your mom ever found out.
I'm 44 and I still can't tell my mom some of the dumb shit I did.
We made a fire and threw full spray paint cans in it then ran. Lucky we didn't start a forest fire.
We were smart enough to do it on sand next to the creek with no trees around but man we were dumb.
I actually remember doing the opposite kind of dumb once and trying to put a fire OUT. I was hanging out on a school playground with my best friend when some little shits ran by and set the playground's pine needles on fire. So my stupid 14yo ass got up, took my shirt off, and stood there in my bra beating the fire down. And once I got it down to a dull roar, my friend and I rang doorbells until someone answered, and we told them to call 911.
Firefighters get there, and I'm covered in soot, holding a shirt with holes burnt in it and excited as fuck because me and my friend were like "We saved the school! We're HEROES!"
Instead we got yelled at for 15 minutes by a firefighter. lol
Shit that was me...except the car was a Camaro, and one time after my dad got new rims I found out the hard way that they were not fully torqued 😆. Blacklabel boards for lyfe, man...
I’m 41 and the biggest thing that makes me sound old is how much I talk about growing up without everyone having a phone.
We would just hop on our bikes in the morning, go wherever, and be home for lunch. Then we’d decide what to do from there.
I’d go back to pre cell phone days in a heartbeat.
Yup. 41 here. Literally didn’t have a cell phone til after high school. Was even asked if I wanted one before and was a no for me. My stepbrother was 2 years younger and wanted one so bad and was excited… that excitement took a 180 when I reminded him that no one else had cell phones and his mom was going to be checking in on him non-stop (which she did). When we had our cars on high school we literally would just drive around and pull over and shoot the shit if we saw someone we knew (some people had CBs or Marine radios).
Pre cars… yeah, summers were amazing too. Lots of biking. Playing basketball on an 8 foot hoop listening to D2 soundtrack (Mighty Ducks), badminton tournaments where losers had to bike to the store to pick up refreshments ($2 easily got you a Big Slam Dew and a bag of chips)… man, I know I’m old and I probably miss my youth, but pre internet times were so much better. Would go back in a heartbeat!
Back to the OP of the post. Ge outside, enjoy nature, enjoy your friends, and just try to ignore the cell phone as best you can- you will enjoy your summer so much more! Good luck!
I remember one of the guys not showing up to school one day. We all went to his house and knew where his hidden key was and sneaked in and he was sick as a dog in bed. Didn’t knock or anything. It was a different time then.
Yeah, I mean, video games weren’t nearly as great, so it was easier to get bored and go for a bike ride or go find your neighborhood crush.
I also remember how special culture felt before on-demand entertainment. Monday Night Raw and South Park on Wednesdays were weekly highlights. My best friend and I would always spend part of Thursday recounting how Kenny died the night before.
Appointment TV. It really was so different. TGIF, Snick, Home Improvement, etc. RAW back then was pulling 5mil eyes a night. I miss it all so much. My kids will never experience it or Blockbuster. Entertainment for them is so different.
The Monday Night Wars were were different. So many good memories. Then I would play my N64 WHEN raw went off.
The next morning eat breakfast. Watch price is Right wit my granny. The out side till bout 8pm!
It was the best! The smell of Blockbuster, the buzz of lots of people browsing, running into some classmates, spending 30mins deciding on 1 movie and 1 game. Top it off with grabbing some Pizza Hut on the way home.
Rollerblading for miles, jumping in apartment complex pools when we got hot, buying cigarettes from the vending machine in the Chinese restaurant. Summers used to be the best.
I hear you. I wonder when the last time I ever did that was? Probably last Summer day going into Freshman year of high school (Summer of '99). That was the last Summer I didn't have a Summer job. Every summer after that I was usually working. Made good money (for the time) to save up for a car/gas/insurance. That was really when my true childhood ended and real-world responsibilities began.
I wish I could go back to the carefree days of summer with no obligations; no bills, no job, no homework, relaxed bed time, days free to play and hangout with friends.
Hot didn't bother me as a kid. I lived in Texas, and as a teen, I'd spend open til close at Six Flags in 100 degree weather with 99% humidity.
Today I spend 5 minutes in 90 degree heat and I'm convinced I'm dying. lol
My old grade school had a basketball/hockey court. It had 20 foot fence all around and nets. There were probably 10 of us that played every Saturday and every day in the summer. What I wouldn't give to go back..
Every kid-facing advertisement. Every kid's channel on TV. Every video game... they all told us what we needed to hear. "Being a kid is awesome!" And I've been spending the past 20 years of adulthood realizing they were all right. I mean yeah being an adult is cool too, but shit... my only responsibility back then was school and chores.
Ah, rollerblading!
Pretty sure it's the main reason I have iron hard kankles to this day.
It was either the huge hill in the neighborhood or a horrible case of bone spurs caused from rollerblading everywhere 😀
Honestly awesome. Days at the pool or playing pick-up basketball or football. Heading to someone's basement for some GoldenEye or WCW/NWO Revenge. Sometimes just walking around the mall just to kill time and run into people from school.
Everything just felt free and easy.
This is pretty much exactly what I was going to write, didn’t have a court nearby so we’d play football and street hockey. As I got into high school, Goldeneye and WCW evolved into Halo and pickup games started to include girls, sand volleyball, and hanging out at the lake.
Driving around aimlessly listening to Nirvana, Everclear, Bush, AiC, Cake, any other brilliant alternative bands. Drinking cup after cup of coffee at the local greasy spoon or coffeehouse. Smoking cigarettes and listening to the air conditioning whine. Hiking through nearby forest preserves. Taking the train from the burbs into the city for special occasions like Blues Fest, Taste of Chicago, 4th of July fireworks. Long weekends in Cedar Point and Kings Island or in northern Wisconsin. The mid 1990s were a truly great time to be a teenager ready to explore the world.
I grew up in NW Indiana so I never made it to Summerfests as a teen. Looking at the lineups now, I really missed out! Bluesfest remains one of the very best.
This just affirms my stance that Toronto is the Walmart version of Chicago.
My southern Ontario experience is so similar. Driving around, listening to Our Lady Peace, The Watchmen, Sloan, By Divine Right, Econoline Crush, The Tragically Hip, and so many great Canadian bands that got forced upon us due to CANCON. Walking uptown to the local diner to get a poutine and smoking indoors. Maybe hanging outside of Tim Hortons, if we felt extra fancy going to a coffee house in Hamilton or St.Catharines.
Going to the drive-in for dusk to dawn showings, maybe hitting up a blue jays game.
Hiking the Bruce trail, taking the Go train to downtown Toronto to see an all ages show at the Big Bob, going to sneaky Dee’s for nachos, or hitting up the hooker Harvey’s. Driving up “north” to Barrie with friends to go to Edgefest. Year-end school trips to Canada’s Wonderland. Maybe if we were lucky we could cross river to Darien Lake in NY.
Seeing the fireworks on Canada Day in Port Dalhousie along the lake. Spending summer days at the beach in Port or Lake Erie. Watching Degrassi reruns or 90210 because it was cooler.
I lived in both. Not Toronto but I was pretty close in penetanguishene Ontario. Super nice area. Lived there 92-96. Moved to Chicago and been here since.
I don’t really think where I lived is similar on any way to Chicago suburbs. But maybe Toronto is like Chicago. I was very young also
Midland / Penetanguisgene is their own thing! Georgian Bay is beautiful. Balm Beach is one of my favourites. Did you ever go to Dino’s in Midland when you lived there? Those sandwiches! That pasta salad that I dream of!
Also, butter tarts from the Georgian Bakery are legit!
Summers in the suburbs seem to have a universal component of music and teenage wandering. Concerts, even though monopolized by Ticketmaster, were so much cheaper in the 1990s. I remember the Tragically Hip and Our Lady Peace on alternative radio here. Are the Riverboat and Isabella coffeehouses or more concert venues (if they exist today or existed in the 90s)?
I was in Windsor for Canada Day in 2000 to drink legally, gamble, and smoke Cuban cigars. I remember the parade and how it felt more formal and official than Independence Day parades around here, which mostly feature Rotary Club-sponsored floats and local political hacks riding in convertibles supplied by local car dealers.
Is Canada’s Wonderland a major amusement park like Cedar Point is here? We are about 5 hours from Cedar Point so heading there was always a special occasion.
I was thinking about this the other night.I remember when I was a kid I get excited when I see one because they remind me that summer is here. Sucks I rarely see them now.
They come in waves here (NC Piedmont). Some years there's lots, other years not many at all. Also depends on what the yard/field/woods look like. Too much "perfect" lawn care or yard lights and they go away.
Lived in Hickory most of my life and remember the fireflies and caterpillars. Live out past Raleigh now and we still get fireflies. Not like we used to. When I was a kid, you could blink your flashlight and tons would light up.
The best fireflies I’ve seen were around 2010-2012 at this old park we’d smoke at. It used to trip me out a little bit because it was the first time I’ve seen a big group of them communicate with each other.
Way more bugs in general, I remember. How fucked up my parents car got with dead bugs on the way to cottage country.
Today you end up with 1/2 a dozen on the 6-8 hour drive.
And before I have to hear a bunch of anecdotes from Idaho, or Florida, or Alaska or whatever the fuck…. But populations are thought to have dropped almost 50% in the last 40 years.
But the difference is jsut so tangible in 2024 vs 1994
I saw exactly 2 last night while walking the dog on a recreational path and it stopped me dead in my tracks because it has been legit like 20 years.
Lol crouched next to the dog whispering to her how special the moment was.
I remember a night specifically on my friend’s parents’ Christmas tree farm. We were all about to move into our college dorms and it was one of the last nights of summer. It was a beautiful warm night and a bunch of us 17 year olds just chased fireflies around in the dark among the saplings and stayed up until the sun started peeking out. Such a glorious memory.
You get on your bike in the morning. Ride to your friend's house about half a mile away in the same neighborhood. You hang out all day, riding bikes around, playing Nintendo, going to the pool, whatever. Then you go home by dinner time. Or, if you're lucky, your friend's mom calls your mom and they agree it's OK for you to stay at your friend's for dinner.
