Tag Archives: Halloween

Fall Getaway to Astoria, Oregon

Fall Getaway to Astoria, Oregon: Goonies movie history, a shipwreck, amazing cocktails, and the best fish and chips we’ve ever had.

 

We love a good weekend getaway in October in the Pacific Northwest. We have been to the Oregon Coast many times, always passing through Astoria, Oregon but only stopping for lunch or not at all. Astoria is often overlooked as it isn’t on the beach like Seaside or Cannon Beach just a little further south. However, it’s an historic salty sea town with a lot to offer. We fell in love with Astoria on this visit, even adding it to our list of possible retirement locations. (So far this list only consists of Portugal and Astoria).

 

Day 1: Fish and Chips, exploring the town, and a tiki bar

Astoria is about a three hour drive from where we live in Seattle, so we took Friday off to make the most of our time there. We planned our arrival to be about lunch time. When we arrived, we were pretty hungry. We went straight to Bowpicker Fish and Chips as we had read rave reviews online. There was a line, and I get the impression that there is always a line. It’s worth it.

Bowpicker Fish and Chips, Astoria
Bowpicker Fish and Chips, Astoria

Serving out of an old boat turned into a kitchen, all they sell is fish and chips, that’s it. We didn’t want a ton of fries, and found it more cost effective to get the 5 piece fish and chips and add an extra piece of fish to share. Paddy was initially disappointed that we weren’t going to have a sit-down lunch in a restaurant after the long drive, but his disappointment receded when we got our fish.

What makes Bowpicker fish and chips unique is that the fish is albacore tuna instead of cod or halibut. The breading is unique as well, and so crispy, finished with a sprinkle of sea salt. It was hands-down the best fish and chips we have ever had. There wasn’t much seating around so we ended up eating in our car. It was so delicious that we didn’t mind. If you like fish, don’t miss Bowpicker in Astoria.

Bowpicker Fish and Chips, Astoria
Bowpicker Fish and Chips, Astoria

Next we checked in with our hotel to see if we could get into our room a little early, but no dice. We parked the car and explored the town.

Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon

The town was awesome. So many little independent shops and restaurants, all vibrant and thriving. The community really got into the Halloween spirit, and most shops and restaurants had Halloween decorations up. The town had even installed witches on brooms on lamp posts all over the main strip, made to look like they crashed into the lamp posts on their flights. Each one was different.

Raintown Vintage Collective was a favorite stop. The upstairs is a collective of artists and craftspeople selling gifts and other fun things, and the basement level is all vintage clothes. I found two vintage 1960’s dresses that actually fit me, which was a unicorn find. I was over the moon. All the shop people were really friendly, there was a real community vibe in the town.

Astoria, Oregon
Witch on a lamp post, Astoria, Oregon

We had a little time to kill before we could check into our hotel, so we stopped for beer and cider at Reach Break Brewing. They had a nice covered outdoor patio and the beer and cider were tasty.

Reach Break Brewing, Astoria
Reach Break Brewing, Astoria

We had originally booked an apartment for the weekend that was managed by the Norblad Hotel. However, earlier that week the Norblad contacted me saying that their elevator was broken in the apartment building, and they wouldn’t be able to get it fixed before the weekend. Our apartment was on the 7th floor. They offered cancellation or a discount if we wanted to keep the apartment and use the stairs. Unfortunately, they were sold out of their regular hotel rooms in the main building. Seven flights of stairs was more than we felt like dealing with, so I was able to snag us the last room at the Hotel Elliott. It was more expensive, but the location was great. I was worried that the last room available would be a crappy room right off the lobby, but it was a perfectly fine room and even had a jacuzzi bathtub.

Hotel Elliott, Astoria
Hotel Elliott, Astoria
Hotel Elliott, Astoria
Hotel Elliott, Astoria
Hotel Elliott, Astoria
Hotel Elliott, Astoria
Hotel Elliott, Astoria
Hotel Elliott, Astoria

The Hotel Elliott is an historic building, which may or may not be haunted according to local legend. Since it was October, we chose to believe that it was haunted. I’ll be honest, the Hotel Elliott is a splurge. A hot breakfast was included, and we were able to park in the public lot across the street all night on Friday, and in the bank parking lot two blocks down for free on Saturday, which softened the price tag a bit.

