I have lived in Maine my whole life. Before I went to college, the longest I left Maine at a time was for a week on a family vacation. After high school I went to the University of Tampa. My friends and family had a lot of advice for me before I left. Everyone told me how beautiful the weather would be and how jealous they were of me. One thing no one warned me about was how much I’d miss living in the north during fall.
Comparing fall in Florida to fall in Maine is like comparing the iced coffee you make at home to the one you buy at Starbucks. You can try, but it will never be as good as the real thing. In Florida, the closest I can get to feeling like fall is closing my curtains, lighting a cinnamon pumpkin candle and watching Hocus Pocus. But, as soon as I open the curtains and see the palm trees and feel the 90 degree weather, the illusion I created is destroyed. Drinking a pumpkin spice latte when it’s over 70 degrees outside just isn’t the same. Florida’s version of a pumpkin patch is tossing a couple pumpkins on a hay bale and sprinkling some fake leaves on top.
To make up for me missing fall, my mom always sends me a dozen homemade apple cider donuts from an apple orchard near my house. Even though this doesn’t completely make up for the lack of fall leaves and 50 degree weather, it definitely helps!