I am happy to say that I have stuck with my New Year's Resolution to get my family in shape. I would love to say that all six of my children have shared my enthusiasm, but that would be telling a fib. The other day we attempted a bike ride around the neighborhood. It took two hours just to get all of the bikes out of the garage and air in all of the tires. That took longer than the ride around the neighborhood which lasted less than 15 minutes! The older kids rode so fast that by the time the little ones and myself made it up the first small hill, they were already home. It was then that I realized that if we are going to bond while we are getting in shape, than I am going to have to find some things to do that are new for all of us.

The weather in town has been a fickle beast as of late, but for those who call Tallahassee home, this isn't anything new. The mornings start cold, and the days end freezing. I've been staving off the cold bones with hot teas and coffee, but at night, my sweet tooth gets the best of me. It drives me to venture into the elements to secure a frozen delight.

I'm convinced that the Twilight Trail near Woodville was named because people liked to ride the trail after work and often finished during the twilight. That was certainly the case for me on a recent Friday. I began my 9-mile loop ride at the Lewis Park in Woodville with the sun already dipping behind tall pines.

Along with countless of other Americans, I made the choice of making my New Year's Resolution affect the way I eat. It's time to be more conscious of what I put in my belly. The plan is to have less meat and carbohydrates in my diet, and have more vegetables. Hopefully I will be able to outlast my belly's desire for a late night fast food run. Historically, the cards are stacked against me.

Raising children in Florida's Capital City, I would like to say that they know everything about how the government runs.  I would like to tell you that they are well versed in the history of our state and that they know who our state representatives are and what policies they are fighting for.  The reality is that raising six children doesn't always lend itself to finding time for a history lesson, but once a year I can guarantee that you will find us at the Capitol.

We are starting the fourth week of the New Year and I would like to say that I have stuck to my New Year's Resolution of getting in shape, but that would not be true.  There have been days when I have found myself spending most of the afternoon and evening driving kids to and from their work-outs for the day (soccer, basketball, dance, etc) and my opportunities to exercise have vanished.  It is really too bad that pushing a gas pedal doesn't count as a work-out!

Since winter is an ideal season for hiking, it's time to introduce the premier hiking trail in our region-the Florida National Scenic Trail. The trail runs 1,400 miles from the Big Cypress National Preserve to the Gulf Islands National Seashore near Pensacola. In our area, the trail enters from the east along the wild Aucilla River. The Aucilla Sinks, where the river repeatedly ducks underground and resurfaces in a series of sinkholes, is one of the trail's scenic highlights.

As the temperature in Tallahassee drops slightly below a comfortable chill, only one remedy comes to mind that can stave off the cold.  Forget stopping by CVS for some Theraflu, what you need is a heaping helping of some barbecue.  With that first nip of the early morning air, I already know what to get to nurture my frozen bones--a saucy pulled pork sandwich.

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I hadn't ridden the Munson Hills Off-Road Bike Trail in a couple of years, and was I ever surprised. Instead of finding stretches of difficult to traverse sugar sand, the U.S. Forest Service and its volunteer partners have put down layers of clay that have been angled for sharper turns and raised in places for fun jumps. There is also an adjoining trail loop, the Twilight Trail, that adds more than nine miles. Added to the long established Munson east and west loops, and there is a total of 21 miles of off-road bicycling fun in this section of the Apalachicola National Forest!

I had first heard about Birds a few years back when my friend had invited me to see him do standup comedy. He's a funny guy, so I figured he'd have some good laughs.  He promised that he had a funny set and that they had cheap Yuengling on tap.  Cheap beer and some laughs?  A pretty hard combination to pass up on a Wednesday night.

This Year, I have a whole list of resolutions.  Of course there are the usual ones, like finally lose the 20 pounds that seems to have permanently taken residency around my waist, eat smart and exercise each day.  The more I thought about the changes I wanted to make for me, I realized that as a family we could use a make-over.  All of us could do with a little more exercise.  My kids play a variety of sports and sometimes while they are at their practices I will walk around the fields for exercise.  But I want this year to be about us taking the time to exercise together.  The first two days we went on a walk around the neighborhood.  Then the boredom set in of doing the same routine.  So this mom set out to find a new place to go to get our exercise together. 
So welcome to the first edition of "A mom and six kids exercise adventures".