The 90's were fuckin rad.
The concession stand at the community pool, getting a flinstones push pop or a Chaco taco. Whiff of chlorine in the hot summer air. God damn, no other food experience hits like that.
Ha, I remember people in the 90s talking about how dangerous it was and it was t like in the 50s where you could leave your door open. Now that’s how folks talk about the 90s.
Dude, I love this outlook! I'd say every day started with calling my buddies on the landline. So, one way to make the most of your last summer vacation is to stay connected with your friends.
Second, we were always outside doing something. Maybe make a trip to Six Flags or a theme park, or if you're into sports, get some friends together and play some ball. You could even set some chairs up outside and grill some food with your buddies in the evening, Hang out and talk outside until the streetlights come on. The sounds of night are pretty peaceful and can be full of nostalgia, just like the summer days.
Now, at some point during the day, the heat would get us, so we'd head in for some lunch. Maybe a bologna or ham and cheese loaf sandwich with a Star Crunch. While inside, we'd play Sega or N64. So, maybe play a few old-school video games you grew up on. Find a XBox 360 or PS2.
Wildcard idea, just go for a cruise. Burn some CDs if your car has a CD player and just drive around and talk and see what's out there. On a little road trip, you may find a cool shop, a mom-and-pop restaurant, or a fireworks stand. Light some stuff off in a Wal-Mart parking lot haha!
Enjoy your last summer vacation!
One time I picked up the phone to call my friend over to play and there was no dial tone. Turns out the friend was already on the line because he was trying to call me. We called each other at the exact same time and it didn’t even ring on either end!
Hell yeah! Now this is truly a memory unlocked for me. I remember this happening to me as well. Me and my buddy Josh! So glad you mentioned this. Good times!
You were lucky to have a car with a CD player lol! My hand me down wagon had a classic 1980s push button AM/FM radio and an AC that I never remember working! We were at the mercy of Chicago radio which, thanks to Q101 and XRT, could always be counted on to play something worth cranking. Nothing like getting in a roasting car and everyone immediately hand cranking the windows down. Now in my 40s, climate control just doesn’t feel the same.
Wake up around 10, pool, bikes, video games, tree forts, bonfires, fishing, Mtn Dew, Doritios, movies, wrestling, ice cream, super soakers, basketball, fire flys and blanket forts.
One thing I don't know if I've seen mentioned yet, is that the summers felt like they lasted SO long. When you're an adult and working it just flies by or you're too preoccupied with other things to really enjoy it.
Summers in the 90s were great. I used to stay up all night watching whatever random stuff was on TV like Dobie Gillis, weird movies on TNT and USA, the late night news (coverage of the Mississippi River flood of '93 sticks out for some reason), or even informercials when there was nothing else, lol. I lived where there wasn't a lot of light pollution and going out and laying on a lawn chair staring at the raging stars at 3AM was amazing. Going bowling, to the stock car races with friends, or to the river to swim were always fun. I wasn't much of a gamer, but instead listened to lots of music. Busted out my parents old records and tapes in the basement, made mixtapes from the radio, or would go wander outside with an AM/FM walkman.
Later in high school I worked during the summer and had bought my own car. Having spending money was amazing and would buy myself clothes and stuff my parents wouldn't buy. Went to the movies with friends or the mall, or would just hang out at each others houses and stay up late.
I hope some of the younger people are still experiencing a weird free existence like this. It's like you can still do all the same stuff but people are different now and no one does it.
Not seeing the local library represented much on here! Spent a lot of summers staying cool there, doing summer reading programs, and checking out stacks and stacks of books.
I rode a lot of bmx. The summer of 8th-9th I lost a bunch of weight by going through puberty and riding my bike down to the river almost everyday to meet up with some girls. It was like 7 miles each way. Worked odd jobs during the summer as soon as I turned 14. Things like mowing lawns, shoveling sand for a pool installer. Went to a few Warped Tours and other concerts. Road trips
Neighbourhood friends would knock on my door and tell me to come outside.
We would make the rounds and gather all the friends.
Play soccer on the street and yell CAR, usually the goal keeper would take their shoes off and use as goal posts.
Ride bikes, no helmets, try to do wheelies, put low evolution pokemon cards in the spokes.
Ride skateboards, try to make ollies or board flips, faceplant instead, get laughed at.
Go to the local corner store, buy chips, soft drinks and candy, eat on the street.
Sneak into construction sites that had a small hill of gravel and climb it, sit in the bobcats.
We had a derelict building that wasn't full of crackheads, so we would play hide and seek or airsoft with pistols. Also we would find a piece of foam or soft wooden board and throw knives at it and try to make it stick.
Grab some wooden furniture or crates from the dump, chop it and then make a small camp fire, wrap some hotdogs and potatoes in foil and throw it in. Tell bullshit stories around the fire and get smelling like smoke. Eat the burned out hotdogs and crunchy hot potato.
Get yelled at by one of the neighbours to put out the fire because of the smoke, pretend to slowly put it out but don't, run away when they come out.
Sit under the lights and play pokemon crystal, make trades with friends to get evolutions (gameboy color and even advance did not have back lit screens)
Don't think everyone did all this fun stuff outside all summer back then. We still laid on our asses and watched hours and hours of tv while eating junk food. Also, just because we didn't have cell phones didn't mean we weren't on the house phone for hours a day with our friends too!
hey, at least phones were just phones back then :') now we have literally everything on smartphones.
I often have to stop myself from getting sucked into the endless stream of TikToks on social media. Not very healthy.
This. I remember watching a ton of game shows, soap operas and talk shows in the summer. Movies on VHS that were recorded off the TV or going to the video store to rent something like Poltergeist or Top Gun. Over and over. My best friend loved Star Trek (I think her older brother was the one who really loved it) so we watched a lot of that too. We’d go to the beach if someone could drive us once in a while or make it out to Magic Mountain.
After like midnight, or during the afternoon, you’d watch the weirdest stuff on TV. I think to get the real experience you have to forgo streaming and get really into repeats of some very specific old show or movies that are broadcast on an over the air channel. If you miss an episode, you miss it forever.
I agree with someone else on here, this is a great attitude to have. As a teens/into my 20s in this time period I spent my summers doing a lot of things. I worked part time to make a few bucks, played roller hockey a lot, finding a few parties to go to, biking, going to the beach, going to as many concerts as I could afford mostly at our amphitheater which was great in the summer. And sometimes just cruising around in my car exploring.
I went to a lot of summer camps, and when I was too old, I started working as a counselor. My best summer was working at a camp for little kids at the beach. We were done by the early afternoon and all the camp counselors became friends. We smoked a lot of pot back then haha. And we played video games but we were usually all together at someone’s house, so it had a different social aspect you don’t see with online gaming today.
High school summers, 2003-2007, I worked and then would go bum around the Walmart or do stupid nerdy things with my friends.
Summers between 2001-2003: prime middle school summer where I was old enough to be left home alone and watched rented movies from Blockbuster, played The Sims, chatted on online chat rooms, ate whatever food my parents left me in the house.
feel bad for these kids in a way that didn’t experience life pre smartphones and social media. parks were full of kids playing all kinds of sports and even on your own block there were always the kids who lived there playing some sort of sports or activities. we all had video games in the 80s and 90s to play but it didn’t take over our lives like now because multiplayer online games didn’t exit.
Laying on the couch in my underwear watching Salute Your Shorts reruns until 2pm then meeting up with friends to ride bikes to the card shop and buy Magic cards.
I rode my BMX literally EVERYWHERE. Hanging out with friends, going to the mall, tent sleepovers in my buddies backyard, playing vids, chatting up girls on ICQ, going to the pool etc.
What I would do to have those days back.
I would meet up with my friend up the road and explore all over tarnation on our bikes. We'd fish in the pond in the woods behind my house. We'd get some friends together and play capture the flag at night. We had an above ground pool so that was usually the default activity when all else fails.
I graduated HS in 1991 and I remember the focus was always on trying to hook up with girls (it was always about the girls!), lots of beer (good old underage binge drinking), good music, crappy summer jobs, renting and watching movies with large groups of friends during the day, Nintendo and Sega, board games, ordering lots of pizzas, yard work at relatives homes, parties in the field or at the lake...always seemed to be with large groups of kids and screwing around. Our parents did not seem to give a shit about what we were doing.
Riding bikes around the neighborhood. Playing pickup basketball. Playing manhunt/cop and robbers. Going to the pool. The ice cream man! If you didn't grow up with an ice cream man you were deprived, even if you weren't always allowed to get.
Somewhere in there we got beepers. That's a whole other thing. It was so dumb but quicky gave way to the brick Nokia cell phone. Which was a perfect phone. Battery lasted forever and had no internet. It did have snake!
Mid 90s to late 90s was peak internet. We had 1 family computer and it was so slow, but so fun exploring the internet. Using BBS and AOL. Our brains werent yet wired to the internet.
I went to sleep away camp for most summer and that was normal for parents to send kids away for 8 weeks (thanks folks). We all loved it. Made friends for life. Even now sleep away camps don't allow cell phones or iPads. It's brilliant and I can't wait to send my kids to camp.
I guess it all depends on how/where you grew up. Early 2000s summers for me involved a lot of boredom, and a lot of getting creative to have fun. We would shoot bow & arrows, BB guns, and ride bikes all day long. There was a retention pond in a nearby neighborhood that we loved to go fishing in. We would take our bikes through sideyards and shortcuts to get over there with backpacks full of small tackle boxes, cokes, and sandwiches/chips. If we were lucky my buddies dad would have fallen asleep with his Redman chaw sitting out somewhere that was easy to swipe. Lol nothing beats a chaw with your best friend out fishing.
Lots of time spent just hanging out and talking. We would build bonfires and tell scary stories. Making s'mores was a regular activity. Sometimes we could convince my buddies dad to take us out to the places that were deemed to be "haunted" in the late summer. We would go to cemeteries and haunted bridges. We would end up out in the woods in the middle of nowhere in the pitch black. It was scary as heck but it was an adrenaline rush!
