IT WAS A "FALL" WEEKEND.

You can certainly tell that fall is finally here. Our temperatures have cooled quite a bit from last week, and today was one of those cold, rainy days when all you want to do is stay inside. Naturally, that doesn't mean me. I don't know if I'm going through "taperitis" or just have more energy than I know what to do with, but with concentrating on the running only, I suddenly have all this energy and free time I don't remember having in like FOREVER.

Saturday, after my run, I actually set out to clean the house, something I haven't had time to do since spring, it seems. It was a good day to bring in my plants from outside (before the poor babies froze!), vacuum up the hopeful cobwebs, and change out the summer silk flower arrangements with the fall flowers. And oooh, the smell! I finally got around to putting out the fall candles and Bath and Body Works room scents with the pumpkin spice room scent. Umm, the house smells so nice!

Saturday evening, Don and I decided to go out to use my birthday gift card to a downtown "Italian" restaurant, Tres Cuigini. I couldn't help but compare it to the Italian restaurant when we went to New York, the one in North Jersey. Actually, there was no comparison. While the ambience was great--we had a window seat overlooking our "mall" right across from the new Art Museum and the outdoor amphitheater--the menu and food left a lot to be desired. And the bill was outrageous! $78 for 2 meals, an added salad, and 2 glasses of wine. Yikes! And what did we get for that? Salmon with peas and a few roasted potatoes. I can make better at home. Cross that restaurant off my list of places to visit.

We did see an interesting site while waiting for our dinner: a group of young boys carrying a huge Chinook salmon they had caught in the river nearby.

Sunday, I took the kids to the "fish ladder" a sculpture by a local artist, Joseph Kinnebrew. The salmon are running right now, and according to a "fish expert" we have some of the best salmon fishing in the US. Can't confirm that, but it was fun watching the fishermen. Its a pretty popular place to be right now. You can see from the pictures one of my weekday morning running routes. I generally go right past the fishing area and head out to the bridge you can see in the distance, cross over that, go through a waterfront park, turn, and head back to the downtown area, about 3 miles.

After that, we went to the pumpkin patch. And naturally, just as we were heading there, it decided to start raining. We went here last year. I barely remember it, because it was just less than a month after my accident. So it was a milestone for me to be able to maneuver around the whole place without feeling like I needed a walker.

The kids had fun picking out their pumpkins, playing with the kittens, and eating cider and donuts. It doesn't get any better in the fall, does it?