Hot Town, Summer in The City (and elsewhere)

Here are some things, both big and small, that I want to make happen before summer is over:

• Chow down. I know my good friend ESG will be a great enabler in visiting all of the restos in the Burger of the Month Club's Top 10 Burger Rankings and sampling the best they have to offer
  

• Play Summer Camp Counselor. I want to get my friends together and plan the following activities for us (I love playing social planner):

1. Visit to a beer garden in Queens
2. Day trip to a Long Island winery
   
3. Day trip to Coney Island, perhaps for the Mermaid Parade on June 20?
4. Day trip to Philadelphia. I used to visit this city frequently and know it very well, but many of my friends haven't spent much time there. Not to be missed is my favorite Philly resto, Cuba Libre. Plantain chips? Coconut milk latte with a meringue kiss? YES PLEASE!
   
5. Neighborhood walking tours, visiting places I've been to before, have loved, and want to share with my friends, as well as places that I want us to explore for the first time together. Something akin to what they offer on Time Out's website.

• Take advantage of these Brooklyn Bridge Park activities:

1. Sunset Psychedelic. June 4.
2. Waterfront Pilates Classes. Multiple Tuesdays.
3. "To Catch a Thief" outdoor screening. July 30.
4. Kayaking on the East River! Multiple Saturdays. (One of my dreams in life is to have a red canoe and my own pond, but I will settle for a kayak on the East River.)
   

• And these Hudson River Park activities:

1. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Rock & Run on the River 5k. June 7. WOULD LOVE FRIENDS TO JOIN ME IN THIS!
   
2. Wizard of Oz screening. July 10. Even in Manhattan, there's no place like home.
3. Ghostbusters screening. July 24. I know EJS will accompany me for this one...
4. Blues & BBQ festival. August 23.
   

• And the HBO Bryant Park Summer Film Festival

I sure do love "Kramer vs. Kramer." I saw "Casablanca" during the 2007 film series and it was such a delight to be amongst hundreds of people, all of whom were picnicking, sipping wine, and shouting out Bogie's lines along with him. "Here's lookin' at you, kid."

• Read. I have been a voracious reader all of my life. One summer I read 100 books and my mother rewarded me with a new outfit for my Samantha American Girl doll. Oh, childhood. Anyway, there's a deplorably HUGE pile of unread books on my nightstand...and I think education is power, so I'm determined to make this happen!
  

• Work on my stomach. Instead of hating my entire body (in case you haven't noticed, I've fallen off of the WW and daily workout wagon...just in time to look disgusting at Reunions), I need to focus on one thing at a time. I have the most regrets about my stomach, and I think if I can put the blinders on and fix the thing I hate the most, I'm less likely to become overwhelmed when I look in the mirror and am disappointed by everything I see. Make sense?

• Travel abroad. I made it a personal goal to travel out of the country every year since I was 14. 2008 was the first year I failed to make this happen. Considering that my original post-college graduation plans were to live in France for 2 years, this is especially shameful. I've been to the Bahamas, Canada, England, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Taiwan, and I hate the idea of stagnating...I want to keep exploring. Top of my list? The Czech Republic, South Africa, Australia and Israel. Keeping my fingers crossed that something interesting will happen.

What are your plans for summer? And who's game for the above ideas?!
Cxx.