The First Weekend of October
I’d planned to post throughout the weekend, but, living as I do in the haunted wilds of Indiana, it was not to be. No Internet access to speak of, but never fear, brave and curious reader, I am locked and loaded this morning with a full report of the weekend’s celebrations.
Saturday began with a jaunt through the bustling streets of Converse for the Second Annual Chili Dog Showdown. This year five businesses answered the call — The Big Dipper, Pizza King, Jefferson St. Bar & Grill, The Blue Room, and Hodson’s Market. All were good and, with the exception of Jefferson St. who added fried onion into the mix, all quite similar in execution. The winner of the day, for me, was Hodson’s. Their concoction was a bit sweeter than I prefer, but it was a good dog and they had glass-bottled Coke for a dollar. That pushed them over the edge.
After a couple of hours rest we journeyed forth into the grim and ghastly forests of the Mississinewa for the Autumn Camping Festival, which is essentially more than 500 campsites decorated for Hallowe’en and pushing candy on 2-3000 Trick or Treaters. It was amazing. Kim, Connor, and I met up with her brothers and sisters, and with their costumed kids we marched through the winding and twisting corridors and made out like bandits. I wish I’d taken more pictures. There were a lot of truly fantastic campsites and even cooler costumes. We’re definitely going to make this an annual outing.
Sunday, of course, was a very special day. We celebrated Connor’s 9th Birthday with a little party at the Woodcarvers Building. It was a fun time and he got some cool gifts. From Kim and I, he snagged a couple of awesome Lego Monster Fighter Sets (The Werewolf and The Vampyre’s Hearse) and Star Wars Kinect. Afterward we collapsed back at the house, played Sorry! Sliders (With Spence), chatted with my parents (freshly back from Arkansas – more on that later), put The Werewolf set together, watched Once Upon a Time and Halloween Wars, then it was off to bed.
Not bad for the first weekend of October, huh? And we still have Connor’s Birthday on Tuesday (going to see Hotel Transylvania), Conner Prairie’s Headless Horseman, Mississinewa 1812′s Bicentennial, Campbell’s and Easy Acres’ Pumpkin Patches, and Hallowe’en Night to look forward to. And that’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
Man, I love October. Every day is Hallowe’en.