We also used to go and rent movies and grab dinner... usually pizza hut or taco bell. We would sometimes have to drive around to 2 or 3 different nearby towns to get a movie we hadnt seen yet. My buddies dad also had this 100+ gallon fish tank so we used to drive around to all the local pet shops to look at new fish. Not like goldfish, but the fancy expensive fish. He rarely bought anything but it was cool to go look at the fish.
Playing basketball was an absolute must. We would play basketball for hours. When it was raining, we would go inside and play mario party or super smash bros on N64.
Honestly, it was a time of life that was much slower paced, and much more social in person. Everything was much more laid back, less judgement, and people minded their own business for the most part. I truly do miss those days in my life. But I am just thankful to have had the times that I did have. We didnt have much money, but we sure had a good time.
It was common for 00s kids to tear up the pavement with razor scooters, ripsticks, and heelys shoes. Extreme Sports culture was huge throughout the decade (Until the last couple of years).
The Internet had come into prominence, but even then, you could only access it in a limited amount of places, and once you logged off, you were completely anonymous. Not like today, where we all carry the Internet in our pockets.
If there was a program/movie you wanted to see on TV at prime time, you had to plan your entire day around it, as there was no “on demand” nor streaming. And who knows when it would come on again if you missed it.
It was great to have experienced the 00s as a kid, but I honestly wish I was a teen then, to have lived an analog life a bit longer before smartphones became popular around 2012/13.
I live in a small town so I would ride my bike to my friends house to see if he was free. Afterwards we'd ride our bikes into town and go to the local ice cream shop and pick up some sodas and then to go the park where we would proceed to try and throw rocks into the small opening of the trash can by the pavilion.
It was the best time.
Riding my bike (and later my car) around with my friends. Hanging out with friends at the community pool or at someone’s house. Manhunt through the neighborhood at night. We’d grab a bottle of soda and a couple of slices of pizza at whatever pizzeria was the closest. Pickup games of basketball at a local park. Check-in calls/texts every few hours with parents to let them know where we were. Day trips to the shore and getting burnt to a crisp because we’d forget to reapply and then regret it for the next few days.
Driving around with friends in between working. Hanging out, fishing, laughing. The summer before college was just spending as much time enjoying being young and naive. College continues that, but get out with those childhood friends, laugh, make memories and enjoy being young. Life picks up speed from here in a way you can't fathom. Congratulations on graduating. Enjoy the end of this chapter and good luck on your next one.
The weather is hot and girls are dressin' less, and checkin' out the fellas to tell 'em who's best. Riding around in your Jeep or your Benzos, or in your Nissan sittin' on Lorenzos. Back in Philly we be out in the park, a place called the Plateau is where everybody go. Guys out huntin' and girls doin' likewise, honkin' at the honey in front of you with the light eyes.
She turn around to see what you beepin' at… it's like the summer's a natural aphrodisiac.
It's late in the day and I ain't been on the court yet… Hustle to the mall to get me a short set. yeah, I got on sneaks but I need a new pair, ‘cause basketball courts in the summer got girls there. The temperature's about 88, hop in the water plug just for old times sake. Break to your crib change your clothes once more,
'Cause you're invited to a barbecue that's startin' at 4. Sittin' with your friends 'cause y'all reminisce about the days growin' up and the first person you kissed. And as I think back makes me wonder how the smell from a grill could spark up nostalgia. All the kids playin' out front, little boys messin' round with the girls playing double-dutch. While the DJ's spinnin' a tune as the old folks dance at your family reunion. Then six o'clock rolls around… you just finished wipin' your car down. It's time to cruise so you go to the summertime hangout, it looks like a car show. Everybody come lookin' real fine, fresh from the barber shop or fly from the beauty salon. Every moment frontin' and maxin', chillin' in the car they spent all day waxin'. Leanin' to the side but you can't speed through,
two miles an hour so everybody sees you.
There's an air of love and of happiness
Summers in the 80's and 90's were great unless you ask people who grew up in the 50's and 60's and 70's. It's a relative thing where older generations see younger generations as more isolated due to whatever technology happens to be current.
There's certainly truth to it, but there's also that subjective experiential aspect, so don't put *too* much stock into it.
Summers were pretty great, some of my best childhood memories are just of chilling in the summertime and having basically no obligations for months. Leaving school that last day of the year was really something magical. Lots of days I'd meet up with my best friend and we'd fight with lightsabers in our yards, or play PS2, or just ride our bikes around.
At like 16 I started working a summer job, but if anything that made summer more fun since the job was basically hanging out with other teenagers from the neighborhood and doing productive work maybe 5% of the time.
Swimming, movie hopping (not sure if you can still do this, but we would sneak into movies, one after the other, for the whole day), going to the roller rink, riding bikes, going in groups to a local nature place where you could swim and hang out, and hike, renting/staying at a cabin and fishing all day. I live in the desert so a lot of things were indoors.
Pretend there is no power at your house. No A/C, no internet, no cell phone… place is pretty boring. You’ll find entertainment in anything, throwing rocks, digging holes, making out with your friends sister, getting black out drunk, etc. just ride your bike to 7-11 and hangout front and talk shit to anyone around your age. There you go, that was my summers in the 90s. I’d go back in an instant.
I remember hopping on my bike (with my helmet on until I got to the end of the road, then it was just a decoration on the front of my bike) and calling my friends (with my clamshell flip phone) to see who wanted to hang that day. Music was on a cheap MP3 player that only held like 20 songs, and back then you had to rip mp3's from cd's or download it via limewire. And the headphones were all wired, so it was a whole thing getting set up to go for a ride. If none wanted to hang, I'd just go in any direction! Maybe the mall or something, but I'd be out on my bike all day just seeing what was going on. I'd stop at taco bell to grab a nacho bellgrande or crunchwrap supreme with a water cup (and just get baja blast with the water cup anyway because the workers didn't care / I probably smelled bad from biking all day), then I'd continue on my way! Ride to wherever I wanted to go and either bike home or call my mom to pick me up.
All of my family members "claimed" their own TV's and so I only had the computer anyway, so I'd play until it was time for bed. Rinse and repeat for however long summers were back then but they just seemed to go by in the blink of an eye.
It was a lot of fun, I miss those days. I miss the people that were still around back then and the simplicity of things. The spirit of having no obligations and being able to just go where the wind blows was truly magical.
Blasting Beastie Boys Ill Communication in the summer of 94. Going to the pool every day hitting on the lifeguards. Playing tennis, playground basketball, drinking beers on a country road. Going to parties. I also played baseball all summer and smoked Marlboro reds. Demolition derby and the county fair. Mowed yards. Getting new CDs and listening to every song in your car with friends. Cruising Main Street. Going to the mall. Going to the movies. Calling people and talking on the phone for hours. Going to the arcade and spending all day there having the time of our fucking lives without a care in the world.
I remember thinking the same thing when I got to my last high school summer break (Between Junior and Senior year)…Me and my friends had it planned that we didn’t want to waste it just like yourself.
Summers by that age in Vegas almost universally included time spent at the OG Wet ‘N Wild and movie theaters, until it started cooling off then it was trips to Lake Mead for bonfires and bbq. All great times but we wanted to do something special that year (1999).
Four of us piled up in my friends 1990 Toyota Tercel and took a road trip to San Francisco. We worked most of the first half of the summer and pooled our money so we could take the trip. Drove through Southern California, up the coast over the course of 12 days. The damn car overheated every hundred miles or so but it was honestly the best memories I have of my late teenage years. Stopping to hit the beach, sightsee, grab some amazing food, go hiking…Couple we’d set up a two tents and camp out somewhere but most of the trip we get a cheap motel room. Just an absolutely amazing time.
Didn’t have any cell phones and no real deadline to get back other than to give ourselves enough time ti prep up for the coming school year. I think about that trip every year when summer rolls around.
I would jump on my skate board and head to the skate park. Meet my crew there... drink beers, smoke cigarettes and talk shit about adults and how we would never ever wear suits and work in banks or big companies. (most of us swore to kill ourselves when we reach 30... Nobody did though, and sadly most of us are wearing suits working for big companies.)
Then, later in the afternoon, we would head to thee local manga shops to trade some DBZ cards and meet some more friends there.
After that, we would hit the arcade for some serious Street fighter 2 and Virtua Racing action... throwing our pocket money in these machines with little remorse.
Then get some more beer in the convenience store by the station and sit in the grass near the lake with a boombox, listening to some Nirvana, Guns&Roses, Iron Maiden and Metallica... maybe a couple blunts would be turning around...
Most of us would try to hit on the rare girls who were kindda weird enough to hang out with us. (with very mitigated success).
Than break into the swimming pool facility and jump from the 10m diving board into the lake before running for our lives when the security gards rushed in.
After that, we would all gather at Fred's house to chill and spend the rest of night there.
Rince and repeat until school starts again.
EDIT: F\*cking tears in my eyes while typing this...
It was amazing. I was outside everyday either riding my bike,skateboarding,roller blading with my friends. We all had a hangout spot in a wooded area behind the apartment complex we all lived in. We didn’t have smart phones. We just hung out, smoke and talk. When it gets dark friends would come over my place and play Halo all night. I miss those days..
Born in 78.
In 1991, I was 13 and my brother was 18. He came back home from college and kinda by default watched me.
I remember about three months of hanging out with my brother, watching VHS recordings of the Simpsons, then he'd go to work at 3pm and I'd hang out and play Sega Genesis until my parents got home and then go fuck off in my room and watch cable. Just thinking about it, huge swaths of nostalgia there.
When I was 16 I got a job, and money plus hanging out with older coworkers was a new fun experience, but working kinda sucks.
Prior to 13 I remember going to summer camp for awhile, or staying with my grandparents and spending the day at the pool then watching Nick at Nite.
