October gets all the glory, but November is when Napa exhales. Harvest is wrapped, the tour buses thin out, and the vineyards go full gold and rust. Dinner reservations exist again. Here's what we're actually doing this month.

The fall colors peak right now. Early to mid-November is usually peak color. Take the Silverado Trail from Napa to Calistoga in the morning, windows down, coffee in hand. It's free, and it beats any tasting room view. This is also the start of Cabernet Season, which is our official excuse to open the good stuff.

November 7 is the busiest Saturday of the month. Pick your lane. Downtown, Napa's Dia de los Muertos fills Veterans Park and Brown Street from 3 to 8 pm - free, family-friendly, and the marigolds alone are worth the trip. Over at the CIA at Copia, the Howell Mountain Harvest Celebration pours 100+ wines from 30-plus mountain wineries, most of which have no tasting room you can just walk into. Tickets are $175 in advance and double at the door, so plan ahead. And that night, Ziggy Marley plays Robert Mondavi Winery. Like I said: pick your lane.

The Book Festival is the sleeper hit. Saturday, November 14, 10 am to 4 pm at Blue Oak School downtown, and it's free. Fifty-plus authors, food trucks, and a keynote from Rex Pickett, who wrote Sideways. Yes, that Sideways. He lives in downtown Napa now, which tracks.

The Uptown is carrying the month. Big Lebowski movie night November 4. Daughtry, unplugged, November 8. Tig Notaro November 15 (two shows, 4 and 8 pm). Pulp Fiction movie night November 18. There's something for every personality in your group chat.

The farmers market is still on. Saturdays year-round, Tuesdays through December 22, 8 am to noon at 1100 West Street. November is secretly the best market month: persimmons, citrus, and actual parking.

Thanksgiving week flips the switch. The ice rink opens at the Meritage November 19, and their 40-foot tree lights up November 21. Downtown's tree lighting at Veterans Park is Friday, November 27 at 6 pm, with free hot chocolate and cookies. The Wine Train's Santa trains start November 27. If you have family in town that week, this paragraph is your whole itinerary.

My two cents: November is the month Napa belongs to the locals again. The trail is empty at 7 am, you can walk into Oxbow without a plan, and you remember why you live here.

And if hosting Thanksgiving has you side-eyeing your kitchen situation, I know a girl.