The St. Marks River below Natural Bridge has been a frequent companion on Saturdays. I've been helping with paddling trips for the Wilderness Way and we usually launch our colorful flotilla of kayaks on private land along "the basin," a wide marshy area where the St. Marks River rises from underground. Paddlers who don't have this prime access usually launch at the Newport Bridge and paddle up the six miles to the basin and back down again. 

I'm not the most fashionable man, I admit it.  I always stick with safe color schemes for my wardrobe.  Ones that require minimal effort to coordinate like blues, grays, and browns.  Sometimes, if I'm feeling adventurous, I throw in some red to liven things up.  That's why this time of year is always rough for me.  Finding the perfect gift for my girlfriend is a challenge because when the time comes to exchange gifts, I don't want to feel like one of those TV grandmas.  You know the ones who buy ugly sweaters for the grandkids and wonder why they don't wear them when the family gets together for Christmas dinner.

One of the best things about the holiday season that stretches between Thanksgiving and Christmas (and beyond to New Year's Eve) is the return of expatriates to the homeland.

That means that at holiday parties, you will get to reconnect with folks you haven't seen since last year's holiday parties. On any given night at local watering holes, impromptu reunions break out. I can always count on catching up with pals who've moved away at Waterworks, where we can catch up on news over a Capri sandwich and a round of libations.

Manatees. They have a unique lure. As a follow-up to my earlier visit (and blog) on the subject, I awakened before sunrise on a recent frigid Saturday (a real effort for me) and drove to Wakulla Springs State Park. The front gatekeeper had just arrived and I was fortunate to meet a maintenance man at the swimming area who was kind enough to open the gate for me, since the swimming area isn't normally open until around 9 o'clock. I had the tower-and about twenty manatees in the spring bowl-to myself.

This past weekend I stopped by New Leaf Market for their weekly beer tasting.  When I first heard about it, I expected something epic.  I imagined endless amounts of frosty beer mugs on serving trays carried by fleets of German beer maids.  Everyone's favorite Polka hits would be blaring over the speakers and every so often polka renditions of traditional holiday music would come on to get everyone into the holiday spirit. 

Ryan and Rebecca Means enjoy exploring wild places. But the adventuresome couple has taken their passion a step further by beginning Project Remote, an effort to identify and document the remotest locations in all 50 states. They have already traveled to and documented 12 states thus far, and their progress can be tracked on their website.

Bicyclists, joggers, hikers, strollers, birdwatchers and horseback riders can all find enjoyable off-road experiences at the Lake Overstreet Trails in Maclay Gardens State Park. Located near I-10 on the north side of Tallahassee, the trails are easily accessible to thousands of people, highly convenient during these short days of winter.

The groups of bars around Tallahassee reflect some very distinct cultural clusters.  The strip of bars on Tennessee Street caters to a younger crowd.  It's the place where many graduate from their fake IDs and move on to their horizontal legitimate ones.  In contrast, the bars around Midtown offer a calmer, slightly more sophisticated drinking environment without being stuffy. 

The holidays are all about tradition, and I'd like to share one of mine.

While most of the shopping public participated in the Black Friday holiday tradition of wrestling their fellow shoppers for the last video game on the shelf at Best Buy or Walmart, I have plotted my own shopping excursion. Even on a slow day, the malls and big box stores give me the heebie-jeebies, so I have pledged to do my gifting from locally owned galleries and stores. And I will start by wandering through the winter wonderland of LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts' annual Holiday Show, which traditionally opens to the public on the day after Thanksgiving.

If I were to compile a list of my favorite foods, Latin American foods would be very well represented.  Those flavors really bring me back to my childhood, back to when my mother would have me set the table after cutting up onions and peppers for her.  I consider it a blessing that my mother was such a great chef.  I grew up eating a lot of traditional Latin American foods like arroz con pollo and bistec palomilla, and, thanks to her, I find myself making very similar dishes to this day.

