By Abe Villarreal
One summer ago, I was in Maine. It was the first time I had been to that part of New England, and I went because I hadn't been there before. This past summer, I was in Spain. I went there for work, and I wished I had seen more and stayed longer.
I'm already thinking of next summer. That's when we think about vacations and going away. Really, we can go away at any time. Pick a date. Take time off. I think we shouldn't wait until summer to do the things we want to do all year long.
Like visiting New York City during winter because it's a lot colder than it will ever get where I live, and I'll be standing in places, and at corners, where all the scenes are filmed for Hallmark movies. I could see the ice skaters at Rockefeller Center. They are always there during Christmas time.
I could walk down busy streets, in between tall buildings, hear languages I've never heard, and enjoy more Christmas lights than I could have ever imagined seeing in a city block. I could be lost in a sea of people that I'll never see again.
Why do we wait for summer? I'm ready for a break in October. That's when we all get the feeling to sleep in a little. The sun sets not too long after getting home. The dogs and cats know it's nighttime. October is the perfect time to get away. To go to places where the days are still long. Where the sun is your friend, and the darkness of autumn is a stranger.
The most important holidays – the getaway kind of holidays – happen before summer. Christmas and Thanksgiving. New Year's Day and Valentine's Day. Being with family and sharing traditions. Some things are not worth waiting for summer to happen.
Snowbirds don't wait for summer. They all come our way during winter. They get away to get to us. Snowbirds celebrate summer all year long. They don't wait for it.
Someone told me that the best time to visit the Deep South was in Spring because the temperatures are moderate, and if you grew up in the Southwest, the humidity is barely bearable. Maybe I'll go there this Spring.
January seems like a good time to visit Puerto Rico. I'll feel like I'm on a summer vacation which is exactly what one should feel just after ringing in the new year. Then again, why do we want to feel like it's always summer? Summer has become to us what it is because we have to wait for it and because it comes as fast as it goes.
So, I say summer is for the birds. It's for people who feel like they should work "all year" to enjoy a break once a year. That's no way of living.
I think this fall, I'll get away. Not to a place that feels like summer, but to a place that feels like the season. A place where I haven't been. Those are the best kind of places to experience.
Abe Villarreal writes about the traditions, people, and culture of America. He can be reached at
