Halloween 2009
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
Savannah spiderwebbing
This year’s Halloween had a few things coming into perfect alignment, so we decided to do it up big. First and most importantly, this could be the last Halloween for a while when both girls would be home. This was followed by the fact that Halloween was on a Saturday, it was GATORBOWL day and the pile of ‘found’ bamboo that was used to build the tiki hut.
Tiki hut frame
The weather was in the 90s, very hot to set up, but fortunately we had a whole crew to dive in. Not only were the girls both on tap, but Savannah brought home a friend from the dorm, Shanique, who we gladly welcomed into our home. So Saturday morning we emptied out 13 boxes of Halloween decorations gathered over 22 years of marriage and set it up. Don had previously built the framework for the Haunted Tiki Hut, and the night before he ran out the lights to make sure the place was well lit, so we had a foundation to work from.
Shanique next to Black Bart, helping set up
While visiting a friend in Merritt Island a few weeks earlier, we took a run out to a timber bamboo stand on some property next to theirs. The stand, neglected for years, had a huge amount of dried bamboo laying about the forest. While Melora looked at the baby shoots with an eye for an addition to our backyard, Don, of course, saw the Haunted Tiki Hut.
So for about an hour, in the heat of the day, Team Foley hung up skeletons, set out tombstones and spread spiderwebs. Ginny, Savannah, Shanique, Melora and Don set up this year’s display like a well oiled machine.
Savannah stirs the rue
We then moved to the second task of the day. Gumbo. We were planning on having friends over for dinner before the goblins and ghouls began roaming the streets…but that would be in the middle of the Gator football game. So, anticipating a cool night (ha!) Don planned on cooking up some of his famous gumbo early in the day. We’ll post the recipe on the “FoleyIsland Recipe” section. The key to a good gumbo is having a great sioux chef to do all the hard work. On Halloween Don had three. Savannah took on stirring the rue, and Shanique chopped up all the ingredients, Ginny took on pumpkin pie while Don took a strictly management role. The gumbo turned out perfect.
Sioux chefs Sanique and Ginny
We wrapped things up in time to catch the beginning of the GatorBowl, University of Florida v.s. University of Georgia. And, as usually, our alma mater took the field and won the day. During the game, friends drifted in and as the sun lowered, trick-or-treaters began to come by.
Because Don was fried from the heat of the day, he decided not to dress up, just putting on the hat, and with his Gator shirt still on, declared himself “Captain Gator” and just left it at that.
The photos following were taken by the denizens of FoleyIsland, both of our little haunted tableau and the small ‘party’ we had for any of our neighbors that drifted by through the evening. Visitors were guided by bamboo handrails into the tiki hut as the walked past Black Bart firing a canon on the left, and George the skeleton at a ships wheel on the right. In the hut they were greeted by Hanging Harold, spiders, rats and glowing eyeballs in the rafters. At the end, one of our new additions, Ben the hanging bat.
Then they walked through the haunted graveyard with the pirate at a treasure chest and the tombstones, lit by another new addition, the skulls on stakes. Further on the path was Leroy our huge spider, and then they were guided past other assortments of ghosts and such to the ‘pirates den’ where our guests hung out. On leaving they walked by ‘Bones’ McCoy, singing and dancing to the ‘YO HO YO HO’ pirate song.
It was one of the best shows we’ve done, and while the last trick-or-treaters finished before 9:00 p.m., we kept things running till about 11:00 and enjoyed the company of our friends and neighbors.
We buy 100 Spanish coins each year to give out with candy every year, this also gives us a tally on how many kids come by in the course of the evening. This year we had 12 coins left over.
Sunday morning we had it all packed back into their boxes and back into storage in about an hour. The tiki hut will go out by the pool, and until it falls apart will be our ‘Tiki Bar’.
We had a fantastic time and thank all those that came by and joined in on the fun.
Rugg and Sonny’s costumes
Sonny “bones” Foley
Kelly and her family vising early
Bones danced and sang
Ships Wheel pirate greeting visitors
Georgette, treasure chest skeleton
Pirate Graveyard…in the daytime
Our old friend Leroy.
Jean and Ginny
Ginny and friend Tia
Bones on the left, and pirate Mickey, new to the collection
Hanging Harold in the Tiki Hut
Jean, Nick, Tony and Patti in the pirate’s den
Dave, Donna and Richard in front of the Osprey
Exit from the pirate’s den
Shanique and Savannah (Tina Turner and Cruela without the wig)
Tom, Diane and Don
Mike, Pat and Keith
Black Bart and the Tiki Hut
Nick takes on the world
Pirate Den overview, Mickey and Bones on the right
Pat and his motorized cooler…too funny
Savannah and Shanique (Cruela Devil and Tina Turner)
Don (Capt’n Gator), Savannah, Shanique and Melora