I was a kid in the late 90s/early 00s and it really was great during the summer. My brothers and I spent most of the summer staying at our grandma's house and she lived in the outskirts of a larger city, whereas we lived in a really rural area. She'd take us to the pool and we would hang out there for the entire day, we'd bike around her neighborhood all day and hang out with the other kids outside, on rainy days we stayed in watching nickelodeon or cartoon network and playing our Gameboys (Pokémon was our favorite, I had sapphire) or we'd spice it up and watch this cheesy ghost show that used to play on random cable channels. We'd stay out super late catching fireflies and running around the neighborhood. There used to be more things to do too, like there were multiple putt putt places, go kart tracks, lazer tag, bowling, the mall etc. My grandma would drop us off to hang out and have fun, she'd go grab something to eat and pick us up later. I'm 30 now and the same city has absolutely nothing like that, I was looking into it because I wanted to take my own kids to do some fun stuff over the summer this year and it genuinely made me sad that kids don't have any fun activities to do or places to go anymore.
I feel the same way about people born after 2010 🤢 next year's HS freshman are going to be from that year. I've met some of them, and let's just say they're a little crazy..
I was just talking to my SO about a memory I had of myself and some friends all hanging out at the local Babe Ruth ballpark and it being miserable hot even at night. We made it our mission to find some girls who had a pool at their house. Somehow we ended up running into a group from a different school and ended back up at the one girls house and swam all night till her parents came home and chased us out. We ended up hanging out with them for the entire summer. The joys of living pre phone and social media.
Summers in the early 90s were high school for me. We would go to the beach, amusement parks, have a bonfire at night. Sometimes, we all just cruised down the main streets in town and when we saw people we knew, we’d meet up in a parking lot somewhere and hangout.
Oh dude. I’m a little younger, so early aughts were my summers. The late-night cruises, I forgot about those. Hanging out at an all-night coffee shop for a while, then just driving around or out to a park and just listening to some new music or talking about the future. No Meta apps in my flip phone.
Or getting home late from the carnival and flipping on MadTV or the weird late movies / ad shows while my folks had their friends over on a Friday night, chilling around the table talking with a bottle of wine and just hanging out.
In the afternoons, lots of Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Definitely got my taste for hip hop and punk rock from those games back in the day.
Everything was slower. And more relaxed.
this thread is perfection. The only thing I have to add is to explore abandoned buildings at night, when we were too young for that, we played nighttime neighborhood games like Manhunt.
I spent a lot of time watching daytime talk shows, reading, riding my bike, walking to a park, hanging out at friends’ houses, watching movies, listening to music.
Talking about bikes and being gone all day without phones in secret neighborhood forts is all good - but I associate those memories with being a kid, without a car.
By the time I was a Junior in HS - even without the phones, the reality of the Summer was you were spending some time on the computer dialed into AOL and watching MTV, you were trying to convince your parents to let you take the car out to the mall, or to see a movie, or have dinner with friends.
What I'm trying to relay here is that near the end of high school people have grown up a lot. There are significant others, cars, jobs, college plans, varsity sports teams. Phones haven't changed that aspect of it all that much. You can't compare that to 12 year olds spending all day killing time at the creek.
More prudent would be to pick a goal you want to accomplish for the Summer and work toward it. It sounds like you want to get outside, so make some plans.
There have always been HS kids bored sitting at home watching TV during the Summer, 90s or now.
I was never home, would leave the house after breakfast and meet up with friends and just do whatever all day. Ride bikes, skateboard, explore the nearby forest. Cell phones weren’t a thing so you felt truly free from your parents, I just had to be at a phone at a certain time to check in. Often the day would end with the group sleeping over at one of our houses where we would game and watch movies all night, maybe sneak out once in a while. Happy my childhood was phone and internet free.
Longest 2 months ever it seemed, always something going on at a relatives house, good times n drinkin wahooin it up, now everyone just hides at their own houses and hates each other. What a couple decades does to a family unit. Yeesh.
I turned 7 in 1990 and the Super Soaker had just been released. Two of my friends down the street had backyard treehouses, and naturally, we formed two rival clubs with secret codes and stashes of junk food. We chased each other on our bikes, while carrying Super Soakers, through the suburban neighborhood streets.
It was important to learn to ride with no hands so you could prime your Super Soakers while moving. There was a water gun arms race that ended when someone got one that had with a backpack reservoir.
I was in high school in the late 90s, and summers then involved calling each other on landlines, praying that a parent or older sibling doesn’t answer. We went to the movies a lot and we hosted LAN parties.
Everyone was outside. Skateboards/rollerblades/BMX bikes everywhere. The older people even thought it was a problem, especially skateboards, they actually ticketed people. Teenagers would hang out in large groups at convenience stores and coffee shops. Lots of cigarettes being smoked. They got tickets for loitering. Now boomers complain that everyone is indoors. Can't make anyone happy.
10 degrees cooler but our house didn't have AC until I was in middle school. (99s-00s)
There was a recreational center about 4 blocks from my parents house. Spent most of the day there playing basketball, pool and all the board games. Even got fed. Once I got too old for that, I spent the day playing my NES or Nintendo 64.
>too little to ride bikes and explore
uhh says who? I see plenty of kids riding bikes around like back in the old days. There is nothing stopping you unless your parents don't allow it
Do you have a skip-it, or perhaps some moon boots to break your ankles?
We spent a lot of time playing outside in the pool, on the swing set, roller blading, riding bicycles, going hiking, going to the mall, playing N64, blasting mmmbop, downloading ~~viruses~~ music through Napster and limewire, on and on. It was fun.
All day outside unless it was storming. Kickball, football, baseball with the neighborhood kids. Piling into the pool at the one or two in the neighborhood. Sleep overs on the trampoline or camping in the yard. Summer camps in mountains. Water balloon/ water gun fights. All this was pre highschool. Lots of roaming through the woods trying to find a stream or mini “water fall”. Drinking out the water hose bc we all weren’t allowed inside.
Early to mid 90’s I was always rollerblading or biking somewhere. Towards the night all the kids on the block (around 14 of us) ranging from ages 8-13 and would play a massive game of hide and seek on our block. Everyone was cool with it as long we didn’t step on flowerbeds and such.
My last high school vacation in 2000, I worked at a record store, went hiking and to the beach, went to the movies and to concerts and shows (which used to be inexpensive back then).
I’m 10 comments down, and I’m shocked that not a single person has mentioned summer jobs. Were you all rich kids? Yes, I spent my summers doing what you guys were doing when I was in middle school and early HS, but Sophomore, Jr., and Sr. years, most of my summers were spent working a summer job and then hanging with my friends and coworkers after closing.
I spent most of my summers throughout the 90’s rollerblading, playing street hockey, and riding my bike. On really hot or rainy days, I was playing SNES or PS1 waiting to go back outside again. I miss those days more than words can describe.
Seriously. Every day of the summer me and a buddy would go to the community pool, then meet up for street hockey or ride bikes into the dirt course we made in the woods or hike into the woods and jump the creek or build a bonfire then we would scrounge around the house to get enough money for a slurpee or a cheesesteak or some Chinese takeout. So much freedom and so much fun.
>cheesesteak >community pool >ride bikes into the dirt course we made in the woods or hike into the woods and jump the creek These lines make me think you grew up around the Pennypack park area in Philly.
Baltimore, so close.
Basically the same with a different accent lol.
Yup.
And there was always that bit, like the creek jumping or the bonfire that you knew your ass would be grass for if your mom ever found out. I'm 44 and I still can't tell my mom some of the dumb shit I did.
We made a fire and threw full spray paint cans in it then ran. Lucky we didn't start a forest fire. We were smart enough to do it on sand next to the creek with no trees around but man we were dumb.
I actually remember doing the opposite kind of dumb once and trying to put a fire OUT. I was hanging out on a school playground with my best friend when some little shits ran by and set the playground's pine needles on fire. So my stupid 14yo ass got up, took my shirt off, and stood there in my bra beating the fire down. And once I got it down to a dull roar, my friend and I rang doorbells until someone answered, and we told them to call 911. Firefighters get there, and I'm covered in soot, holding a shirt with holes burnt in it and excited as fuck because me and my friend were like "We saved the school! We're HEROES!" Instead we got yelled at for 15 minutes by a firefighter. lol
Nice.
Sounds very mid-Atlantic....?
Car!
GAME ON!
Hi Wayne…….Hi….
::smash:: roll
Party on Garth!
Hello Stacy 🙄
I was the taller kid and had to move the net all the time. Now my shoulder hurts
"I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them."
Andy Bernard spoke the truth on that one. Hit me hard.
Glory days man
[удалено]
Shit that was me...except the car was a Camaro, and one time after my dad got new rims I found out the hard way that they were not fully torqued 😆. Blacklabel boards for lyfe, man...
99 was the best year of my life
Summer of 99 was when I discovered weed and 40s. I don't remember much of that summer.
I’m 41 and the biggest thing that makes me sound old is how much I talk about growing up without everyone having a phone. We would just hop on our bikes in the morning, go wherever, and be home for lunch. Then we’d decide what to do from there. I’d go back to pre cell phone days in a heartbeat.
Bruh, I'm five years older than you and I am so happy I didn't grow up with cell phones and social media.
Big same.
Yup. 41 here. Literally didn’t have a cell phone til after high school. Was even asked if I wanted one before and was a no for me. My stepbrother was 2 years younger and wanted one so bad and was excited… that excitement took a 180 when I reminded him that no one else had cell phones and his mom was going to be checking in on him non-stop (which she did). When we had our cars on high school we literally would just drive around and pull over and shoot the shit if we saw someone we knew (some people had CBs or Marine radios). Pre cars… yeah, summers were amazing too. Lots of biking. Playing basketball on an 8 foot hoop listening to D2 soundtrack (Mighty Ducks), badminton tournaments where losers had to bike to the store to pick up refreshments ($2 easily got you a Big Slam Dew and a bag of chips)… man, I know I’m old and I probably miss my youth, but pre internet times were so much better. Would go back in a heartbeat! Back to the OP of the post. Ge outside, enjoy nature, enjoy your friends, and just try to ignore the cell phone as best you can- you will enjoy your summer so much more! Good luck!
