Ahhhhh, Fall in Arizona. Not exactly the chunky-sweater-wearing, hot-chocolate-drinking season you see in the movies (and WHEN will Starbucks learn that marketing the pumpkin spice latte starting Labor Day weekend is a huge marketing FAIL in the Valley of the Sun?). But still, we get excited for cool(er) temps and the chance to resume the outdoor playtime and patio dining we all know and love.
Like so many Valley residents, most of our contributors grew up someplace far from here. To help you get to know these ladies a little better, we asked them to share with you where they grew up, and what the Fall season meant to them growing up.
Enjoy their answers, and we’d love you to leave your own in the comments!
Angela
Where did you grow up? Omaha, Nebraska
What did “Fall” mean in your hometown? Fall means college football in Nebraska. It is the best time of year. Everyone gets so excited and that is all anyone talks about in the whole state. Of course, we also have hay rides, haunted houses, homemade chili and cornbread at home and other “Fall” things too. Now Fall still means college football but we are just praying everyday for the weather to cool down so we can go to the park.
Beth
Where did you grow up? I’m one of the weird ones who actually grew up in AZ and also about 3 miles from where we now live in Scottsdale!
What did “Fall” mean in your hometown? Being in Arizona means you have to look for clues the seasons are changing – beyond the weather. It seems most obvious in a change in the air. It becomes drier and dustier. It smells like fresh grass being cut back to over seed for winter. The ground is damp and cool in the mornings rather than scorched and dry. The city seems to come back to life after a long, hot summer and suddenly the social calendar is packed!
Cate
Where did you grow up? Annandale, Virginia
What did “Fall” mean in your hometown? There is nothing quite like an east coast fall. It was my favorite season, and I miss the crisp air and changing leaves terribly living in a static climate. I loved wearing jeans and sweaters and was always disappointed when my October birthday was hit with a heat wave.
Joy
Where did you grow up? Oviedo, Florida (along with several other places)
What did “Fall” mean in your hometown? In Florida, “Fall” is about as novel as it is here (just cool weather, but not much tree color). We had a Fall Festival in our town (left over from the town’s farming roots ♥) and a Carnival would always visit our high school to support the sports boosters for the year. Which, of course, means FOOTBALL. Yes, fall=football. Friday nights under the stadium lights and screaming at the top of my lungs for the home team. Crisp air, boots and jeans.
Kirstin
Where did you grow up? Right here in Paradise Valley, about 3 blocks from where I live now!
What did “Fall” mean in your hometown? As a child growing up here, I knew it was finally “Fall” when I stopped getting burned by the metal seatbelt buckle, our swimming pool started getting a little chilly, and my mom started talking about how much she missed Autumn and telling fanciful stories of mythological places where leaves change colors and whole states full of people all set their clocks back an hour!
Noelle
Where did you grow up? Thousand Oaks, California
What did “Fall” mean in your hometown? Since weather was pretty much as perfect as it is every other season there…there wasn’t too much in the way of changing leaves or crisp cool weather. It did mean pumpkin patch trips to the local farms, hayrides and chilly trips to the beach hoping to get those last few boogie boarding adventures in.
Sarah
Where did you grow up? Santa Barbara, California
What did “Fall” mean in your hometown? Santa Barbara weather almost never changes – it’s about 72 degrees year round – but September is particularly warm and gorgeous there. Fall to me meant school starting, of course, but not really a change in season. I always kind of wished for that change (leafing dreamily through the J. Crew catalog as a teenager), which was maybe why I chose to go to college in the MidWest!
Steph
Where did you grow up? Mt. Vernon, Iowa
What did “Fall” mean in your hometown? Fall in the Midwest is glorious! There are a number of things I miss about living in the Midwest – the first being our family but the second for sure would be the Fall Season. I instantly think of wearing sweatshirts the evening of a high school football game while sipping warm apple cider (not from the store – from a real apple farm). Ah….sooooo wonderful!
Tracy
Where did you grow up? Sarasota, Florida
What did “Fall” mean in your hometown? Fall to me meant nothing in the weather related sense. If anything it just meant we got a break in the humidity! But Fall was also seasonal in that it meant I was getting back into the swing of things with school and extracurriculars. I am pretty sure from 7th grade on I was running for some student government seat and Fall brought campaigning into full swing! If I wasn’t promising longer lunch breaks or the chance to eat off campus and ensuring that my presidency would mean the “greatest prom ever!” then I was in the gym at basketball practice. My highschool team was very good and while most of my contribution came from cheering on the bench while the starters led us to the state championship it still meant lots of fall afternoons and weekends running drills!