*Note: The public parking lot across the street is used for the Sunday Market and any car parked there after 5:00 AM on Sunday mornings will be towed. The front desk is good about making sure everyone checking in is aware of this. They have a deal with the bank parking lot down the street to use for guests.

Overall, we would definitely stay at the Hotel Elliott again–if it is in our budget. However, for a cheaper stay downtown the Hotel Norblad has rooms with a lower price tag and a hip vibe and we would likely try to stay there again on a future trip.

Later that evening, we opted for dinner at Astoria Brewing.

Astoria Brewing
Astoria Brewing
Astoria Brewing
Astoria Brewing

Paddy had a burger and a side salad, and I had their clam chowder and a side salad. The side salads were huge! We shared a round of oyster shooters. Everything was fresh and delicious. The beer and cider were good too.

After dinner we walked down the street to the Inferno Lounge for a drink. It’s right on the pier and has a funky sort of goth/New Orleans/mid century vibe. The view is fantastic and as the sun set and the fog rolled in, it provided the perfect cozy, spooky October vibe we were in the mood for. The cocktails were nice as well. They also serve food, but we didn’t try any. Great spot if you are looking for a place to drink with a water view.

The Inferno Lounge, Astoria
The Inferno Lounge, Astoria
The Inferno Lounge, Astoria
The Inferno Lounge, Astoria

Walking near the pier in the evening in the autumn fog continued the spooky vibe. A ship passing in the fog had a very ghostly appearance.

Astoria
“Ghost ship” in the fog off the pier
Astoria
Astoria

Full disclosure, one of the biggest things that prompted this trip was the opening of the new tiki bar in Astoria, Dead Man’s Isle. The proprietors of artisan tiki mug shop Munktiki finally opened their long-awaited tiki bar next door to their shop after some pandemic delays. Dead Man’s Isle takes reservations, which we made far in advance. They do take walk-ins as well. For a weekend, I would recommend a reservation to ensure a good table.

Dead Man's Isle, Astoria
Dead Man’s Isle, Astoria
Dead Man's Isle, Astoria
Dead Man’s Isle, Astoria
Dead Man's Isle, Astoria
Dead Man’s Isle, Astoria

The decor at Dead Man’s Isle was on point. Classic tropical tiki, with an Astoria salty-sailor vibe. Everyone at Dead Man’s Isle was very friendly and appreciative of our shared tiki enthusiasm. We chatted with one of the owners for a bit and she gave us a sneak preview of a tiny micro bar off of the loft area that they are working on. It is supposed to be a Japanese-style bar themed around a specific type of Japanese toy. My understanding of the theme is limited, but it will only serve a few people at a time and will have an entirely different cocktail menu from Dead Man’s Isle. I definitely want to come back to experience that when it opens!

Dead Man’s Isle also has some food items that we would like to try on our next trip as well.

Dead Man's Isle, Astoria
Dead Man’s Isle, Astoria
Dead Man's Isle, Astoria
Dead Man’s Isle, Astoria
Dead Man's Isle, Astoria
Dead Man’s Isle, Astoria

I had the Dead Man’s Grog, which came in their signature logo mug. I was worried it would be too sweet but it was perfect. I can’t remember what Paddy had (Suffering Bastard maybe?) but he said it was also lovely. For our second round we asked for recommendations and I went with our server’s favorite the Purple Orchid, which had lime, passion fruit, peach, ginger, Empress blue gin and cardamom bitters. The cardamom bitters are what makes this drink–it was amazing and I would love to experiment with these flavors in our home bar. Strong recommendation for the Purple Orchid!

Purple Orchid, Dead Man's Isle, Astoria
Purple Orchid, Dead Man’s Isle, Astoria

Because Dead Man’s Isle is owned by renowned artisan tiki mug makers, they have an impressive selection of mugs, stickers, T-shirts and other swag for sale. Naturally, we bought the skeleton captain mug and a couple glasses and stickers. They even have a mini tiki mug vending machine!