I love the lengthening nights of winter, when daylight is whittled away to a luminous sliver and everything seems lit from within by an inner incandescence.

The days count down to the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the solar year - a time of ice and fire, when darkness and light are weighed in the scales and the red-gold reign of the sun gives way to the silvered, frosty dominion of the moon.

After reading Internet reviews that the Cadillac Trail is "awesome" and "a must ride trail," I had to venture over to Lafayette Heritage Trail Park just east of Tallahassee. I was not disappointed. Who would have dreamed that an off-road biking trail in Florida could be so well-developed and challenging!

Wakulla Springs State Park just south of Tallahassee is fast becoming a manatee haven. Each winter, more and more of the impressive sea cows are finding the constant temperatures of the springs to their liking. Climb up the diving platform on a cool morning and you might spot a dozen manatees swimming around the spring bowl. And you may find another dozen farther down the river along the jungle boat route.

When I started this blog, my intention was to let people know about all the many fun things to do in and around Tallahassee during the year.  Since I am a Tallahassee native, I thought I would be a pro because I know everything there is to do around here.  What an exciting journey this has been and so much of it is because I am learning how little I really do know about Tallahassee and how many new things there are for me to experience with my children.

Fall and cooler weather is here, and you know what that means? No, not football-hiking! Of course, there is football, too, but in between your favorite games, hiking opportunities abound in the Tallahassee/Big Bend region. And this time of year is perfect for long strolls since pesky bugs are taking a long siesta.

Pizza is one of the few types of food that I could eat every day and not get bored.  The variety of toppings available makes it possible for endless combinations. I've grown to find that the taste of cold pizza in the morning rivals hot pizza in the evening.  I'm not sure if the Bagel Bites commercials in the 90's planted the idea in my brain that eating pizza any time was reasonable, but I am certain that it had something to do with it. My love for eating pizza for breakfast has added an extra requirement to my pizza demands.  Every time I think about ordering a pie, I take into account whether or not I'd also enjoy the left-overs.

Breakfast is an odd thing to me.  Since leaving the regimented comfort of my parents' household, the lines between breakfast, lunch and dinner have been blurred.  During the past 4 or 5 years, it wasn't unusual for me to eat cold wings and leftover pizza at 9 am.  And it still isn't.  Through these experiences I've come to question what makes a food a breakfast food.  Are eggs a breakfast food only if the egg is cracked into a skillet and not hardboiled?  What if bacon is laid atop another piece of meat?  Do breakfast type foods have to be displayed separately on a plate?  But what if you somehow streamline the process of consumption by putting the meal in a bread-like enclosure?  Does it find itself in the lunch or brunch territory?

The first thing I noticed about the Suwannee River was that it was low, low and slow. The current at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park (River Mile 148.5) was almost imperceptible. Thirty-foot limestone walls-white and pock-marked-bore silent witness to the drought conditions of mid-October. This promised to be the slowest Paddle Florida trip in its four-year existence. With the west wind blowing fallen leaves on the water, it looked as though the river was flowing backwards! Still, any trip on the famous Suwannee River is special, even one with almost slack water.

Continuing Tallahassee's celebration of earthly delights, the 15^th of October was the Annual North Florida Wine & Food Festival.  For the past three years, the Dedman School of Hospitality has been putting on this event to give their students some educational experience and it's been so popular that the event has become a staple of the Tallahassee's October festival line up.

This past weekend, I was driving home from a friend's place.  It was well past midnight and for some reason I wanted a burger to sit in my belly.   There is a McDonalds right down the road from my place so, in my tired and hungry mind, it was the only reasonable option.  As I pulled into the parking lot, I soon realized that I wasn't the only person with a hankering for some junk food.  The line went around the building and almost met itself in front of those familiar golden arches which would have cemented the Idea in my mind that this "quick bite" would be more of a long wait.

I love autumn in Tallahassee.  The weather's cool, dry and breezy.  It's the perfect time to put on some flannel and poke around some pumpkin patches for the perfect one for carving.  If you missed the memo, this is the time of the year where pumpkins are back in style.  Pumpkins have found their way into everything. Pumpkin pies, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin spice lattes, and of course pumpkin beers.  You can realistically experience all that is pumpkin throughout the entire day.

