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.