I first noticed it a week or so ago. I was in West Seattle, my old stomping grounds. I have always enjoyed roaming the Junction, finding cool treasures in the second hand and antique shops, grabbing some ice cream at Huskys, and generally enjoying the vibe there. Even though Seattle has grown up, it still has pockets of familiarity, right down to the fact that Poggies Tavern was still there, a throwback to my younger days.
Of course, there are plenty of new places as well. Thanks to those visionaries who thought up the urban center concept in Seattle, the downtown core has come alive again, and for every Poggies or Huskys, there’s an Elliott Bay Brewing or new shop to venture into.
It was in one of these places that I started falling in love all over again. The Janmeister and I were in the Beer Junction, a Mecca of beer. The selection is literally never ending, arranged by beer styles and types, so even with the daunting selection, it’s not hard to find a favorite.
Me? I didn’t have to look far at all. There, stacked by the checkout counter, was the object of my quest – the pumpkin beers.
Ever since I enjoyed a home brewer’s version of this beer in Key West I have been on a quest to find something that came even vaguely close. I have to say, I finally did – Puyallup River Brewing Company does an admirable job with their Jack O’Lahar Pumpkin Ale. It was like drinking pumpkin pie and would make any effort to go Trick or Drinking worthwhile come October.
But if you think I was falling in love with pumpkin ale, you’re wrong. I admit to being able to fall in love pretty easily, but even I have never loved a beer, well, not in that way.
Rather, the pumpkin ale was the first sign that my favorite season is fast approaching. Granted, I’m in no hurry to welcome it. It will arrive in its own time. Somewhere around the end of September, fall will officially arrive in the Pacific Northwest. Ever since I was a kid, I have looked forward to fall.
I can’t really tell you why. But I can say that a year ago, I wrote this long diatribe about my life and where it was at (which, by the way, was totally pointless), but it did point out the goods and bads of living in Florida and Seattle. The goods were about even, as were the bads. Without going into the hit list of why I should live someplace, the fact that autumn was on the “good” reasons to live in Seattle caught my eye.
I guess I didn’t know how much I really missed having actual seasons. Granted, I am blessed to have come from a place where none of the seasons are horrible. Summers are warm and sunny (we’re on our 40+ straight day without rain) and winters are comparatively mild. We don’t get that much snow and when we do, everything shuts down and the State Patrol warns you not to drive anywhere. In a couple days, no more than a week, all the snow is gone and we’re back to more mild weather.
But fall, what can I say? Since I was a wee boy in Renton, I have loved this time of the year. I was the one who looked forward to the start of school, the chance to go shopping for school supplies, anticipating the coming of Halloween and then Thanksgiving. It was and still is a marvelous time.
I can still remember the rustling of the leaves as I headed out for trick or treat. It was often raining that night, but no matter. The air was brisk and fresh and the change of the season permeated through your entire body.
Even though eight years have passed since I left the land of four seasons to the land of two – hot and cold – I can still feel fall in my bones. It’s coming and I can’t help but get excited.
It brings me back to my youth. Fall days filled with football games at the Renton Stadium. Thermoses of tomato soup my mom would make, the first morning breakfast of Cream of Wheat, piling up leaves in big piles, only to send them flying again as we lept into them with all our might.
And though fall is just a little ways away, I find that I have an awful lot to do to prepare for it. Having lived in Florida these past few years, I am well equipped for the warmth but not the cold. My shopping list is already filling up with things like warm gloves and sweaters. I know it’s going to seem damned cold here this first year, at least to someone who roasted in 95 degree heat for much of the past eight years.
Still, I look forward to it. The Janmeister is mystified a bit about it all. She told me her co-workers were just talking about fall the other day and how excited they were that it was coming soon. I can’t blame her. Where she lived in upstate New York, fall was a blink of an eye, followed by a long, long winter of snow and ice, an average of 100 inches a year.
I can see why she’s not thrilled with the idea of fall. But I’ve explained that it’s much different here. Yes, the never ending sun will eventually disappear and we won’t see it again consistently until next July. But we do get four real seasons here and fall is still the best in my book. You expect it to turn crappy, and if it doesn’t, it’s a blessing. I guess it could be said that spring is just the reverse, you expect it to get nicer, but it doesn’t. And that is why fall will always beat spring in my book.
In the Emerald City, getting ready for Season 2 here, and falling for it all over again,
– Robb