Football in the south is huge.  People here live and breath for the start of fall which means it is the start of football season.  If you are coming to Tallahassee on a football weekend, I can promise you that you will have lots to do!

My oldest daughter is a very gifted artist.  It is fascinating to me to see how amazing her work is when I don't have an artistic bone in my body.  She had heard about these art galleries down at a place called Railroad Square and had been begging me to take her.  I had heard that the first Friday of every month there was something called First Friday Gallery Hop at Railroad Square where all the galleries were opened late, but I was hesitant to go, not sure if it was appropriate for the younger kids.  I had images of dressy people looking at beautiful artwork while my kids ran through the gallery knocking valuable pieces off the wall.  After months of her trying to convince me that it would be fun for all of us, I agreed and we all loaded up to see what the hype was about. 

The recently improved and reopened Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail inspired me to break out my bike and give it a go. First, I thought it best to wipe the mildew off the seat, squirt a little oil on the moving parts and put some air in the tires. As you might gather, I'm not a bicycle aficionado, but I always enjoy the pursuit once I get out.

As summer creeps into fall, the weather is getting better.  It's almost time to break out those long sleeves, but they better be garnet and gold because the dawn of college football is upon us.  That means that the weekend plans are going to get a lot easier.  It's time to get the grills fired up and begin stock piling as many beverages as possible. 

The majority of us spend a whole lot of time in our cars.  Running to and from work, transporting kids to and from events and rushing to get the shopping done.  We base our routes on landmarks that we see and that become so familiar to us.  Often times we aren't even aware of what significance some of these landmarks might hold.

Having spent most of my life in Tallahassee, I can honestly say that there is never a time to be bored.  Our weekends are well thought out with trips down one of the many bike trails, a picnic at one of the parks, visiting a historical site or participating in one of the many community events that go on year round.  Fall seems to offer limitless opportunities of fun with all the fall festivals, walks for amazing charities plus it is a chance to enjoy the outdoors when it is below 90 degrees.  Personally it is my favorite time of year because the leaves are changing colors, the mosquitoes are long gone and our activities do not require me to wear a bathing suit which is great.  I swear our entire summer revolved around cooling off in water and being told by my teenagers how uncool my skort bathing suit was!  No fashion worries during the fall, because I can wear a sweater, hide my mommy muffin top and feel good!!!

The 8^th of October marked the beginning of many great festivals being held in Tallahassee.  It started off with Brewfest which was a blast for craft beer enthusiasts. I waited to attend Brewfest for about a year and I couldn't have been happier with the turn out.  To have the ability to pay a onetime entrance fee and try nearly a hundred different beers gave me a feeling similar to Charlie finding that golden ticket.  I was furious last year that I wasn't able to make it.  I didn't think that it would have sold out but sadly I was wrong.  Everyone that I knew who went couldn't stop bragging about an experience I missed out on.  I missed a world of beer, but this year, I got my ticket and there was nothing stopping me from making it to that festival. 

Last October, I had the good fortune to join RiverTrek 2010-a five day paddle on the Apalachicola River from the Jim Woodruff Dam to Apalachicola Bay to raise money for the Apalachicola Riverkeeper. That set off a plan to create the Apalachicola Blueway, a detailed guide for paddlers wanting to explore the river for a day or the entire length. Then Riverkeeper executive director Andy Smith and I scouted the river by boat to create the guide, and the Florida Office of Greenways and Trails produced the maps. Now, the complete Apalachicola Blueway guide can be downloaded on a new river website, produced by volunteer Earl Morrogh.

Every month, I recharge my cultural batteries and refresh myself by making the rounds of the regular First Friday Gallery Hop. It's one of my favorite arty things to do in Tallahassee.

Along the way, I have made some wonderful friends - artists whose work I've admired (and purchased) and gallery owners who offer space and shelter for those artists. The gallery hop is nothing if not a social affair - you can hob-nob with old and new pals while browsing for art and other treasures.