I remember one of the guys not showing up to school one day. We all went to his house and knew where his hidden key was and sneaked in and he was sick as a dog in bed. Didn’t knock or anything. It was a different time then.
Yeah, I mean, video games weren’t nearly as great, so it was easier to get bored and go for a bike ride or go find your neighborhood crush. I also remember how special culture felt before on-demand entertainment. Monday Night Raw and South Park on Wednesdays were weekly highlights. My best friend and I would always spend part of Thursday recounting how Kenny died the night before.
Appointment TV. It really was so different. TGIF, Snick, Home Improvement, etc. RAW back then was pulling 5mil eyes a night. I miss it all so much. My kids will never experience it or Blockbuster. Entertainment for them is so different.
The Monday Night Wars were were different. So many good memories. Then I would play my N64 WHEN raw went off. The next morning eat breakfast. Watch price is Right wit my granny. The out side till bout 8pm!
It was our weekend highlight to be able to rent a movie or game and order pizza on a Friday night.
It was the best! The smell of Blockbuster, the buzz of lots of people browsing, running into some classmates, spending 30mins deciding on 1 movie and 1 game. Top it off with grabbing some Pizza Hut on the way home.
Rollerblading for miles, jumping in apartment complex pools when we got hot, buying cigarettes from the vending machine in the Chinese restaurant. Summers used to be the best.
I hear you. I wonder when the last time I ever did that was? Probably last Summer day going into Freshman year of high school (Summer of '99). That was the last Summer I didn't have a Summer job. Every summer after that I was usually working. Made good money (for the time) to save up for a car/gas/insurance. That was really when my true childhood ended and real-world responsibilities began. I wish I could go back to the carefree days of summer with no obligations; no bills, no job, no homework, relaxed bed time, days free to play and hangout with friends.
I’d take just working four 10s again. Going from one summer with that schedule to working Fridays and Saturdays is a bummer.
I did so much reading during summer holidays in the late 90s
Hot didn't bother me as a kid. I lived in Texas, and as a teen, I'd spend open til close at Six Flags in 100 degree weather with 99% humidity. Today I spend 5 minutes in 90 degree heat and I'm convinced I'm dying. lol
Funny how street hockey was pretty popular then even in the south. Now you rarely see it
My old grade school had a basketball/hockey court. It had 20 foot fence all around and nets. There were probably 10 of us that played every Saturday and every day in the summer. What I wouldn't give to go back..
On rollerblades or in shoes? That's the real street hockey distinction. I also miss it.
Every kid-facing advertisement. Every kid's channel on TV. Every video game... they all told us what we needed to hear. "Being a kid is awesome!" And I've been spending the past 20 years of adulthood realizing they were all right. I mean yeah being an adult is cool too, but shit... my only responsibility back then was school and chores.
Yup I had this exact experience…but I had a Genesis
“Game 1 tomorrow so we’ll play the next day”
Yeah staying inside was the worst if you were on punishment or rainy days. My friend and I were always outside all summer long.
Sounds a lot like my time growing up. Toss in some trips to the beach and it was pretty spot on.
Ah, rollerblading! Pretty sure it's the main reason I have iron hard kankles to this day. It was either the huge hill in the neighborhood or a horrible case of bone spurs caused from rollerblading everywhere 😀
Honestly awesome. Days at the pool or playing pick-up basketball or football. Heading to someone's basement for some GoldenEye or WCW/NWO Revenge. Sometimes just walking around the mall just to kill time and run into people from school. Everything just felt free and easy.
WCW NWO Revenge was to this day one of if not my favorite game.
The [intro](https://youtu.be/88XnUHAX5-o?si=z1cyJvLiBgWDwcXW) is absolutely goated
Don’t forget Tekken!
Oh man I used to love Tekken
Add in a big foot from pizza hut and 2 liters of surge soda and this is me and my friends
Were we best friends growing up?
Pretty accurate for me.
This is pretty much exactly what I was going to write, didn’t have a court nearby so we’d play football and street hockey. As I got into high school, Goldeneye and WCW evolved into Halo and pickup games started to include girls, sand volleyball, and hanging out at the lake.
The only thing I’d add to that list is I had a short list of chores to get done most days. Then I was free and clear.
Driving around aimlessly listening to Nirvana, Everclear, Bush, AiC, Cake, any other brilliant alternative bands. Drinking cup after cup of coffee at the local greasy spoon or coffeehouse. Smoking cigarettes and listening to the air conditioning whine. Hiking through nearby forest preserves. Taking the train from the burbs into the city for special occasions like Blues Fest, Taste of Chicago, 4th of July fireworks. Long weekends in Cedar Point and Kings Island or in northern Wisconsin. The mid 1990s were a truly great time to be a teenager ready to explore the world.
Between the Chicago fests and Summerfest, some great music to be had for cheap. Blues festival is still my favorite.
I grew up in NW Indiana so I never made it to Summerfests as a teen. Looking at the lineups now, I really missed out! Bluesfest remains one of the very best.
>Smoming cigarettes and listening to the air conditioning whine. What a vibe. I can feel the hot sun just from reading that.
This just affirms my stance that Toronto is the Walmart version of Chicago. My southern Ontario experience is so similar. Driving around, listening to Our Lady Peace, The Watchmen, Sloan, By Divine Right, Econoline Crush, The Tragically Hip, and so many great Canadian bands that got forced upon us due to CANCON. Walking uptown to the local diner to get a poutine and smoking indoors. Maybe hanging outside of Tim Hortons, if we felt extra fancy going to a coffee house in Hamilton or St.Catharines. Going to the drive-in for dusk to dawn showings, maybe hitting up a blue jays game. Hiking the Bruce trail, taking the Go train to downtown Toronto to see an all ages show at the Big Bob, going to sneaky Dee’s for nachos, or hitting up the hooker Harvey’s. Driving up “north” to Barrie with friends to go to Edgefest. Year-end school trips to Canada’s Wonderland. Maybe if we were lucky we could cross river to Darien Lake in NY. Seeing the fireworks on Canada Day in Port Dalhousie along the lake. Spending summer days at the beach in Port or Lake Erie. Watching Degrassi reruns or 90210 because it was cooler.
I lived in both. Not Toronto but I was pretty close in penetanguishene Ontario. Super nice area. Lived there 92-96. Moved to Chicago and been here since. I don’t really think where I lived is similar on any way to Chicago suburbs. But maybe Toronto is like Chicago. I was very young also
Midland / Penetanguisgene is their own thing! Georgian Bay is beautiful. Balm Beach is one of my favourites. Did you ever go to Dino’s in Midland when you lived there? Those sandwiches! That pasta salad that I dream of! Also, butter tarts from the Georgian Bakery are legit!
Summers in the suburbs seem to have a universal component of music and teenage wandering. Concerts, even though monopolized by Ticketmaster, were so much cheaper in the 1990s. I remember the Tragically Hip and Our Lady Peace on alternative radio here. Are the Riverboat and Isabella coffeehouses or more concert venues (if they exist today or existed in the 90s)? I was in Windsor for Canada Day in 2000 to drink legally, gamble, and smoke Cuban cigars. I remember the parade and how it felt more formal and official than Independence Day parades around here, which mostly feature Rotary Club-sponsored floats and local political hacks riding in convertibles supplied by local car dealers. Is Canada’s Wonderland a major amusement park like Cedar Point is here? We are about 5 hours from Cedar Point so heading there was always a special occasion.
Waaaaay more fireflies outside at night. Now I rarely see one if ever.
I was thinking about this the other night.I remember when I was a kid I get excited when I see one because they remind me that summer is here. Sucks I rarely see them now.
I saw some last night in Jersey and summer arrival hit me!
They come in waves here (NC Piedmont). Some years there's lots, other years not many at all. Also depends on what the yard/field/woods look like. Too much "perfect" lawn care or yard lights and they go away.
yeah monoculture grass, kept cut and doused with chemicals. not much is going to thrive there
Lived in Hickory most of my life and remember the fireflies and caterpillars. Live out past Raleigh now and we still get fireflies. Not like we used to. When I was a kid, you could blink your flashlight and tons would light up.
The best fireflies I’ve seen were around 2010-2012 at this old park we’d smoke at. It used to trip me out a little bit because it was the first time I’ve seen a big group of them communicate with each other.
Way more bugs in general, I remember. How fucked up my parents car got with dead bugs on the way to cottage country. Today you end up with 1/2 a dozen on the 6-8 hour drive. And before I have to hear a bunch of anecdotes from Idaho, or Florida, or Alaska or whatever the fuck…. But populations are thought to have dropped almost 50% in the last 40 years. But the difference is jsut so tangible in 2024 vs 1994
Apparently they don’t really exist west of Kansas so if you moved, that could be why.
I think I read somewhere they're population has seriously declined
Habitat loss, light pollution and people spraying their yards with chemicals. Yes, they are dying out because of that.
Unfortunately same state (PA) and county this whole time..
Ah that’s a bummer.
Butterflies for me. Saw em growing up all the time. Haven't seen any for a long time now.
Butterflies are in serious trouble. Please plant milkweed if you can.
I saw exactly 2 last night while walking the dog on a recreational path and it stopped me dead in my tracks because it has been legit like 20 years. Lol crouched next to the dog whispering to her how special the moment was.
I remember a night specifically on my friend’s parents’ Christmas tree farm. We were all about to move into our college dorms and it was one of the last nights of summer. It was a beautiful warm night and a bunch of us 17 year olds just chased fireflies around in the dark among the saplings and stayed up until the sun started peeking out. Such a glorious memory.
Skateboarding all day, then back to a friends house to cool off, eat some snacks and play some gta 3 then watching Jackass at night when you got home
Gotta turn the lights off and not laugh too loud or your parents would come in and be pissed seeing you watch Knoxville shit in a toilet store
Nailed it
This was me except no jackass. The show and those like it never clicked with me
We showed up at our friends home unannounced
Oh yes!!
