Ghosts in the Oaks

The three of us had a busy yet super fun day last Saturday. LSU played Texas A&M that morning at 11am, and Scott had a bunch of people over to his house for the game. Riley had fun playing with the other kids, and Kenny and I enjoyed watching the game with our friends.

We went back home during the second half so Riley could nap. Once he woke up, we were off again to meet back up with friends for a special night out. City Park in New Orleans hosts an event called Ghosts in the Oaks every year around Halloween, and this was Riley’s first time attending.

 

It’s a family-friendly, non-scary night with unlimited rides in Carousel Gardens; free music, popcorn, and face painting; and trick-or-treating in Storyland. The kids were in heaven, and all of the adults enjoyed watching them have so much fun.

We went straight to the train first, to make sure we got to ride without having to wait in a long line. This was a really good call; when I looked a couple of hours later, the line was huge. Plus, we were able to ride when it was still light out, so the kids could see more of the scenery.

After the train we went to the carousel…..

…..and then we moved on to the ferris wheel. I won’t take Riley on the wheel again until he’s older; he did not do well with how long the loading process took. He kept saying, “Wanna get down, wanna get down!” Once we got going he was fine, but the beginning mini-meltdown wasn’t worth it. Thanks to Julia for trying her best to make him feel better by telling him she did the same thing when she was his age. I had to hide a smile when she said that.

Next, while the older kids rode on the spinning paint cans, Steve, Kenny, and I found something that Riley and Jack (who happened to be dressed alike…..also, don’t you love the creepy floating hand in the first picture below? Spooky.) could ride by themselves. You would think that they’d be all about flying an airplane, but they were more fascinated with the lights in the middle of the ride.

Their next solo ride, however, did not go as well for one of them. We put them together in a silver car that went in circles around a little track. Molly and Julia started out in the backseat, but they both switched vehicles at the last minute. Perhaps if the ride hadn’t taken so long to start he would have been okay, but Riley cried throughout most of his time in the car. Poor thing. At one point, Jack, who was as cool as a cucumber, reached over and patted Riley on his back. So sweet. Too bad it didn’t help!

After that debacle we went to the big slide, which is always a hit. But Riley’s favorite ride of the night (which he did twice) was the swinging boat. He is still talking about it, days later. Big thanks to Greg for taking all of the kiddos on their second boat ride; I know Riley enjoyed it.

When it got to be close to 9pm, we decided to call it quits on the rides and head to the trick-or-treating trail in Storyland before we left. Only a portion of Storyland was open, but the kids had fun running from station to station and filling their bags with candy. Riley did a great job with saying “trick or treat!” when he approached each set of volunteers handing out the candy, so I think he’ll do great next Wednesday evening when the real thing rolls around. He was most excited that he got to walk inside of the big whale, but the sucker he got to try on our way back to the car may have just topped that.

Thanks, Ashley, for telling us about this really fun fall evening. We had a great time, and we can’t wait for next year!