Last summer, I took a trip with my three best friends to see Modest Mouse play at the House of Blues in Chicago. When we left that morning, it was already really humid out (hey, it’s Iowa) and we had the sunroof open and the air conditioner cranked.

Each of us helped make the “soundtrack” for the trip by being the music-Nazi for awhile, making everyone shut up when our favorite songs came on.

The show was great. Modest Mouse performed really well, and we were all smiley and sweaty when we left the venue.

Now, almost a year later, we still tell tales about that trip. We talk about the music and the girls who pulled up next to us on a busy street to ask my friend Jomo if his piercings hurt. We remember the cool summer night walking around downtown Chicago, and we joke about how incredibly lost we got coming home again. (To this day I swear there aren’t any road signs in Illinois.) Those are the memories I associate with summer.

It’s no wonder a lot of people start many stories with the line,

“Remember last summer when …?”

For many, summer is a time of freedom and fun, where everything smells like coconut and chlorine. I still get excited about fireworks on the Fourth of July and outdoor cooking with my roommates.

Parties are better with tiki torches and some bare skin. Summer jobs usually aren’t the most glamorous, and going to school in the summer can just seem wrong. But the hours spent there seem to melt — and in retrospect — never seem that bad.

This summer, I am staying in Ames instead of my hometown of Clarence, Iowa. (See if you can become more geographically “aware” and find it on a map.) But I refuse to let this change in location put a cramp in my summer story-making.

At home, I would have to drive 40 minutes to get to work and things like a movie theater or a mall. This summer, I am minutes away. At home, I had parents watching everything I did. In Ames, I am free as a streaker to do what I want — within legal bounds, of course. And the best part of all — the Tropical Sno shack. With two convenient locations in Ames, I can enjoy the teeth-rotting-out-of-my-face-sweetness of Hawaiian Shaved Ice almost anytime I want.

Now, to just be able to keep the mound of sugary, syrupy ice in the little cup they give you. Clarence doesn’t have the summer wonder that is the Tropical Sno shack, and maybe for my dental health that is a good thing.

One summer event which doesn’t depend on where I am living is the almighty road trip. All anyone needs for a successful road trip is a car and crazy friends. The crappier the car and the crazier the friends, the better the road trip.

I personally find good music to be an essential element of an amazing road trip, but if you prefer playing “car-bingo” with your friends, that is your decision.

The destination can be undetermined at the beginning of the journey, but there are many things going on during the summer that are worth the $2 per gallon of gas. Music festivals find their perfect home during summer, and if you like all-day music and all-weather crowd-mingling, these are the best stop for you.

Whatever I choose to do, I know that this summer will be great. And when my friends and I are hanging out together next fall, all I will have to do to start the laughs is say, “Remember last summer when …?”