A dainty pair of lady's leather shoes. A faux-ivory celluloid-backed hand mirror. A toothbrush. A jar of cold cream, half-used. A bottle of fine champagne, stoppered, with the dregs still left inside.
These things left behind - things as mundane as a tin of tooth powder and as elegant as a dainty hairpin - tell the human tale of the frigid April night in 1912 when the ocean liner Titanic was struck by an iceberg and went down in the North Atlantic. More than 1,500 souls perished, and more than 700 survived.

What do you do when a new friend from Spain wants to experience some real North Florida downhome culture?

Take her zydeco dancing at Bradfordville Blues Club, that’s what!

And that’s just what I did with a posse of pals a couple of weekends ago, when our friend Amanda, who grew up in Tallahassee, was visiting from Mallorca, where she lives now. She had brought her friend Lucia and wanted to introduce her to la dolce vita a la Tallahassee.

The upper Wacissa River was on my radar the other day and I saw three other boats. Three! A kayak and two canoes. That's because I ventured to the headsprings just east of Tallahassee after work during the week, taking advantage of the long days of late summer/early fall. I had almost two hours of blissful, quiet paddling, and I had the 42-foot deep Big Blue, the largest spring along the river, all to myself.

On a recent Sunday afternoon we ventured out to the Museum of Florida History located in the R.A. Gray Building in Downtown Tallahassee.  I started taking my children to this museum when they were just toddlers and as they have gotten older it is still a place that they enjoy going.  From the moment you walk in, the children's attention is captured as you wander through the different periods of history from the age of the Mastodon to the Native Indians to the Civil War and beyond. 

I was so happy to see the construction on Gaines Street finally come to an end.  The long standing construction was taxing on the businesses in the area.  So much so that St. Mike's Pub used its sign to convey a simple yet widely shared opinion, "Fix the damn road."  It was always such a hassle to navigate around the area every time I wanted to grab food at Voodoo Dog.  Now that it's over, I can check out the merchandise at some of the shops in the area like Two Moon Trees, Phaze One Skate Shop, and the new Retrofit Records.   

Wakulla Springs State Park is one of my favorite places on the planet. I have swum in the icy waters there, and I have napped on the grass with the chatter of children lulling me into a doze. I have hiked its trails, and I have taken the Jungle Cruise (my friend Linda Hall drives one of the boats) many times, never tiring of the splendid pageant of birds and alligators and silver, leaping mullet.

If you're anything like me, towards the end of the week I start running out of ideas for what to have for dinner.  I can only have pasta or stir fry so many times a week.  Luckily, every Thursday there is a place where a lot of the great mobile food trucks gather together to serve some of Tallahassee's best diverse cuisine.  I'm not talking about premade burgers under heat lamps or ziti on hotplates--I'm talking about Food Trucks.

I recently joined the owner of The Wilderness Way, Georgia Ackerman, her husband, Rick Zelznak and a couple of other friends at Lake Hall for some fun with stand up paddle boards (SUPs). SUPs are a cross between surfboards and kayaks. They look a lot like surfboards, you stand on top of them, but you paddle them with a long paddle.

I had the wonderful opportunity to accompany a WFSU film crew to St. George Island State Park on Wednesday. For their Dimensions television show, they are featuring the Forgotten Coast segment of the Florida Circumnavigational Saltwater Paddling Trail, a 1,515-mile sea kayaking trail around the entire Florida coastline that I mapped for the Florida Office of Greenways and Trails. We arrived in the morning just after a rain and the sky was perfect for filming and photography. And not too hot, either.

Opposite in nature than the spring-fed Wakulla River is the swamp-fed Sopchoppy River, about 35 miles southwest of Tallahassee. Fed by small creeks emerging from the watery jungle of the Bradwell Bay Wilderness Area and other wet areas of the Apalachicola National Forest, the Sopchoppy's color varies from yellow-gold to red-black to coffee-colored, depending on rainfall, water depth and sunlight. Think of the river's headwater swamps as giant tea pots brewing a concoction of fallen leaves, cypress needles, bark and wood and you get the picture. The water is clean from a pollution standpoint, however, since it emerges from wholly undeveloped lands. 