Dead Man's Isle mug and swag for sale
Dead Man’s Isle mugs and swag for sale
Dead Man's Isle mini tiki mug vending machine
Dead Man’s Isle mini tiki mug vending machine

Sadly, the Munktiki gallery and shop next door was closed for the weekend as the other owner was out of town visiting family. Next time we hope to see the shop.

Overall we loved Dead Man’s Isle and the mix of a traditional tiki bar with a Pacific Northwest fishing town vibe. The cocktails were fantastic and we can’t wait to go back.

 

Day 2: A shipwreck, Goonies movie history, exploring more of the town, a haunted underground tour, and a fantastic whisky bar

 

Saturday morning we took advantage of the free hotel breakfast, and then set off to Fort Stevens State Park beach to see the shipwreck of the Peter Iredale, about a 20 minute drive from Astoria.

The Peter Iredale is a ship that ran aground on its way to Portland due to strong currents and high winds in 1906. There isn’t much left of it now, but it is still a popular tourist attraction on the coast. Paddy found it a bit underwhelming, but I think it’s worth a stop if you’re in the area.

Wreck of the Peter Iredale, Fort Stevens State Park
Wreck of the Peter Iredale, Fort Stevens State Park
Wreck of the Peter Iredale, Fort Stevens State Park
Wreck of the Peter Iredale, Fort Stevens State Park
Wreck of the Peter Iredale, Fort Stevens State Park
Wreck of the Peter Iredale, Fort Stevens State Park
Fort Stevens State Park beach, Oregon
Fort Stevens State Park beach, Oregon

Astoria’s biggest claim to fame is the movie Goonies from 1985. If you were a kid in the 1980’s, you are likely familiar with this movie. The two biggest film spots in the town are the Goonies house, and the Oregon Film Museum.

First we dropped by the Goonies house at 368 38th St for a quick photo.

*Note–The Goonies house is in a quiet neighborhood and people live there. It is very important to be respectful of the homeowners and their neighbors and to not trespass on the property. Park your car on Duane Street and walk up, do not try to drive up to the house. When we went there was a little tip box at the end of the drive way so we put $5 in as a thank you for the photo op.

Goonies House, Astoria, Oregon
Goonies House, Astoria, Oregon

Next, we parked our car in the bank parking lot that partners with the hotel and headed to the Oregon Film Museum.

The Oregon Film Museum
The Oregon Film Museum

The Oregon Film Museum building is the historic old county jail that was in the Goonies movie. It is now a tiny museum with a lot of Goonies movie info and artifacts, as well as a museum for other films made in Oregon. Entrance is $6.00.

Honestly, if you are a big Goonies fan I think it’s worth a visit. If you’re not, it will probably not be that interesting to you.

The Oregon Film Museum
The Oregon Film Museum

We explored some more of the town, admiring many of the preserved Victorian houses. We hunted for treasures at Phog Bounders Antique Mall and Treasure Alley, but didn’t find anything we couldn’t live without. I was tempted by a mid century blow mold jack o lantern but opted to save our money for cocktails that evening.

Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon

We heard a lot of marine mammal commotion near the pier so we wandered in the direction of the Bowline Hotel and found a gaggle of sea lions on a dock below. There was a lot of drama, a lot of bitching and shoving and griping at each other. Sea lion reality show.

Sea Lion drama. Astoria, Oregon
Sea Lion drama. Astoria, Oregon

For lunch we stopped at a small food truck food court on 10th and Duane  and got some shrimp po’ boys at Surf 2 Soul. Absolutely delicious and the chef makes his own pickles. The homemade pickles really took it to the next level. Often store bought pickles are really salty and overwhelm the sandwich, but his homemade quick pickles were the perfect amount of salt and brine and didn’t steal the show from the shrimp. The homemade fries were great as well. Picnic tables are available if the weather is nice. We definitely recommend stopping here for a meal.

