So the ‘official’ summer amble or trip or visiting relatives schtick is now being planned for most people and families. But what if you’re tired of the same old journey out to the family farm for a week to visit the grandparents and gain five pounds with homestyle cooking? Here are a few wiggier suggestions, based (of course) on your Sun Sign. Enjoy, dear readers, and even if the familiar route becomes reality again this year, you’ll have had a bit of imagination and rest from routine to consider.
Aries: March 21 -April 19
Fire sign that you are, have you considered taking a tour of the nearest volcano as something offbeat? What about searching for the perfect barbecue, with the meat being roasted in a pit for hours? Have a bonfire in the backyard (make sure water for an emergency is available) and cook hot dogs and marshmallows for dinner.
Taurus: April 20 – May 20
Buy yourself the perfect cashmere sweater online (most stores won’t have any on the shelves during hot weather). While you’re online, order some sinfully rich chocolates and indulge. If you have to visit New York City anyway, make sure you include a side trip to the Stock Exchange.
Gemini: May 21 – June 21
Pleasing both yourselves may be difficult, but with that in mind, do two things out of the ordinary rather than just one: go bowling and then try a different food truck for lunch. Visit Las Vegas, but play only the slot machines and no card games. If you’re wanting to splurge, go south to a country that’s enjoying their fall weather.
Cancer: June 22-July 22
Go trout fishing. Try out a water park near you (you don’t have to take a kid along, you know). If the backyard doesn’t have enough room for a swimming pool, price a lap pool instead. And then have it built.
Leo: July 23-August 22
There are few human monarchs around nowadays, so go to the zoo and visit the King of Beasts. Utilize one of the online genealogy sites to find out if you have royalty in the family. Visit Elvis’ home at Graceland (his nickname was the King of Rock n’ Roll).
Virgo: August 23-September 22
You’ll have to set yourself a budget, because you can’t resist temptation visiting Powell’s City of Books in Portland, Oregon (estimated to house one million new and used books). Buy the latest fad diet book, read through it and then donate it to the public library in your town. Write a book yourself in only four weeks’ vacation.
Libra: September 23-October 22
Search the antique stores and thrift shops for a set of scales to place in your living room as an ‘inside joke.’ Buy a postal scale (stamps are going up in price again) and then write your favorite auntie a long letter. Practice until you have your own version of a ‘Silly Walk’ perfected.
Scorpio: October 23-November 21
Buy a new trench coat – in tan, of course. Devote a week to reading every detective novel you can lay hands on. Tell a friend you’re going to the CIA (and don’t tell them it’s the Culinary Institute of America).
Sagittarius: November 22-December 21
Try out your skills at an archery range. Go to your town’s animal shelter and walk the dogs, pet the cats. Schedule a session or two of horseback riding.
Capricorn: December 22-January 19
Buy yourself a new piggy bank (or the equivalent) and put only $5 bills in it, no coins, to see what you accumulate after a year. Read biographies of famous bankers. Visit the other banks in your town just for a change of atmosphere.
Aquarius: January 20-February 18
Schedule a twenty-four hour period of no phone, no TV, no visiting friends – and enjoy your own company by yourself. Go to an old-fashioned coffee shop (if you can find one) and soak up the ambiance. Take your mother to lunch.
Pisces: February 19-March 20
Buy – and use – an electric foot massager when your tootsies are tired. First ‘thin out’ your shoe collection and then go shopping at the nearest mall for really unusual footwear. Read a book on Reflexology (accupressure on special points of your foot is said to relieve pain and promote good health).
Hopefully these ideas will lead to more things to do in your life which are different. Enjoy! MZ