Looking around.....Like most other friends I spend time with we never consider where we live as a destination. I was out running errands yesterday and was keenly aware of my surroundings. An unusual occurrence as I'm usually talking on the phone, yelling at people who tick me off while driving and plotting my next meal. I guess the planets were aligned just right yesterday because I saw FALL. The sugar maples are turning their brillant red, the skies are heavier with clouds and the temperatures have dropped about fifteen degrees in the past week. Cars are whizzing by on their way to university football games and the farmer's market has apples and sunflowers that have replaced strawberries and sweet corn. Even the air smells different. Children are back in school and their usual lethargic I'm bored summer look has been replaced with giggles as they get off the bus in the afternoon ready to ride their bikes as though they hadn't done so all summer. I live near many, many lakes including the Great Lakes. There is much to see and do here but I always seem to be looking to travel somewhere else. Why is that? I'm pushing 60 years old and I know there are lots of things to see right here in my own state that I haven't taken the time to visit. Always too busy planning my next trip to Venezula. Weekend trips are hard for me as I treasure that two days a week at home so I just don't get out and scout out the cute shops, restaurants and inns that I know are out there. I guess I'm just going to have to add that to my "list". Visit an interesting place close to home once a month. Yup, that's just what I'm going to do, just as soon as I get back from Mexico next week.