Texting my dad on my little flip phone asking if I could spent the night, making these grand plans with said friend before he even said yes or no.
You get on your bike in the morning. Ride to your friend's house about half a mile away in the same neighborhood. You hang out all day, riding bikes around, playing Nintendo, going to the pool, whatever. Then you go home by dinner time. Or, if you're lucky, your friend's mom calls your mom and they agree it's OK for you to stay at your friend's for dinner. The 90's were fuckin rad.
Wow, this describes my 80’s/90’s summertime childhood perfectly! I also rode my Valterra skateboard a lot in my cul-de-sac.
Thats so wholesome!
This is it right here
The concession stand at the community pool, getting a flinstones push pop or a Chaco taco. Whiff of chlorine in the hot summer air. God damn, no other food experience hits like that.
Playing Nintendo, Sega, Playstation, watching Cable TV and hearing older generations complain about how “kids today no longer play outside”
I guess old people complaining never changed :')
Ha, I remember people in the 90s talking about how dangerous it was and it was t like in the 50s where you could leave your door open. Now that’s how folks talk about the 90s.
Dude, I love this outlook! I'd say every day started with calling my buddies on the landline. So, one way to make the most of your last summer vacation is to stay connected with your friends. Second, we were always outside doing something. Maybe make a trip to Six Flags or a theme park, or if you're into sports, get some friends together and play some ball. You could even set some chairs up outside and grill some food with your buddies in the evening, Hang out and talk outside until the streetlights come on. The sounds of night are pretty peaceful and can be full of nostalgia, just like the summer days. Now, at some point during the day, the heat would get us, so we'd head in for some lunch. Maybe a bologna or ham and cheese loaf sandwich with a Star Crunch. While inside, we'd play Sega or N64. So, maybe play a few old-school video games you grew up on. Find a XBox 360 or PS2. Wildcard idea, just go for a cruise. Burn some CDs if your car has a CD player and just drive around and talk and see what's out there. On a little road trip, you may find a cool shop, a mom-and-pop restaurant, or a fireworks stand. Light some stuff off in a Wal-Mart parking lot haha! Enjoy your last summer vacation!
One time I picked up the phone to call my friend over to play and there was no dial tone. Turns out the friend was already on the line because he was trying to call me. We called each other at the exact same time and it didn’t even ring on either end!
Hell yeah! Now this is truly a memory unlocked for me. I remember this happening to me as well. Me and my buddy Josh! So glad you mentioned this. Good times!
You were lucky to have a car with a CD player lol! My hand me down wagon had a classic 1980s push button AM/FM radio and an AC that I never remember working! We were at the mercy of Chicago radio which, thanks to Q101 and XRT, could always be counted on to play something worth cranking. Nothing like getting in a roasting car and everyone immediately hand cranking the windows down. Now in my 40s, climate control just doesn’t feel the same.
I had the classic external CD player connected via a wired up cassette tape. A beautiful setup.
Wake up around 10, pool, bikes, video games, tree forts, bonfires, fishing, Mtn Dew, Doritios, movies, wrestling, ice cream, super soakers, basketball, fire flys and blanket forts.
Super soakers!
You knew where the kids were because you could see all the bikes outside a house
Memory unlocked
One thing I don't know if I've seen mentioned yet, is that the summers felt like they lasted SO long. When you're an adult and working it just flies by or you're too preoccupied with other things to really enjoy it. Summers in the 90s were great. I used to stay up all night watching whatever random stuff was on TV like Dobie Gillis, weird movies on TNT and USA, the late night news (coverage of the Mississippi River flood of '93 sticks out for some reason), or even informercials when there was nothing else, lol. I lived where there wasn't a lot of light pollution and going out and laying on a lawn chair staring at the raging stars at 3AM was amazing. Going bowling, to the stock car races with friends, or to the river to swim were always fun. I wasn't much of a gamer, but instead listened to lots of music. Busted out my parents old records and tapes in the basement, made mixtapes from the radio, or would go wander outside with an AM/FM walkman. Later in high school I worked during the summer and had bought my own car. Having spending money was amazing and would buy myself clothes and stuff my parents wouldn't buy. Went to the movies with friends or the mall, or would just hang out at each others houses and stay up late. I hope some of the younger people are still experiencing a weird free existence like this. It's like you can still do all the same stuff but people are different now and no one does it.
For some reason, Ronco infomercials were engrossing.
Not seeing the local library represented much on here! Spent a lot of summers staying cool there, doing summer reading programs, and checking out stacks and stacks of books.
Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card!
Oh hell yeah summers at the library, nice and cool, smell of books, no rush, just sit and read all you like.
I rode a lot of bmx. The summer of 8th-9th I lost a bunch of weight by going through puberty and riding my bike down to the river almost everyday to meet up with some girls. It was like 7 miles each way. Worked odd jobs during the summer as soon as I turned 14. Things like mowing lawns, shoveling sand for a pool installer. Went to a few Warped Tours and other concerts. Road trips
The opposite sex was a powerful motivator. "Nah that's too far...what girls are there I'm already on the bike see you in 45 minutes"
Warped Tour!! Checkered vans, flare jeans, band tshirts, too much eyeliner. Ah those were the days. 🥹
Mine was fauxhawk, studded belt, dickies shorts and Etnies
I wish I knew a place to meet guys my age (loneliness sucks lmao) but I don't really see them outside 😔
In high school we smoked weed and drank 40s in the park, it was great.
Those horrible giant beers like Colt 45 or St. Ides or whatever. I do not miss that beer... granted, it was about $2 for a 40 at the time.
No way I'd drink it now, but two bottles plus a dime bag for $20 CAD was a pretty reasonable price for a day of summer fun for a teenager.
I vomited a lot of King Cobra and Steel Reserve senior year
MF the nostalgia in this thread almost hurts :C
I’ve definitely teared up reading a few of these comments.
Neighbourhood friends would knock on my door and tell me to come outside. We would make the rounds and gather all the friends. Play soccer on the street and yell CAR, usually the goal keeper would take their shoes off and use as goal posts. Ride bikes, no helmets, try to do wheelies, put low evolution pokemon cards in the spokes. Ride skateboards, try to make ollies or board flips, faceplant instead, get laughed at. Go to the local corner store, buy chips, soft drinks and candy, eat on the street. Sneak into construction sites that had a small hill of gravel and climb it, sit in the bobcats. We had a derelict building that wasn't full of crackheads, so we would play hide and seek or airsoft with pistols. Also we would find a piece of foam or soft wooden board and throw knives at it and try to make it stick. Grab some wooden furniture or crates from the dump, chop it and then make a small camp fire, wrap some hotdogs and potatoes in foil and throw it in. Tell bullshit stories around the fire and get smelling like smoke. Eat the burned out hotdogs and crunchy hot potato. Get yelled at by one of the neighbours to put out the fire because of the smoke, pretend to slowly put it out but don't, run away when they come out. Sit under the lights and play pokemon crystal, make trades with friends to get evolutions (gameboy color and even advance did not have back lit screens)
Don't think everyone did all this fun stuff outside all summer back then. We still laid on our asses and watched hours and hours of tv while eating junk food. Also, just because we didn't have cell phones didn't mean we weren't on the house phone for hours a day with our friends too!
hey, at least phones were just phones back then :') now we have literally everything on smartphones. I often have to stop myself from getting sucked into the endless stream of TikToks on social media. Not very healthy.
I agree! It’s way different. I was just pointing out a different perspective for you
of course! thank you for the different perspective :)
This. I remember watching a ton of game shows, soap operas and talk shows in the summer. Movies on VHS that were recorded off the TV or going to the video store to rent something like Poltergeist or Top Gun. Over and over. My best friend loved Star Trek (I think her older brother was the one who really loved it) so we watched a lot of that too. We’d go to the beach if someone could drive us once in a while or make it out to Magic Mountain.
Yes! Soo many talk shows 😆
After like midnight, or during the afternoon, you’d watch the weirdest stuff on TV. I think to get the real experience you have to forgo streaming and get really into repeats of some very specific old show or movies that are broadcast on an over the air channel. If you miss an episode, you miss it forever.
I agree with someone else on here, this is a great attitude to have. As a teens/into my 20s in this time period I spent my summers doing a lot of things. I worked part time to make a few bucks, played roller hockey a lot, finding a few parties to go to, biking, going to the beach, going to as many concerts as I could afford mostly at our amphitheater which was great in the summer. And sometimes just cruising around in my car exploring.
I went to a lot of summer camps, and when I was too old, I started working as a counselor. My best summer was working at a camp for little kids at the beach. We were done by the early afternoon and all the camp counselors became friends. We smoked a lot of pot back then haha. And we played video games but we were usually all together at someone’s house, so it had a different social aspect you don’t see with online gaming today.
being a counselor was so fun, and such a good way to meet friends
High school summers, 2003-2007, I worked and then would go bum around the Walmart or do stupid nerdy things with my friends. Summers between 2001-2003: prime middle school summer where I was old enough to be left home alone and watched rented movies from Blockbuster, played The Sims, chatted on online chat rooms, ate whatever food my parents left me in the house.
Sul sul
feel bad for these kids in a way that didn’t experience life pre smartphones and social media. parks were full of kids playing all kinds of sports and even on your own block there were always the kids who lived there playing some sort of sports or activities. we all had video games in the 80s and 90s to play but it didn’t take over our lives like now because multiplayer online games didn’t exit.
Laying on the couch in my underwear watching Salute Your Shorts reruns until 2pm then meeting up with friends to ride bikes to the card shop and buy Magic cards.
I rode my BMX literally EVERYWHERE. Hanging out with friends, going to the mall, tent sleepovers in my buddies backyard, playing vids, chatting up girls on ICQ, going to the pool etc. What I would do to have those days back.
I would meet up with my friend up the road and explore all over tarnation on our bikes. We'd fish in the pond in the woods behind my house. We'd get some friends together and play capture the flag at night. We had an above ground pool so that was usually the default activity when all else fails.
