Daniel Alvarez is taking the long way home.

At this moment, he is kayaking towards Lake Superior through Minnesota's Boundary Waters Wilderness. After that-the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico.

Hailing from the Tallahassee area, Daniel recently embarked on a 4,000-mile solo kayaking journey from the northernmost point of the contiguous United States in Minnesota all the way to the southernmost point in Key West. He calls it "The Heart of America Paddling Journey."

The Tallahassee area is home to the largest concentration of original Southern Plantations in the country.  There are over 70 of them in our area, and Goodwood Museum & Gardens is without a doubt one of the finest.  This gracious antebellum plantation house, built in 1834 in midtown is a sight no resident or visitor of our great city should miss.  It's fantastic art collection and fine period furnishings are all original to the estate, and the magnificent gardens, under the majestic oaks are filled with heirloom plants.

This weekend Big Bend Cares is putting on their annual charity art fundraiser, Artopia.  For 14 years Artopia has been bringing the Tallahassee community together to bid on local and regional art pieces for a great cause.  The cause is to raise money to help Big Bend Cares continue their work to fight HIV/AIDS in our area.

I DO love the South. There's always a festival devoted entirely to what has made a town famous. Monticello is known for its amazing watermelons and has been celebrating them for 62 years now with their Watermelon Festival. The festivities begin on June 8th, but the main events are during the weekend of the 15th and 16th, so check their website for the complete schedule www.monticellojeffersonfl.com/wmfschedule.cfm.

Perhaps some of our ancestors lived in treetops, and no wonder. It's a cool place to catch refreshing breezes and sway gently with the canopies. It feels safe and natural, and it affords a hawk's eye view of the surrounding landscape.

Art is truly everywhere. On Thursday, June 14th the shops and restaurants in The Market District, just North of I-10 will host a wine & cheese party to kick-off their "summer-themed" art exhibition. A different artists' work will be featured in each of the participating stores in the district, and will also be offered for sale. Individual artists will be on hand to meet and greet during this evening only, but don't worry if you can't make it, they'll be leaving their beautiful works of art on display for the duration of the show, which will end in the middle of August. You know you'll find something lively and fun to brighten up your home during this great event! Check out www.TheMarketDistrictTallahassee.com for a complete and up to date list of participating artists and merchants.

Here's something fun for the whole family - ANY Thursday night of the year... You have to feed them dinner anyway, right? Why not do something a little different this week? Load up the car (don't forget your lawn chairs) and head to the "The Food Truck Hub" where Tharpe and Monroe Streets intersect. You can't miss it, the spot is right next to Burger King, and will be filled with Tallahassee food trucks offering just about every kind of food you can imagine (and some you've never even dreamed of).

One thing you'll notice upon visiting Bicycle House on Jackson Bluff Road is that it is a hotbed of activity. People are fixing bikes. People are bringing in bikes. People are waiting for bikes to be repaired. People are looking at bikes for sale. A typical bike shop. Upon further query, however, you learn that everyone working at the shop is a volunteer, and that, after some instruction, even customers can use the shop's tools to work on their bikes.

Experience the rhythms of drumbeats from faraway lands, such as Guinea, Senegal, Mali and the Congo without ever leaving Tallahassee! For the 15th year in a row, the Florida African Dance Festival (FADF) will be held on the Tallahassee Community College campus. This three-day event features dance and drum workshops by internationally renowned artists, as well as an amazing performance concert at FAMU's Lee Hall Auditorium on Saturday, June 9th.