I'm home for the summer this year and most of the people in my neighborhood are retired. Give or take a few outliers, there's barely anyone under the age of 40 in this town. Unfortunately, I'm one of those outliers.

Within the first month of summer, I traveled a bit.

First, I went to Colorado for my brother's graduation from the United States Air Force Academy. Although I wasn't able to go hiking and experience the beautiful sights of Colorado, I enjoyed being around family and friends I haven't seen in a while. Plus, that just means I'll have to make a trip back sometime in the future to hike those gorgeous mountains and appreciate living in places with low altitudes.

Almost immediately after I got back home, I took a trip to Ohio to visit my sisters. I spent an entire day at the Punta Gorda Airport after my flight got delayed since it's tiny and only has one flight in and out per city per day. Nevertheless, I got to spend a week and a half doing random activities with my sisters and brothers-in-law. I also enjoyed the company of several furry friends and even saw my nephew. I wished they lived closer but I'll take what I can get.

Now, I'm back at home running around to various appointments, partaking in physical therapy and awaiting surgery. Good ole Punta Gorda Isles is a small town with not much going on. The few places I know about (mostly because they're in walking distance) include Fisherman's Village, Gilchrist Park, Ponce de Leon Park, and Punta Gorda Library. Regardless, it seems like I may need to do a little exploring to find fun and interesting places to hang out without having to go too far from home.

When I do a google search of things to do in Punta Gorda, FL, three of the four places I listed come up on a TripAdvisor's "10 Best Things to Do in Punta Gorda" list.

But there are another 55 activities to partake in and places to go according to the list. I found eight categories to group them in since some of them revolve around the same idea.

1. Wildlife Centers

2. Museums

3. Nature Activities

a. Parks

b. Ranches

c. Tours (Boat)

4. Shops

5. Arts Center

6. Speedway

7. Skydiving!

8. Bars & Clubs

As far as wildlife centers go, I plan to go to an alligator preserve soon and I think I'm going to another one in a few weeks. I love animals and I'm super excited!

Some of the museums include the Military Heritage Museum, Muscle Car City Museum, and the Blanchard House Museum. I think these could be pretty interesting so I might have to check them out before summer ends.

The great outdoors is a perfect place to spend a day so parks always seem like a good idea. I'm not sure about ranches and I don't need a boat tour because my dad already has one.

Shops create a fun environment for a little while but you also need money to actually buy things. Same goes for the speedway. You can only do it for so long.

The arts center offers lessons and workshops which would probably be pretty cool to try but I would want a companion to talk to and hang out with during it. This goes for bars and clubs too. I don't particularly want to go alone.

Lastly, skydiving would be my number one choice of something to do but it's going to have to wait until after I heal.

Overall, I'm excited to be here and I can't wait to see what this summer brings, other than surgery and not being able to walk.