Running Down Main Street: Missing Fall

Oh how this time of year makes me so sad. I love fall... the change of colors, sweatshirt weather, pumpkin patches, apple picking, hayrides, apple cider donuts. Now you see we Floridians have some of these things as well. The churches "try" to recreate pumpkin patches mostly in their open side lots or parking lots. Hayrides consist of wearing tank tops and sweating while glaring from the sun beaming down on you. And anything apple well, it just doesn't exist. I spend hours and hours this time every year prowling the internet looking for something, some sort of fall activity that will recreate that NY fall that I miss so dearly, but I have yet to find it. I guess the only thing I can do is start playing the lottery and hope to win so I can buy a "fall home" in upstate NY! I think my love of fall and Halloween stem from my childhood. Every year our neighborhood would organize an outing to a haunted hayride. For years this activity scared me so much that every year I would end up in tears half way through and end up sitting up front with the driver! But I still went every year and then one day it just didn't scare me anymore. I think my favorite was the half way stop with the witches and they would give everyone apple cider and doughnuts. I still crave those things this time every year. Then around middle school a few friends and I would create haunted houses in one of our basements that we could torture all of our friends to go through!