The temperatures dropped last night, and the trees are definitely looking bare. I think last weekend was the last really colorful one. On to winter!
Back in September, I posted my 2024 Fall Fun List — a list of things I wanted to do to enjoy this fleeting season. Here’s an update on how I did.
Visit New England twice. I did! I went to a work-related gathering in Portland, Maine in early fall, and had a lovely run along the water and saw the northern lights. Then in mid/late October my husband and I went to Mount Desert Island in Maine. We stayed in Bar Harbor, hiked through Acadia, ate lobster, and ran the Run MDI half marathon. Lots of beautiful fall scenery there too.
Run long. I finished the half marathon, though it was fairly painful. I have not been motivated to run long since then! But I did do several longer runs during my training on a local nature trail, and those were quite nice.
Bike. I did bike solo a few times on a trail near here. We did not go as a family, despite buying another big kid bike (it has yet to be used). However I have been biking around the driveway with my 4-year-old! BOBW listeners have heard my ad about the Guardian Bike, and he has definitely figured it out. He asked if he could ride his own bike during a family bike ride — we shall see, as the trails are a little scary sometimes, but he could absolutely go on the Tag-along behind me. Of course, now it’s going to be cold for the next four months but…eventually.
Hike. My husband and I did the Gorham Mountain trail in Acadia, so I think this counts. My friend Joy and I have walked on local trails several times too.
Visit a botanical garden. I did do a lunch time picnic at Stoneleigh, and I went to Chanticleer several times, usually on Friday mid-day. When I created my “realistic ideal week” at BLP Live, I tentatively put in that Friday around lunch could be my “little adventure” time for doing things like this. There should be upsides to self employment!
Go apple picking. Wow, this seems like ages ago, though it was just mid/late September. We bought 3 pecks of honeycrisp apples at a local place. There was a lot of whining as it was a hot day, but we did it. And we ate through all our apples. I think we’ll go somewhere less crowded next year.
Watch a football game. Just snippets here and there on TV. I have family members going to a real one over Thanksgiving, but not me. Oh well.
Take family photos. We did, in a studio in late September. I now have the proofs and they are lovely (well, mostly – I don’t like viewing myself from some angles!). I’m not allowed to show random family photos anymore with older kids, but I’m happy to have these.
Enjoy BLP Live. I did! I love the beach and it was a great gathering. This will probably become a late fall tradition.
Listen to Vivaldi’s “Autumn.” Yep, and wrote several autumn-themed sonnets. I am thinking I might actually continue my 2-lines-a-day sonnet writing habit for another year. It’s pretty easy to do, and the discipline of writing sonnets weekly means occasionally I write one I like.
I’m now working on my holiday fun list, so stay tuned for that! If you made a fall fun list, how did you do?
Laura, you did a lot on your list! I was thinking I’d not done much on mine, but looking at it now, I did more than I realized. I wanted to fit in one more botanical garden in September, which we did, and we turned it into a bonus getaway for a night. I also had a fall vacation to Door County (Wisconsin) as was on my list. Sadly, we did not hike while there as it was unseasonably cold and rainy. But the weather allowed us to fit in three art galleries, instead of just one as I had on my list. I wanted to spend a day in Port Washington (Wisconsin) which sort of happened, though not a full day or afternoon. One lunch on the water up there, and one lovely early dinner this past weekend. So, I got my quaintness quotient. And lastly, I had a Fall Festival or Day of the Dead celebration on my list. That one turned into hosting a fun family outing with my son and his family at a Fall Family Fun Day, which included an in-town hayride, games for the kids, a spooky cave tour and a late lunch at a local brewery. What I did not do: visit a state park, build a fire, eat dinner on our patio and the aforementioned hike. I watched a couple of Packer games, but they were too painful to watch in their entirety.
@Holly – sounds like you did a lot! I’d like to do a Day of the Dead type celebration some year. I sang a requiem in church for All Saints…but not quite the same…
I was so-so with my list completion:
1. Attend the Chicago Seminars, which is a points and miles based conference. Travel hacking actually got us around the world this year, but there are always opportunities to learn more. Result: We did this, and I realized that I have accumulated more travel hacking knowledge than I thought! A fun weekend.
2, Attend a milestone high school reunion. I wasn’t that excited about going, because there has been a lot of Facebook….political divisiveness among my classmates which is super annoying, My best friend from my class just told me that 2 of our other close high school friends are attending, so I’m excited that we’ll be together again. Result: We ended up going. It was a joy to see my old friends. However, post-election, I have imposed a Facebook ban on myself, since the political divisiveness has unfortunately returned.
3. Figure out what to do with the about-to-graduate-from college son of Japanese friends who will be visiting us in November. I was worried about food preferences, but he wants cereal for breakfast, hamburgers and “all the American foods” for lunch and dinner, so I think we’ll be fine. Result: We have had an incredible 10 day visit with our friend. He is leaving tomorrow, and I will be sobbing when I drop him off at JFK. I wish that more families had the opportunity to host a friend from another country. It is life-changing.
4. Spend time at our timeshare in Marco Island Florida, in part with our daughter and her West Coast boyfriend. Result: 50-50. We ended up getting kicked off the island for 4 days due to a mandatory Hurricane Milton evacuation. We got to go back (for which I am very grateful given what others have endured). However, the hurricane forced my daughter and boyfriend to cancel their trip.
5. Pick apples and get some apple cider donuts. Result: Another 50-50. We picked apples, but never got around to getting the donuts.
6. Try out some new easy recipes, as I am in a rut. Result: Epic fail. Still in a rut…
7. Get into a rhythm of reading for an hour of a physical book and an hour of an e-book on nights when I am home and am not watching tv with my husband. Result: I have done pretty well with this. Reading a physical book right before bed has helped me fall asleep more easily.
8. Go to a local trivia night. I’ve found that I’m decent at trivia, so it’s worth a try. Result: Nope
9. Continue working on decluttering, To my horror, I counted no less than 21 kitchen towels that were ready to be donated today. I donated them, and still have some left. Result: Not much progress, but at least some towels are gone.
10. Use up the last of our summer produce. It was a crappy season, but my mesclun lettuce is growing like gangbusters, and we will still have tomatoes, peppers and beets to enjoy. Zinnias to admire too! Result: I did well with this. I am in the same region as you, Laura. Despite the cold last night, I found enough strawberries in the garden this morning to jaz up my yogurt.
@Beth C – excellent progress! I’m glad you had enough strawberries to enjoy with your yogurt. We need to work on some deer prevention before we get produce but I am hoping next year. 21 towels! We, likewise, have a lot of stuff. At least now you own fewer towels!