If you’re more of a “granola” person, take a quick drive to the cross country team’s head quarters: White Rock Lake. Grab your bike, an Eno and some friends to take full advantage of the ten mile loop. Don’t forget to stop by TCBY or Burger Street on your way home to recharge.

In addition to White Rock, the Katy Trail runs right through the heart of Dallas, and conveniently, passing by all the great restaurants. Bike or walk, but only until you get to the KT Trail Icehouse or Chuy’s, the restaurants with the two best queso recipes in Dallas. Although Chuy’s has a great outdoor patio, the Icehouse is completely open-air, and has a charming backyard aura to it. Don’t expect to get in and out of these restaurants fast though, as the service at Icehouse is slow and Chuy’s takes awhile to be seated on weekend nights.

For those sporty students, grabbing a bunch of friends for a pick-up soccer game, or to throw around a frisbee at some of the many parks around University Park is always fun. Northwest Bible Church’s sand volleyball court, across Northwest Highway from Preston Center, is a fun activity as well. (As long as there isn’t a wedding…)

After all these sporty activities, drive to Steel City Pops on Lower Greenville or Sno to quench your thirst with cool summer treats. With flavors like strawberry-lemonade, cucumber-lime and blackberry, Steel City has monopolized the gourmet-popsicle market for almost three years now. Sno, the “hole in the wall” down Central, has the best shaved ice-style snocones around; almost good enough to be compared to Frostbites in Seaside, Florida.

If you don’t mind “road tripping” an hour or two, Fossil Rim in Glen Rose is a favorite among HPHS students. Effectively an open-range zoo, Fossil Rim is stocked full of exotic animals that you would normally find at the Dallas Zoo, except you get to drive in your car through their habitats and feed them. On the way home, stop by Hammond’s BBQ to wrap up the day trip with some Texas tradition.

Another road trip destination is the Galaxy Drive-In in Ennis. Make the hour drive down fun with some friends and a great playlist, and head over to the double feature, that typically starts at seven. Word on the street is that the concessions are affordable, and worth the money.

There are so many more summer-like events that Dallas has in these next couple months that I haven’t listed, so take advantage of them like a true Dallasite!