We’d eaten, we’d drunk, we’d skipped like tree elves flitting through the trees. Alas, all vacations must come to an end; even vacations relatively close to home.

Remember, a big storm had overturned Tallahassee a day before our arrival. Even as we raided multiple Tallahassee hot spots, the storm’s destruction was present at every turn. We passed trees that had fallen and created holes in buildings. Every time we wanted to visit a business, many times their normal business hours had blown away with the storm. Some, like the Tallahassee Museum, never reopened during our visit. We quickly learned to call the business or stalk their social media for updates. And there were the fallen branches and leaves. Everywhere.

But Tallahassee was strong. The little city was coming together.

During mass at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, one of the Ushers stood at the podium and announced their plans to clean the grounds the next day and were seeking volunteers.

Volunteering to pick up storm debris didn’t exactly make our TripAdvisor list of things to do in Tallahassee. Call it guilt, but after being city outsiders passing all the destruction from one entertainment to another, Fiance Shoes and I decided- what better way to be a local? AND volunteer work is one of our relationship glues. And how could I say ‘no’ to watching him work a rake?

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We crash Tallahassee… It's only fair we also help it. At mass yesterday we heard the call for volunteers to clear debris from the hurricane. And now I'm doing labor on Labor Day. . #Volunteer #CatholicPride #Tallahassee #hurricanehermine2k16 #MatchingSocs

A post shared by Pyra-Danny Socs (@pyra_experiences) on Sep 5, 2016 at 8:25am PDT

Plenty of kids and teens also showed up along with their parents who donated their shovels, saws, and wheelbarrows. Together we swept branches off the building roofs. We raked away all the debris scattered throughout the church grounds and its school. The final work involved a large, fallen tree. The more experienced guys took it apart while we hauled away the pieces.

 

 

One point for community. Zero points for the storm.

But the clock on our Tallahassee trip was still ticking. Back to being tourists.

Harry’s Seafood Bar & Grill delivered beautiful plates with a New Orleans twist. We especially enjoyed their Jazzy Trip- an appetizer of breaded and fried Crawfish, Calamari, and Shrimp drizzled with a spicy, creamy sauce.

Then to gain motivation for the long drive home, we visited Lucky Goat‘s other location in the Market District. I took an Iced Latte while Fiance Shoes again favored their Goat Bomb (cold brew and Espresso).

Compared to other Florida cities, Tallahassee definitely took a bit more work to uncover its treasures, but that’s because it doesn’t make a big deal out of them. Tallahassee is different; it looks older, it feels older… it has hills! Even the vegetation and earth look different this far north. But to those in Tallahassee, the history and hills are just everyday life.

Thank you Tallahassee. Even though a storm tried to bring you down, you still delivered incredibly for us.

Check out the rest of our Tallahassee vacation as we filled our stomachs then wandered the Panhandle outdooors.