My first hike on the AT felt like I stepped into a perfect postcard. October’s blue skies served as a backdrop as I plodded up a steep trail through gold and russet leaves. I was walking up my first rugged mountain: North Carolina’s Standing Indian (5,498 feet) with a group of six friends, and we told stories and sang songs along the way.

The path unreeled ahead, a dusty rut, wide enough for two of us to walk abreast. Grasses with dots of yellow, red, and purple wildflowers swiped against our knees. Fingers of buttery light reached into the trees, lighting the forest floor.

When the trail turned sharply, I’d reach out for a nearby tree trunk, and felt smooth places on the bark, created by countless other hands. At the top, the view made all the sweating and climbing worthwhile.

The AT met my expectations for beauty that day. I went on to hike along much of the Southern half of the AT: in North Georgia, North Carolina to the Smokies and beyond, and even in Virginia and Maryland.

The trail drew me back not too long ago to join the Konnarock Crew—one of the volunteer groups that rebuild portions of the AT every summer (appalachiantrail.org for more info). We camped along Virginia’s Mount Rogers, spied wild ponies, munched wild blueberries, and dug into some back-breaking labor (without a shower for a week!).

The biggest surprise along the AT is how populated it can be It’s more like a friendly pedestrian highway on weekends where hikers stop to greet, to pet each other's dogs, and to chat about the route. In the evenings, the shelters and campgrounds fill with gabfests. 

No matter how beautiful and awe-inspiring the AT can be, at the end of the day, journeys here are all about story making and storytelling.

Have you hiked along the AT? Where are your favorite places? Mine feel more like mental snapshots I took along the way (both of these come from the Smokies):

 --Crossing a rushing stream in winter where rhododendrons the size of school buses hugged the banks in thickets, their glossy leaves curled up tightly like cigars.

-- Cool hillsides in summer’s midday with deer napping in the shade.

--A bear cub shimmying up a tree to hide (fun to see, but I knew momma bear had to be nearby too).

Photo: Robbie Caponneto

A 450th birthday calls for some serious celebrating and Pensacola plans to commemorate its founding all year long. The Florida Panhandle city, home to a festive lot of residents well rehearsed in the art of merriment, has planned a slew of events throughout 2009 and in the process remind St. Augustine which city was actually settled first. (See below for the answer.)

Have you heard of CityPass? If not, then listen up: There's no better value offer for exploring Atlanta and Houston (plus other major metropolises outside the South) than CityPass. The booklet of tickets is basically a pocket-sized, front-of-the-line golden ticket to each city's spotlighted attractions. All-in-one for less of a price.

If you were in Houston, you would pay $34 for adults/$24 for kids and recieve entry into Space Center Houston (NASA); Downtown Aquarium; Houston Museum of Natural Science; Houston Zoo; either The Health Museum OR George Ranch Historical Park; either Museum of Fine Arts, Houston OR The Children’s Museum of Houston. The adult value for this package would be more than $65. Plus, the CityPass comes with preferential seating and a free appetizer at one of 33 Landry's restaurants in the city.

If you were in Atlanta, adults pay $69/kids $49 to access World of Coca-Cola; Zoo Atlanta; CNN Atlanta; Georgia Aquarium; High Museum of Art OR the Atlanta History Center; Fernbank Museum of Natural History OR Atlanta Botanical Garden. A normal adults entry into these places would cost nearly $120. The added value in ATL comes for shoppers: Lenox and Phipps malls honor the CityPass with savings options in selected stores.

If you do find yourself in either Houston or Atlanta, I can't help but give my two cents tips for favorites in each. In H-town, Hermann Park is awesome; the reflecting pool and the Sam Houston statue reminds me of the Mall in DC. It's a wonderful morning spot. For Atlanta, I have three words. Get. To. Decatur. Especially for two fantastic restaurants: Brick Store Pub and Cakes and Ale, shown to the left. Stellar.

To read up on both cities, visit our Southern Living's website by clicking on the city names Atlanta and Houston. And before you visit, check into CityPass.

(Photo by Scott Suchman)

Can you imagine a better swing? Visitors to the Florida Panhandle's "Forgotten Coast" spend weekends in Apalachicola hoping the rest of the world continues to bypass this sliver of fishing village untainted by eager land developers. 

Shop, stroll, and eat 'til your buttons burst in this town that treats strangers like friends. A rock star in the constellation of Delta darlings, Oxford, Mississippi is the small town other towns hope to be. Basking under the glow of Ole Miss’s iconic reputation, this stop provides the low-key getaway I crave before summer’s end.

The feeling is urgent. Summer’s days are waning. It’s time to make the most of a quick beach getaway. I’ve never been one for lying on the sand like a chicken on a spit in the midday sun. Instead, I want to people-watch, shop, and find amusements.

Ocean City’s 3-mile long boardwalk may be the best oceanfront gawking spot in the country. Here are my top five reasons to make an end-of-the-season trip to the original OC.

(Bluff-top art, the mighty Mississippi, and the green expanse beyond. Photo by Richard Banks)

I lived 33 of my 44 years in Memphis. Now after eight years away, the city’s culture is still under my finger nails like ribs and sauce, and its music reverberates in my head. When I get back to town, it’s like I can breathe again and I hyperventilate as I can’t stop paying visits to old haunts. Back home after a long weekend, I’m usually spent after days of reconnection and no sleep.

I’m happy to report – in between naps in my office, of course – that a recent trip was no different. The city is as entertaining as ever and the local populace as hospitable as any in the South – both perfect ingredients for a quick weekend escape.

(Photo by Gary Clark)

The Outer Banks. Ah, just saying the name makes me feel pleasantly far from reach. North Carolina's 200-mile string of Atlantic beach towns - Kitty Hawk, Hatteras, Nags Head, Manteo, Duck, and several other coastal hamlets - all offer summer sunrises with your toes in the surf. Roam Carolina's east coast while the long days last.