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.