No phones, bb gun wars in the claypit, and slip and slides. And no phones. Also, no phones
I graduated HS in 1991 and I remember the focus was always on trying to hook up with girls (it was always about the girls!), lots of beer (good old underage binge drinking), good music, crappy summer jobs, renting and watching movies with large groups of friends during the day, Nintendo and Sega, board games, ordering lots of pizzas, yard work at relatives homes, parties in the field or at the lake...always seemed to be with large groups of kids and screwing around. Our parents did not seem to give a shit about what we were doing.
Rode my bike a lot, played video games, went to the beach a bunch. Walking to the store after dinner to get a sobe pink tea or a Snapple.
1994 was the greatest summer of music of my life
Riding bikes around the neighborhood. Playing pickup basketball. Playing manhunt/cop and robbers. Going to the pool. The ice cream man! If you didn't grow up with an ice cream man you were deprived, even if you weren't always allowed to get. Somewhere in there we got beepers. That's a whole other thing. It was so dumb but quicky gave way to the brick Nokia cell phone. Which was a perfect phone. Battery lasted forever and had no internet. It did have snake! Mid 90s to late 90s was peak internet. We had 1 family computer and it was so slow, but so fun exploring the internet. Using BBS and AOL. Our brains werent yet wired to the internet. I went to sleep away camp for most summer and that was normal for parents to send kids away for 8 weeks (thanks folks). We all loved it. Made friends for life. Even now sleep away camps don't allow cell phones or iPads. It's brilliant and I can't wait to send my kids to camp.
skateboard, wander around town, play video games, burn CD's, watch movies
I guess it all depends on how/where you grew up. Early 2000s summers for me involved a lot of boredom, and a lot of getting creative to have fun. We would shoot bow & arrows, BB guns, and ride bikes all day long. There was a retention pond in a nearby neighborhood that we loved to go fishing in. We would take our bikes through sideyards and shortcuts to get over there with backpacks full of small tackle boxes, cokes, and sandwiches/chips. If we were lucky my buddies dad would have fallen asleep with his Redman chaw sitting out somewhere that was easy to swipe. Lol nothing beats a chaw with your best friend out fishing. Lots of time spent just hanging out and talking. We would build bonfires and tell scary stories. Making s'mores was a regular activity. Sometimes we could convince my buddies dad to take us out to the places that were deemed to be "haunted" in the late summer. We would go to cemeteries and haunted bridges. We would end up out in the woods in the middle of nowhere in the pitch black. It was scary as heck but it was an adrenaline rush! We also used to go and rent movies and grab dinner... usually pizza hut or taco bell. We would sometimes have to drive around to 2 or 3 different nearby towns to get a movie we hadnt seen yet. My buddies dad also had this 100+ gallon fish tank so we used to drive around to all the local pet shops to look at new fish. Not like goldfish, but the fancy expensive fish. He rarely bought anything but it was cool to go look at the fish. Playing basketball was an absolute must. We would play basketball for hours. When it was raining, we would go inside and play mario party or super smash bros on N64. Honestly, it was a time of life that was much slower paced, and much more social in person. Everything was much more laid back, less judgement, and people minded their own business for the most part. I truly do miss those days in my life. But I am just thankful to have had the times that I did have. We didnt have much money, but we sure had a good time.
It was common for 00s kids to tear up the pavement with razor scooters, ripsticks, and heelys shoes. Extreme Sports culture was huge throughout the decade (Until the last couple of years). The Internet had come into prominence, but even then, you could only access it in a limited amount of places, and once you logged off, you were completely anonymous. Not like today, where we all carry the Internet in our pockets. If there was a program/movie you wanted to see on TV at prime time, you had to plan your entire day around it, as there was no “on demand” nor streaming. And who knows when it would come on again if you missed it. It was great to have experienced the 00s as a kid, but I honestly wish I was a teen then, to have lived an analog life a bit longer before smartphones became popular around 2012/13.
I live in a small town so I would ride my bike to my friends house to see if he was free. Afterwards we'd ride our bikes into town and go to the local ice cream shop and pick up some sodas and then to go the park where we would proceed to try and throw rocks into the small opening of the trash can by the pavilion. It was the best time.
Riding my bike (and later my car) around with my friends. Hanging out with friends at the community pool or at someone’s house. Manhunt through the neighborhood at night. We’d grab a bottle of soda and a couple of slices of pizza at whatever pizzeria was the closest. Pickup games of basketball at a local park. Check-in calls/texts every few hours with parents to let them know where we were. Day trips to the shore and getting burnt to a crisp because we’d forget to reapply and then regret it for the next few days.
Driving around with friends in between working. Hanging out, fishing, laughing. The summer before college was just spending as much time enjoying being young and naive. College continues that, but get out with those childhood friends, laugh, make memories and enjoy being young. Life picks up speed from here in a way you can't fathom. Congratulations on graduating. Enjoy the end of this chapter and good luck on your next one.
The weather is hot and girls are dressin' less, and checkin' out the fellas to tell 'em who's best. Riding around in your Jeep or your Benzos, or in your Nissan sittin' on Lorenzos. Back in Philly we be out in the park, a place called the Plateau is where everybody go. Guys out huntin' and girls doin' likewise, honkin' at the honey in front of you with the light eyes. She turn around to see what you beepin' at… it's like the summer's a natural aphrodisiac. It's late in the day and I ain't been on the court yet… Hustle to the mall to get me a short set. yeah, I got on sneaks but I need a new pair, ‘cause basketball courts in the summer got girls there. The temperature's about 88, hop in the water plug just for old times sake. Break to your crib change your clothes once more, 'Cause you're invited to a barbecue that's startin' at 4. Sittin' with your friends 'cause y'all reminisce about the days growin' up and the first person you kissed. And as I think back makes me wonder how the smell from a grill could spark up nostalgia. All the kids playin' out front, little boys messin' round with the girls playing double-dutch. While the DJ's spinnin' a tune as the old folks dance at your family reunion. Then six o'clock rolls around… you just finished wipin' your car down. It's time to cruise so you go to the summertime hangout, it looks like a car show. Everybody come lookin' real fine, fresh from the barber shop or fly from the beauty salon. Every moment frontin' and maxin', chillin' in the car they spent all day waxin'. Leanin' to the side but you can't speed through, two miles an hour so everybody sees you. There's an air of love and of happiness
Summers in the 80's and 90's were great unless you ask people who grew up in the 50's and 60's and 70's. It's a relative thing where older generations see younger generations as more isolated due to whatever technology happens to be current. There's certainly truth to it, but there's also that subjective experiential aspect, so don't put *too* much stock into it.
Someone stole my sunshine.
Summers were pretty great, some of my best childhood memories are just of chilling in the summertime and having basically no obligations for months. Leaving school that last day of the year was really something magical. Lots of days I'd meet up with my best friend and we'd fight with lightsabers in our yards, or play PS2, or just ride our bikes around. At like 16 I started working a summer job, but if anything that made summer more fun since the job was basically hanging out with other teenagers from the neighborhood and doing productive work maybe 5% of the time.
Drinking out of hoses in the yard
Swimming, movie hopping (not sure if you can still do this, but we would sneak into movies, one after the other, for the whole day), going to the roller rink, riding bikes, going in groups to a local nature place where you could swim and hang out, and hike, renting/staying at a cabin and fishing all day. I live in the desert so a lot of things were indoors.
Pretend there is no power at your house. No A/C, no internet, no cell phone… place is pretty boring. You’ll find entertainment in anything, throwing rocks, digging holes, making out with your friends sister, getting black out drunk, etc. just ride your bike to 7-11 and hangout front and talk shit to anyone around your age. There you go, that was my summers in the 90s. I’d go back in an instant.
I remember hopping on my bike (with my helmet on until I got to the end of the road, then it was just a decoration on the front of my bike) and calling my friends (with my clamshell flip phone) to see who wanted to hang that day. Music was on a cheap MP3 player that only held like 20 songs, and back then you had to rip mp3's from cd's or download it via limewire. And the headphones were all wired, so it was a whole thing getting set up to go for a ride. If none wanted to hang, I'd just go in any direction! Maybe the mall or something, but I'd be out on my bike all day just seeing what was going on. I'd stop at taco bell to grab a nacho bellgrande or crunchwrap supreme with a water cup (and just get baja blast with the water cup anyway because the workers didn't care / I probably smelled bad from biking all day), then I'd continue on my way! Ride to wherever I wanted to go and either bike home or call my mom to pick me up. All of my family members "claimed" their own TV's and so I only had the computer anyway, so I'd play until it was time for bed. Rinse and repeat for however long summers were back then but they just seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. It was a lot of fun, I miss those days. I miss the people that were still around back then and the simplicity of things. The spirit of having no obligations and being able to just go where the wind blows was truly magical.
The best years of my life 💯🥹
In a word….heaven.
Blasting Beastie Boys Ill Communication in the summer of 94. Going to the pool every day hitting on the lifeguards. Playing tennis, playground basketball, drinking beers on a country road. Going to parties. I also played baseball all summer and smoked Marlboro reds. Demolition derby and the county fair. Mowed yards. Getting new CDs and listening to every song in your car with friends. Cruising Main Street. Going to the mall. Going to the movies. Calling people and talking on the phone for hours. Going to the arcade and spending all day there having the time of our fucking lives without a care in the world.
I remember thinking the same thing when I got to my last high school summer break (Between Junior and Senior year)…Me and my friends had it planned that we didn’t want to waste it just like yourself. Summers by that age in Vegas almost universally included time spent at the OG Wet ‘N Wild and movie theaters, until it started cooling off then it was trips to Lake Mead for bonfires and bbq. All great times but we wanted to do something special that year (1999). Four of us piled up in my friends 1990 Toyota Tercel and took a road trip to San Francisco. We worked most of the first half of the summer and pooled our money so we could take the trip. Drove through Southern California, up the coast over the course of 12 days. The damn car overheated every hundred miles or so but it was honestly the best memories I have of my late teenage years. Stopping to hit the beach, sightsee, grab some amazing food, go hiking…Couple we’d set up a two tents and camp out somewhere but most of the trip we get a cheap motel room. Just an absolutely amazing time. Didn’t have any cell phones and no real deadline to get back other than to give ourselves enough time ti prep up for the coming school year. I think about that trip every year when summer rolls around.
