Back in the summer of '03

I was listening to the radio this morning and the DJ was talking about the best summer of his life, and that got me thinking which summer was my favorite and what made it so great. The best summer of my life without a doubt was the summer of 2003. Let the reminiscing begin...
Summer started right after Project Graduation. Laura, Jess, and I were still pretty slap-happy at 6 a.m. when they let us out so we decided to go to Jefferson Barracks and walk the trail (I don't know how we came up with that idea), and our first trail experience began, and quite an adventure it was. Those obstacle course things can be pretty fun when you're extremely sleep deprived. From then on we walked the trail on a daily basis and became some of the usuals at 10 a.m. Every day we saw our cute old couple, "the coaches", and every now and then the scary guy that wore the garden gloves and straw hat that would all of a sudden be scooting his feet behind us. We also started Sunday Night Tradition. Jess, Tina, Laura, Lyndsey, and I would go to the playground in JB to swing and girl talk and then we would go to Chrissy's for ice cream (remember the Stevester?). Then there were all the graduation parties and the many icing fights and Twister showdowns we got in. I didn't have a job that summer, so I'm not exactly sure what I did all day, I think I slept, so that's always a good thing, too. I did have a boyfriend, well kinda. Matt and I were on the outs and with college quickly approaching we both kinda knew that we wouldn't stay together when we went our separate ways. Me and the girls had a theme/anthem that summer, the song "Manhunt" by Karen Kamon. Jess and I came up with the idea of a Last Blast, one last get-together with everyone before we went away that included swimming and a BBQ. And I remember we were so excited when we were planning it on the 3rd of July at JB while waiting for the fireworks (man, I have a good memory sometimes). Last Blast was soooo much fun. Then like two days later Jess, Laura, Tina and I roadtripped it down to Branson for the weekend and that was a lot of fun, too ("Dur's got boobs!", Bad Charlotte, and the go-carts guy). At the end of summer we went to O'Charlies and got all dressed up for a last dinner together and then went to Jess's and sat outside and cried as we said our goodbyes. It was a summer filled with Tower Tee, Fortel's, good times, heartbreaks, ice cream, but most importantly, my friends. The summer of 2003 was a turning point for me, and I think for them, too, we all just became so much closer that summer, and it's had a lasting impression.

Music: "Joy to the World" -Three Dog Night
Mood: drained