If you're hankering for some delicious country smoked sausage and country milled grits, take a leisurely drive up Centerville Road towards Bradley's Country Store. I would suggest putting on some Creedence Clearwater Revival during the ride to put you in the right mood. As you approach Bradley's, you'll surely come to realize how fitting the name is. This quaint little establishment sits under the cool shade of some giant oaks, protected from the pull of time.

I don't have much of a green thumb and sometimes I worry that my children are going to grow up thinking that most vegetables and fruits grow in cans. So I packed up the family and brought them down to the Downtown Market Place to expose them to fresh produce, music and art. I figured the kids and I would walk around a little bit and maybe grab a few tomatoes. Heck, I was even thinking I might try and find the inner Martha Stewart in me and perhaps get some fresh peaches to make a cobbler.

The Engine Room is the place in Tallahassee to check out the newest trends in music today.  It attracts musical acts from across the nation and from different genres ranging from punk to house music.  More recently, a lot of electronic acts are performing there which is telling of the new trend in music.  The music scene is quickly moving towards more electronic acts since emerging technologies are making full bands a thing of the past.  The people who book the shows really have their finger on the pulse of the music industry.

It's an odd memory to have, but I remember the first salad I ordered at a restaurant.  Back when I was a junior in high school, my dad took the family out to Outback Steakhouse.  When the waiter came to take our orders, my dad ordered a rib eye, my mom a blackened chicken Caesar salad, my brothers both ordered burgers and I ordered a house salad.  As soon as the waiter left to put in the orders, the jokes came pouring in from my older brothers.  They couldn't believe that I would order a salad at a steakhouse.  They said it was sacrilege.

Let us now have a moment of silence for Tallahassee's venerable arthouse cinema, the Miracle 5 on Thomasville Road. 

The theater, which had been serving up edgy, indie and foreign film fare for decades, closed its doors Aug. 14 after parent company Regal Cinemas decided it had sunk enough money into an infrastructure that was, admittedly, shabby and crumbling around the edges.

For those who are working for the weekend and need a good way to unwind, Midtown is definitely the place to take it easy. I know that I have mentioned some of the bars in the midtown area in a previous blog but looking back I feel that they're due for a little more attention.  

The Wakulla River has been a refreshing destination this summer. It can be a busy place on weekends, so I try to launch my kayak early, say, by about 9 AM to beat the crowds. Sometimes a cool mist hovers above the water, and when the day starts to warm, it's wonderful to dip arms into the clear, springfed water, and splash my face and head. Or, I just jump in. 

I'm sure everyone's heard some variation of Paul Rudd's rant about Starbucks in the movie Role Models. Even though his character in the film is a huge jerk, the issues he brings up aren't that crazy. Starbucks is taking over the world one sweet beverage at a time. 

When I was twelve years old, my parents took our family to the Florida Caverns State Park in Marianna. I remember standing in line waiting for our tour and when it was our turn to go in, I stood at the entrance and refused to go inside. I had visions of being stuck in the cave and imagined spending the rest of my life in a dark, creepy cavern. No way was I going in....looking back now it is funny how willing I was to let my siblings go in! My sweet dad sat outside with me and waited while the rest of the family went inside. They came out excited and full of details of the things that they had seen inside the cavern and I have always wondered what I missed seeing that day.  

I have a confession to make - I'm in love. The romance began in 1968 when I moved here with my family from the Chicago area. That's because I discovered that wild rivers, lakes, forests and coastline were within easy reach of Tallahassee. And while Florida's capital city may have grown larger in the past 43 years, those same outdoor places from my boyhood are still there to enjoy thanks to carefully protected public lands.

Is there anything more delicious than floating face down in the clear salt water, scanning the sea grass for the multiple bright blue eyes of bay scallops?

There are big divides within the wing community over what makes the best wing.  Some prefer their wings grilled with Cajun spices, while others enjoy breaded with barbeque sauce, and then there are those who prefer their wings naked and smothered in the liquid fire.  While there are countless other combinations, I find myself gravitating towards the breaded and spicy.