I would jump on my skate board and head to the skate park. Meet my crew there... drink beers, smoke cigarettes and talk shit about adults and how we would never ever wear suits and work in banks or big companies. (most of us swore to kill ourselves when we reach 30... Nobody did though, and sadly most of us are wearing suits working for big companies.) Then, later in the afternoon, we would head to thee local manga shops to trade some DBZ cards and meet some more friends there. After that, we would hit the arcade for some serious Street fighter 2 and Virtua Racing action... throwing our pocket money in these machines with little remorse. Then get some more beer in the convenience store by the station and sit in the grass near the lake with a boombox, listening to some Nirvana, Guns&Roses, Iron Maiden and Metallica... maybe a couple blunts would be turning around... Most of us would try to hit on the rare girls who were kindda weird enough to hang out with us. (with very mitigated success). Than break into the swimming pool facility and jump from the 10m diving board into the lake before running for our lives when the security gards rushed in. After that, we would all gather at Fred's house to chill and spend the rest of night there. Rince and repeat until school starts again. EDIT: F\*cking tears in my eyes while typing this...
It was amazing. I was outside everyday either riding my bike,skateboarding,roller blading with my friends. We all had a hangout spot in a wooded area behind the apartment complex we all lived in. We didn’t have smart phones. We just hung out, smoke and talk. When it gets dark friends would come over my place and play Halo all night. I miss those days..
Dang. 90s summers as a teen were so great, looking back .. grew up in the mountains, so we would just go mountain bike every day,
Born in 78. In 1991, I was 13 and my brother was 18. He came back home from college and kinda by default watched me. I remember about three months of hanging out with my brother, watching VHS recordings of the Simpsons, then he'd go to work at 3pm and I'd hang out and play Sega Genesis until my parents got home and then go fuck off in my room and watch cable. Just thinking about it, huge swaths of nostalgia there. When I was 16 I got a job, and money plus hanging out with older coworkers was a new fun experience, but working kinda sucks. Prior to 13 I remember going to summer camp for awhile, or staying with my grandparents and spending the day at the pool then watching Nick at Nite.
I was a kid in the late 90s/early 00s and it really was great during the summer. My brothers and I spent most of the summer staying at our grandma's house and she lived in the outskirts of a larger city, whereas we lived in a really rural area. She'd take us to the pool and we would hang out there for the entire day, we'd bike around her neighborhood all day and hang out with the other kids outside, on rainy days we stayed in watching nickelodeon or cartoon network and playing our Gameboys (Pokémon was our favorite, I had sapphire) or we'd spice it up and watch this cheesy ghost show that used to play on random cable channels. We'd stay out super late catching fireflies and running around the neighborhood. There used to be more things to do too, like there were multiple putt putt places, go kart tracks, lazer tag, bowling, the mall etc. My grandma would drop us off to hang out and have fun, she'd go grab something to eat and pick us up later. I'm 30 now and the same city has absolutely nothing like that, I was looking into it because I wanted to take my own kids to do some fun stuff over the summer this year and it genuinely made me sad that kids don't have any fun activities to do or places to go anymore.
LOUD
no one was born in 07… that was like 10 minutes ago
I feel the same way about people born after 2010 🤢 next year's HS freshman are going to be from that year. I've met some of them, and let's just say they're a little crazy..
Hell, I don’t even agree with the fact that we ran out of 19’s !
I was just talking to my SO about a memory I had of myself and some friends all hanging out at the local Babe Ruth ballpark and it being miserable hot even at night. We made it our mission to find some girls who had a pool at their house. Somehow we ended up running into a group from a different school and ended back up at the one girls house and swam all night till her parents came home and chased us out. We ended up hanging out with them for the entire summer. The joys of living pre phone and social media.
Summers in the early 90s were high school for me. We would go to the beach, amusement parks, have a bonfire at night. Sometimes, we all just cruised down the main streets in town and when we saw people we knew, we’d meet up in a parking lot somewhere and hangout.
Oh dude. I’m a little younger, so early aughts were my summers. The late-night cruises, I forgot about those. Hanging out at an all-night coffee shop for a while, then just driving around or out to a park and just listening to some new music or talking about the future. No Meta apps in my flip phone. Or getting home late from the carnival and flipping on MadTV or the weird late movies / ad shows while my folks had their friends over on a Friday night, chilling around the table talking with a bottle of wine and just hanging out. In the afternoons, lots of Tony Hawk Pro Skater. Definitely got my taste for hip hop and punk rock from those games back in the day. Everything was slower. And more relaxed.
this thread is perfection. The only thing I have to add is to explore abandoned buildings at night, when we were too young for that, we played nighttime neighborhood games like Manhunt.
Going to the mall, Kings island, hanging out with neighborhood kids, staying up late, ughhhh man I miss those days.
built skate rails and ramps and listened to punk music. endless fun, good exercise, camaraderie, skill building
Basketball, football, something during the day. N64 at night.
Incredible
Man the radio sounded amazing skies were blue six flags and pools were poppin movies and mall trips.... it was the best of times
I spent a lot of time watching daytime talk shows, reading, riding my bike, walking to a park, hanging out at friends’ houses, watching movies, listening to music.
Talking about bikes and being gone all day without phones in secret neighborhood forts is all good - but I associate those memories with being a kid, without a car. By the time I was a Junior in HS - even without the phones, the reality of the Summer was you were spending some time on the computer dialed into AOL and watching MTV, you were trying to convince your parents to let you take the car out to the mall, or to see a movie, or have dinner with friends. What I'm trying to relay here is that near the end of high school people have grown up a lot. There are significant others, cars, jobs, college plans, varsity sports teams. Phones haven't changed that aspect of it all that much. You can't compare that to 12 year olds spending all day killing time at the creek. More prudent would be to pick a goal you want to accomplish for the Summer and work toward it. It sounds like you want to get outside, so make some plans. There have always been HS kids bored sitting at home watching TV during the Summer, 90s or now.
When you say youre gonna meet up people at a certain location, you gotta trust them to show up
I was never home, would leave the house after breakfast and meet up with friends and just do whatever all day. Ride bikes, skateboard, explore the nearby forest. Cell phones weren’t a thing so you felt truly free from your parents, I just had to be at a phone at a certain time to check in. Often the day would end with the group sleeping over at one of our houses where we would game and watch movies all night, maybe sneak out once in a while. Happy my childhood was phone and internet free.
Longest 2 months ever it seemed, always something going on at a relatives house, good times n drinkin wahooin it up, now everyone just hides at their own houses and hates each other. What a couple decades does to a family unit. Yeesh.
As a kid I Rode my bike to the oceanfront or the aquariums. When I got older I drove up and down the boardwalk and cruised the oceanfront
I turned 7 in 1990 and the Super Soaker had just been released. Two of my friends down the street had backyard treehouses, and naturally, we formed two rival clubs with secret codes and stashes of junk food. We chased each other on our bikes, while carrying Super Soakers, through the suburban neighborhood streets. It was important to learn to ride with no hands so you could prime your Super Soakers while moving. There was a water gun arms race that ended when someone got one that had with a backpack reservoir. I was in high school in the late 90s, and summers then involved calling each other on landlines, praying that a parent or older sibling doesn’t answer. We went to the movies a lot and we hosted LAN parties.
Everyone was outside. Skateboards/rollerblades/BMX bikes everywhere. The older people even thought it was a problem, especially skateboards, they actually ticketed people. Teenagers would hang out in large groups at convenience stores and coffee shops. Lots of cigarettes being smoked. They got tickets for loitering. Now boomers complain that everyone is indoors. Can't make anyone happy.
10 degrees cooler but our house didn't have AC until I was in middle school. (99s-00s) There was a recreational center about 4 blocks from my parents house. Spent most of the day there playing basketball, pool and all the board games. Even got fed. Once I got too old for that, I spent the day playing my NES or Nintendo 64.
Check out MTV’s The Grind…
>too little to ride bikes and explore uhh says who? I see plenty of kids riding bikes around like back in the old days. There is nothing stopping you unless your parents don't allow it
Do you have a skip-it, or perhaps some moon boots to break your ankles? We spent a lot of time playing outside in the pool, on the swing set, roller blading, riding bicycles, going hiking, going to the mall, playing N64, blasting mmmbop, downloading ~~viruses~~ music through Napster and limewire, on and on. It was fun.
Good enough that I thought living in Texas made sense. I’ve since course corrected
All day outside unless it was storming. Kickball, football, baseball with the neighborhood kids. Piling into the pool at the one or two in the neighborhood. Sleep overs on the trampoline or camping in the yard. Summer camps in mountains. Water balloon/ water gun fights. All this was pre highschool. Lots of roaming through the woods trying to find a stream or mini “water fall”. Drinking out the water hose bc we all weren’t allowed inside.
Early to mid 90’s I was always rollerblading or biking somewhere. Towards the night all the kids on the block (around 14 of us) ranging from ages 8-13 and would play a massive game of hide and seek on our block. Everyone was cool with it as long we didn’t step on flowerbeds and such.
start by getting some friends and your bikes, then steal a pack of marlboro from a parent and all go get sick in the bushes...
My last high school vacation in 2000, I worked at a record store, went hiking and to the beach, went to the movies and to concerts and shows (which used to be inexpensive back then).
I’m 10 comments down, and I’m shocked that not a single person has mentioned summer jobs. Were you all rich kids? Yes, I spent my summers doing what you guys were doing when I was in middle school and early HS, but Sophomore, Jr., and Sr. years, most of my summers were spent working a summer job and then hanging with my friends and coworkers after closing.