It was finally summer. The time most people dream about as they freeze through those icy winter days and rainy spring months.
Alas summer was here.
Ever since Erin was five-years-old, her and her family always spent the summer in a different city. Being adventurous Californians, they loved to travel and getting to experience new places in different states was a great way to deepen their American patriotism. The previous summer Erin got to explore Washington D.C., in all of its historical glory, seeing the monuments and touring the sites. The year before that her family rented a beach house in the Hamptons in upstate New York and had a lazily amazing time, barbequing on the Fourth of July and listening to the waves crash on the shore.
This summer, like the others was spent somewhere new. Phoenix, Arizona. The Hastings decided the American southwest was the land they had yet to conquer and felt that it was finally time to experience this part of the country. Arizona in the summer is hot. Really hot. The average temperatures were in the mid to high 90 degrees, so being in some sort of an oasis was a must. After much deliberation the family decided on Phoenix Springs, a luxurious resort accompanied by an indoor water park, five star accommodations and top of the line service.
They gathered their luggage, loaded the car up and headed for SFO, ready to embark on their new expedition. Erin Hastings gazed out the plane window, thirty thousand feet above the land feeling hopeful about this new journey. Having just graduated from high school, she was beginning a new chapter in her life and was transitioning into adulthood. She had recently been accepted into New York University for the fall semester, which meant leaving behind her friends, family and California girl lifestyle. She had an overwhelming feeling as though this summer was her last hurrah to truly live in the moment and shuck all her responsibilities. After all, once the summer was over her life would never be the same.
