What is it about Autumn or "Fall" that makes it such an amazing time of year? Is it watching football every day for three straight days on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday? Is it the thrill of watching that scary movie again? Perhaps it's the chill in the air, and the haunting glow of a fire as it crackles lazily, that makes Fall such a seemingly magical time of year.
For me, the leaves changing always signifies the richest and ripest time of the year to be a sports fan here in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Penguins, Pirates, and Steelers are all either starting or winding down their seasons, and there's a game on nearly every channel of the TV featuring some team sporting black and gold. Whether you watch from your living room surrounded by family and friends or make the journey down to Pittsburgh's North Shore for tailgating with perfect strangers, sports in the Fall always just seem to be more enjoyable. Perhaps it's the idea that the weather is reasonably temperatured as opposed to the oppressive heat of the Mid-Atlantic summer, or maybe it's the fact that games played when the leaves are changing always mean more to a team due to the implications it can have for the playoffs later in the year.
Fall is not all sports and sunshine though. Fall also offers opportunities to unleash the culinary artist within all of us. Fall is the season of the harvest for most local farmers, and so farm markets will be "cropping up" (ba-dum-tss) all across Southwestern Pennsylvania as the days grow shorter. A bountiful assortment of colors and flavors of fruits and vegetables, such as apples and various gourds (see also: pumpkins), will soon be invading taste buds and filling nostrils with their rich bouquet of scents. With all that food though, people will need something to gather around. Sports are good, but perhaps my favorite thing about Fall is lighting a big bon fire and having a party. I grew up in a "country" town where bon fires were a common occurrence around Fall. Family and friends would gather in their yards, play pick up football, and bring covered dishes to sample and discuss.
However, you don't need a television or a fire to gaze at if you're after spectacular vistas in Fall in Southwestern PA. Just about an hour's drive up PA 43 through the Laurel Highlands of Fayette County are some of the most breathtaking scenes of Fall foliage one could ever comprehend. The varying hues seem to stretch for miles across the valley, and the Laurel Highlands also serve as the home of several farmers markets as well. The peak time to go view see the leaves is usually in the middle of October, so start clearing your schedule accordingly!
Finally, what would a discussion of Fall be without discussing Halloween? Halloween marks the official "start" of the "Holiday Season;" however, I dedicate nearly an entire month to Halloween. Halloween marks a time of plentiful candy, people dressed up in cool costumes, and a time when watching horror movies 24/7 is socially acceptable. It's the only time of year where people willingly spend money to go get scared, whether it's an all-night movie marathon or going out with friends to visit a haunted house. People love feeling chills in their spines as the air gets colder.
Whatever you enjoy doing in the fall, Southwestern PA has it. Whether it's sports or scenery you prefer, you can find it here. That's the beauty of Fall; the diversity of people is much like the leaves themselves, creating vast colorful opportunities to see things differently. That's why I like Fall.