If I see a bug in my house, chances are within minutes you will find it on the bottom of my shoe. My children on the other hand, like anything and everything creepy and crawly. So when we heard that Giant Bugs had invaded the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science my kids were begging to go see them.  

Every first Friday of the month, I park in the dirt lot across the street from All Saints café on Railroad Ave (the lot starts to fill up fast around 6:30 pm). I get out of my car and deploy a myriad of text messages to my friends in an attempt to establish a meeting point. I am one of hundreds of people that come together to check out what is happening at Railroad Square Art Park.

For the past few months I’ve been spending a lot of my time around Midtown.  Between getting my iced coffee at RedEye and grabbing a bite to eat or having a few drinks at one of the various bars, it’s almost becoming a second home. 

I have spent the past couple of weekends enjoying the real Florida. 

I dipped into the salty world off the coast of St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge to scoop up scallops and snorkel through sponge and coral beds and banks of sea grass where tiny starfish lay snuggled like delicate five-armed jewels in deep green boxes.

Not far from Florida State University campus lies a national historical landmark called Mission San Luis.  When you enter the only reconstructed 17^th century mission in the Southeast, be prepared to be taken to the 1690's when the Apalachee Indians and the newcomers from Spain created a community called Mission San Luis.  My kids, who were not looking forward to a history lesson, were truly mesmerized as people wearing costumes from that period guided us through the mission.  It was as if we had gone through a time machine and were watching the people doing the daily activities that would have taken place in this little community in the 1690's.  My boys were excited to learn about the traditional games that the Apalachee children played....not quite the same as the Playstation games of the 21^st century.  

I heard it through the Tallahassee cultural grapevine that the Mary Brogan Museum of Art & Science was going to extend the run of its blockbuster exhibit "Baroque Painting in Lombardy from the Pinacoteca di Brera," which was scheduled to close July 20. Well the Tallahassee cultural grapevine was correct! The "Baroque Painting in Lombardy from the Pinacoteca di Brera" has been extended until September 4. 

The kids and I ventured out this past week to see a movie.  Sometimes it can be a challenge to find a movie that doesn't make me wish I was an octopus so I would have enough arms to cover six children's eyes and ears during inappropriate moments in the film.  My 12 year old recalled how a few months ago we filmed a commercial for the Challenger Learning Center announcing their newly remodeled IMAX 3D theater.  Secretly I was thrilled because I know that at the Challenger Learning Center there are films that will entertain everyone.  They have wonderful documentary films like Born to Be Wild and Life Under the Sea that will entertain the entire family        

National Hot Dog Day was last Saturday (July 23^rd) and I felt that the only real way to celebrate a holiday of this caliber is with a tasty dog. Instead of going to the grocery store to purchase some ball park franks to cook up yourself, a better alternative would be to pay a visit to either Dog Et All or Voodoo Dog -Tallahassee's finest hot dog destinations.

There are a lot of good places to get a drink around Tallahassee, but each venue offers something different.  The strip of bars on Tennessee Street caters to the younger college crowd that likes to get rowdy off cheap liquor and even cheaper beer.  Then there are the bars in Midtown like Finnegan's Wake Irish Pub, Waterworks and The Filling Station that cultivate a higher caliber atmosphere. 

The greatest thing about raising my children in the same city where I grew up is taking them to some of my favorite childhood places.  I have so many happy memories of growing up in Tallahassee and going on adventures with my family, laughing and playing with my brothers and sister.  

Decisions, decisions - where to watch the rockets' red glare in Tallahassee and the surrounding area? Well, you've got options - lots of 'em. And there are even some festivities to help you get in a red, white and blue for Monday's big blow-out.

Most people will be surprised to find that right off Thomasville Road there is a 1,076 acre state park called Alfred B. Maclay Gardens.  When I first told the kids that we were going on an adventure to Maclay Gardens they were not overly thrilled thinking I was taking them to some garden.  But as I packed the car with a cooler of drinks and food, a Frisbee, towels, bathing suits and of course the camera they started to perk up.  I promised them this was so much more than a garden and we got in the car and headed out.