Nina In New York: NYC Summertime To-Do List

Congratulations, everyone! After a shockingly mild winter and particularly schizophrenic spring, we've made it! It's summer. We did it, you guys. We're here.

Web Extra: CBSNewYork's Summer Guide

I had a bit of selective memory about last summer, but if I force myself to honestly remember it without over romanticizing the season, it was pretty gloomy. Rain, rain, rain. On the one hand, it wasn't terribly, disgustingly hot. On the other hand, fmeh.

Given how damp our spring has been, and how insanely unpredictable the weather this year overall has proven to be, I have high hopes for a nice, dry summer. And maybe some snow. Then heat. Then hail. Then aurora borealis. Then heat again.

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As is my custom every summer, I like to make some promises to myself that I will mostly ultimately break. Here, for 2012, is my list of things I really would like to do this summer but have never managed to get around to accomplishing.

1. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. This one seems so stupid, but it just hasn't ever happened. I live nowhere near it, and blahblahblah excuses excuses I know, I know. It's gonna happen. 1a is that I will also finally go to Grimaldi's, which I know is a controversial slice but it feels important that I bite the bullet, wait in line and try it.

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2. Find a reliable, regularly accessible outdoor pool that isn't filled with 10,000 children. I have failed to do this every single year. I've visited hotels, YMCAs, gyms, you name it. If anyone has any hot tips, I'm all ears.

3. Row boats on the lake in Central Park. I'm not much of a seafaring type, but it seems preferable to kayaking on the Hudson, which depending on the day smells like the inside of my gym sneaker. Pretty to look at, walk by, sit near, not soak in.

4. Tan. Hahahahahaha.

5. Check out the Rockaways. Last year I was charmed by my first trip to Brighton Beach. This year, beyond!

6. Go back to Rye Playland. I grew up with such fond memories of throwing up after riding the Spider, the Whip and the Starship 3000, and then eating a whole bunch of fried dough. The people who manned the rides always seemed stoned or drunk or recently released from some sort of punitive or rehabilitative institution, and they were immune to our cries of terror and "I'm gonna throw uuuuuuuuuuupppp!" I've wanted to return for years.

7. Expose my dog to a natural shoreline. So far he detests water, but bringing him to a lake or an ocean and splashing around is a fantasy of normal dog-ownership I've always harbored.

8. Complete a DIY home improvement craft. I dunno. Paint a chair? Apply a wall decal? Frame a picture and actually hang it up? Needlepoint a cozy aphorism? I'll feel proud in the end.

9. Go camping. Just kidding!

10. Make a friend who owns or has reliable access to a boat. Again, my sea legs are not strong. But I'd be just as happy keeping it docked and sitting on its deck with a glass of wine, pretending I'm Goldie Hawn in Overboard.

What's on your summer to-do list?