Fun in Tallahassee

I love Tallahassee! There is a lot to do here year round (thanks to the mild winter weather) and many events are free. From March through November, there is the downtown marketplace every Saturday morning/afternoon where you can buy art, crafts, jewelry, local produce and listen to live music. All summer long there are free concerts downtown every Saturday night where you can enjoy live music while eating a picnic dinner on the lawn. During June & July, there are free kid movies 2 days a week at the 2 main theaters.

There are lots of lakes, parks, public pools, etc. and the gulf/beach is 45 minutes away. Several local farms offer berry picking. All the libraries here have a story/music time for the kids. And of course, there are the typical city activities such as movie theaters, museums, festivals, nurseries/gardens, kid play places and even historic sites.

One interesting thing is that Tallahassee is the capital of Florida but there is not a highway that goes through or near downtown (I-10 only runs north of the city). We don't need one as the city is not huge and it's easily accessible. There is one 2-3 lane road that circles around the entire city (with I-10 making up the northern part) and most of the main roads branch off of it and lead to central downtown like the spokes on a wheel.

We have lived here for 2 years now. Craig has finished taking all his classes and now all that remains is his dissertation (which will take 1-5 years). Craig had a job interview in New Jersey (where he grew up) last week and we thought we'd be moving there next month (he had a 50/50 chance of being hired because there were 4 people left in the running for 2 positions). It all happened so fast--reading about the school online, sending his curriculum vitae, having a phone interview and then flying out for a 2nd interview. We just found out today that he wasn't offered the job because they wanted someone who could commit to teach there longer than 2 years and wouldn't have their attention divided (as Craig would with working on his dissertation while teaching at the schoool). We were shocked because the 3-day interview process (observing, teaching and interviewing) went well and the teachers and students really liked Craig.

However, we are very glad to be staying in Tallahassee for at least another year. We didn't want to try to quickly sell our house in this market and pack and move in a frenzy. We will be more thankful for what we have here since we thought we were going to suddenly leave before we had originally intended. It's weird because I feel like I've been given a 2nd chance here (weird because it's not like I've blown anything that would cause me to need a 2nd chance). I've been discovering new things around town lately and was sad about having to miss them when I thought we would be moving soon. I was pregnant during the 1st 9 months that we lived here so we didn't get out as much as I would have liked (I became carsick so easily). And then after Alisa was born, I was so busy nursing her all the time and adjusting to being a mom that I didn't really get out and do things around town until last fall. Lately, I've been having a blast going out about 3-6 days a week with other moms and babies. I didn't want to give that up so soon and thankfully I don't have to.

I want to take Alisa to the beach a lot this year now that she can walk and really enjoy it. We haven't been since she was 6 months old and had just learned to sit up on her own. We've got to take advantage of our proximity to things here in Florida while we are still here!