Halloween in the Swamp

                     
So last weekend, I decided to take the kids to Halloween in the swamp. It was going to be fun for the family - trails, jump castle, jack o' lanterns, a boat ride and a haunted trail for the adventurous. I tried to buy tickets on line and they were sold out so I called the venue and they said they only had a hundred tickets and that I should get there an hour before. So we picked up dinner and ate in the car and just went.

I got there an hour early and there were people already in line. We waited and waited. I was debating which tickets to get. There was a little girl that was about my daughters age in line and she was going to go on the spooky boat ride. The kids wanted to go on it, it was kind of expensive but whatever. We got our tickets and went in. They had a big screen up playing the Adams Family circa 1960's. There was a headless horseman walking among the crowd which creeped the kids out. They did go over and pet the horse. There was all kinds of carnival food. The line was forming for the boat ride so I asked them to get in line. We are not there but 5 minutes when my 9 year old starts complaining. "I'm itchy, my legs hurt, I have a scrape on my arm...." I told her to go jump in the jump castle or watch the Adams family. Both were in close proximity to the line and I could watch her. No, she just pouted and continued to whine.

In the line in front of us, off to the side was a boy sitting in a chair. He looked just a few years older then my daughter. Maybe, 12 or 13. He was very thin and pale and had a nasal cannula and was obviously very sick. Everytime the line would move, he would stand up and the parents would move his chair and he would sit again. While I am watching this boy, I continue to be pestered by my 9 year old. "I don't want to stand up anymore, my feet hurt." I really was irritated. I did not like her in that moment. I told her that I didn't feel bad for her and that we would leave. She folded her arms in front of her and gave me a death stare for 90% of the time we stood in that line. What did I do? I just spent $50 to go to an event to entertain you and your mad at me because you chose not to participate in the activities here? A preview of the teen years, I imagine.

We got closer to the boat ride. There was a spooky pirate escorting everyone to their boats. It was pitch black and we could see lanterns in the swamp. I turned to the kids, "Do you really want to do this? Are you okay?" They nodded. They were excited and nervous. We stepped onto the boat and then the guy behind us stepped in and he was a BIG guy and I thought the boat was going to capsize when he stepped in. That was probably the scariest part of the ride. A man dressed as superman was our guide. We huddled together in the boat as we slowly went into the darkness of the swamp.

There were displays set up along the way. Gravestone on platforms, a skeleton on a boat.

There were people IN the water that would pop up. The kids would jump in surprise and then let out a nervous laugh. It was the perfect level of scariness. As we went along the boat ride, we could hear screams in the distance. It was from the haunted trail. The boat dropped us off at a platform and we could hear the screams clearly now. The kids started to shake, "Mama, we don't want to go on the trail." Well, that was part of the thing. You had to do it. I didn't know that. I said, "It will be fine - people are going to jump out at us. Just hold my hands." We began to walk and they were shaking. A zombie girl jumped out and shrieked and my kids pretty much lost their poop. They both began to scream and sob uncontrollably. They planted their feet on the ground and would not move. A grim reaper came over and escorted us through the haunted trail and waved away the goblins in the perimeter. That doesn't matter. Every time the kids saw a display, they freaked. We walked past a hearse and they screamed and sobbed. Everyone looked at me like I was a horrible mother. They gave me disapproving looks. Bad Mom Award.

After we were done, we sat at a bon fire while they collected themselves. "Do you guys want to go on the pumpkin trail?" They looked at me like I was evil, "We don't like trails." We went to the pumpkin trail. They had jack o lanterns all around. It was very pretty. We came to a huge pumpkin that talked. He invited us to get a piece of candy from his bowl. "I am the great pumpkin," he declared. We got a Halloween tattoo and then headed out. It was close to 10:30. The kiddos fell asleep in the backseat on the way home. All that screaming and crying really wore them out. I carried them in and tucked them into their beds and kissed their little heads. I love these little scaredy cats.