Welcome to October! Crisp autumn breezes, the scent of spice in the air, and tons of activities abound during one of D.C.’s most pleasant months. How better to enjoy October than to tackle a few tried and true amusements that make D.C.-area living so pleasurable. DCist offers a few suggestions.

Suggestion 1 – Quit the city. Sure D.C. is great, but one aspect that makes D.C. so liveable is the city’s close proximity to…well, the non-city. Indulge in harvest season with pumpkin patches and apple orchards, corn mazes, and Virginia and Maryland wineries found a short drive away. Drive a few miles farther and take in some of the nation’s most renowned foliage displays on Skyline Drive.

Suggestion 2 – If you have yet to attend the Maryland Renaissance Festival in Crownsville, you should consider it. And if you have been already, go again. Can you really pass up turkey legs, mead, jousting events, and, the real kicker, fried mac-n-cheese and/or cheesecake on a stick?

Suggestion 3 – Go see an “awakening.” No, not the Chopin book. No, not the Robin Williams/Robert De Niro movie. Sculptor J. Seward Johnson Jr.’s “The Awakening” is a creative public art installation at the tip of D.C.’s East Potomac Park where Hains Point juts into the Potomac River. Take an afternoon to explore, and even climb, the larger than life sculpture of a man emerging from the earth.

Because of the special nature of this final suggestion, DCist offers four suggestions for October.

Suggestion 4 – Choose a mile marker and cheer on this year’s Marine Corps Marathon participants. The annual event is so well known, it would be a shame to live in D.C. and not be able to say you at least witnessed the race. The 26.2 mile course steps off and finishes near the Marine Corps War Memorial (the Iwo Jima) in Arlington, taking runners past national monuments and through local neighborhoods. What makes the marathon so special? DCist’s own contributors Catherine and Hemal will be participants. Good luck!

DCist hopes you make the most of your October.