Summer is officially starting this month, June 21 to be exact, and I’m ready for it. I don’t know if I’m more excited for the warm weather or less traffic by my house (happy summer break, kids!).
Jokes aside, I love summers in Naperville – there is so much to do, especially in the downtown area.
Let’s take another stroll down my personal memory lane and look at the changes Naperville has gone through from the 90s up to today.
The 90s were my grade school and junior high years. When summer finally hit, it was time to be a kid full time. Bikes were the primary transportation used by my friends and me. We rode everywhere we could within a few miles of downtown – neighborhoods like Saybrook, Springhill and Century Hills were only a bike ride away.
Most of my allowance money was spent on snacks from Oswald’s Pharmacy (then downtown) or Naper Nuts & Sweets, comic books and trading cards from Graham Crackers (where Barnes & Noble is now), and retro accessories from Hipsters (in downtown NAPE-er-ville!).
I was able to cover more ground once I started driving in 2001. Summers in the 00s were all about bowling. Gala Lanes-Great Odyssey-Brunswick Zone (now Bowlero) was always my first choice for games or just hanging out. This decade also marked the end of Malls being the place to shop. Spending an afternoon at Fox Valley with a girlfriend was an easy way to get clothes shopping done.
The past ten years of summers have been a path that led me to a “rediscovery” of Naperville. Now that I’m old and boring, listening to music or podcasts on long walks is one of my favorite things. Walking around downtown hammers home how great our town is. Take your pick of any neighborhood around downtown and take a walk – you may have forgotten just how great summers in Naperville are.
