As summer turns to fall on our calendars, the thermometer seems not to respond in kind. The heat continues to make its presence known in waves, even as fall begins its steady trek toward winter.

Another kind of heat also is being generated, a kind of heat fired by job pressures and the beginning of school and economic concerns and household problems and on and on and on.

Perhaps you know what I’m talking about.

We live where we live, in some small part, because we need a place that helps diminish those relentless, outside pressures. A place where time and temperature can be suspended when we need them to be so, a place where we can actually spend a peaceful moment or two by ourselves, when necessary.

The terrain in our neighborhood offers us that hope: Large, shady trees line many of our streets and surround many of our homes, providing our neighborhood a cool, collected feeling even as the temperature cracks triple digits.

It’s into this element of our environment that this quarter our magazine delves, to share some of the most peaceful, awe-inspiring and out-and-out beautiful tours of our neighborhood.

Our Home & Heritage magazine feature story showcases trips, both long and short, we can take just as easily on a Saturday morning as on a Wednesday night – all without leaving our neighborhood. And believe it or not, these trips feature breathtaking vistas, sun-drenched creeks and other spots not evident on rush-hour sprints down Preston Road. Some even conjure their own miniature version of a Hollywood-esque tour of star’s homes, taking us by the homes and former homes and future homes of neighborhood celebrities and celebrities-in-waiting, giving us an opportunity to see where the other side retreats to grapple with our same daily issues.

Perhaps you’ll bring this quarterly issue of Home & Heritage magazine along, to offer ample opportunity during a break in the trip to learn more about the people and places that make this neighborhood so interesting.

Portions of these trips are just as interesting in a car or astride a bicycle or on foot, but they’re best enjoyed when we have the time or the need to shake free from daily constraints. Because just like our magazine, these journeys are designed to turn our thoughts from everyday trials to a time when the temperature hovers near a livable mark, when the pressures of daily life belong to someone else, and when we have all the time in the world to casually enjoy life around us.