Pumpkins by the pool

I love the fall season.  One of my best memories is driving from Sault Saint Marie to Marquette (Michigan) one October day. It had all of my favorite elements for a great day – amazing fall colors, a steel gray overcast sky, and the threat of rain.

If I could, I’d follow fall around the globe as the seasons changed.  Yet I’m here in Florida where there isn’t a hint of fall, unless you count the handful of leaves that drop off the “live oak” trees and the pumpkins for sale in front of Publix (that’s kind of like a redneck Dominic’s). What was I thinking?

I still love days like that one in the U.P. My kids call me when it’s raining in Florida and say, “dad, it’s one of your favorite days.” It’s just that Florida is missing so many of the other great parts of autumn. Like cold weather, sweaters, and fireplaces.  Do people here really know about fall?  Or what a real Halloween feels like? Pumpkins sitting on the lanai next to the pool just don't do it for me.