Shrimp Po'Boy at Surf 2 Soul, Astoria
Shrimp Po’Boy at Surf 2 Soul, Astoria

For dinner we were still in the mood for seafood, and opted for South Bay Wild Fish House. Owned by a family who sustainably catches the fish themselves, it doesn’t get much fresher. There was a bit of a wait, but the fish was fantastic. The set up is a little weird–you order and pay with the host and then they seat you. You can get on a waiting list when it’s busy and then they will call your name when a table is ready, take your order, and show you to your table.

We shared some Hawaiian ahi tuna poke as an appetizer, and then Paddy had the fish tacos and I had the Petrale sole with a salad.

South Bay Wild Fish House
South Bay Wild Fish House
South Bay Wild Fish House
Ahi tuna poke at South Bay Wild Fish House
South Bay Wild Fish House
Fish tacos at South Bay Wild Fish House
South Bay Wild Fish House
Petrale sole at South Bay Wild Fish House

The prices are good here for what you get. Sole isn’t a fish I have had a lot of but it was really good. If you are looking for fresh seafood in Astoria that is sustainable, high quality and doesn’t empty your wallet, South Bay Wild Fish House is a great dinner spot.

After dinner, we had booked an underground ghost tour a few weeks in advance. Much like Seattle, downtown Astoria was destroyed by a fire in 1922 and the rebuilt city was built on top of the ruins of the old one. There are still some buildings left below accessible by tunnels. These tunnels have stories of brothels, sailors getting “Shanghaied,” and paranormal sightings. The show Ghost Hunters even did an episode on the Astoria underground.

The tour met at Gulley’s Butcher Shop downtown, an appropriate location for a ghost tour. Our guide came in Halloween costume and let us through the butcher shop and down some stairs into the tunnels below.

Gulley's Butcher shop, Astoria
Gulley’s Butcher shop, Astoria

The tour was supposed to be an hour long, and instead it was a 15 minute tour of the tunnels which were decked out with Halloween decorations, animatronic ghosts and clowns, and a few actors. We saw some of the historical spots and artifacts, but it was more of a haunted house walk through than a ghost tour with stories of paranormal activity. We were pretty disappointed.

However, after writing a bad review on Google, the tour contacted me and told me that there had been a mix up and the guide was under the impression that she was leading a haunted house tour and not the full ghost tour and offered a free ghost tour. We weren’t able to go again, so they apologized and offered a full refund if I removed my bad review. We were refunded and I took my review down.

Therefore, we can’t really give you a recommendation on this tour either way. If you go, I hope it is more exciting than the tour we got, and it sounds like it was a booking error on their part.

Our evening took a turn for the better at our next stop, Blaylock’s Whiskey Bar.

Blaylock's Whiskey Bar, Astoria
Blaylock’s Whiskey Bar, Astoria
Blaylock's Whiskey Bar, Astoria
Blaylock’s Whiskey Bar, Astoria

If you like craft cocktails, this is a bar you must go to. The cocktails were some of the best we’ve ever encountered. The menu is extensive, and it was difficult to choose. I honestly can’t remember what I had on my first round, but it was full of flavor and came with a pear wedge. Paddy had the Holy Woodsman, a take on an old-fashioned with black walnut bitters and cedar smoke among other delightful ingredients.

For round two I had the German Chocolate Cake Old Fashioned which was mind-blowingly good. Coconut fat washed whiskey, Frangelico, and cocoa bitters. Paddy had Smoke Signals, which came with a cloud of tobacco smoke held in place by a wooden coaster. Once removed, the smoke created a unique olfactory flavor experience mixed in with the cocktail, not to mention an impressive presentation.

Blaylock's Whiskey Bar, Astoria
Blaylock’s Whiskey Bar, Astoria

We honestly could have kept savoring new cocktails for a few more rounds, but artisan craft cocktails like this come with a hefty price tag. We can’t wait to go back to Astoria just to go to Blaylock’s.

Our next stop was The Haunt, a Norwegian black metal bar. The bar is small, and don’t expect craft cocktails here. They do however have a decent collection of Aquavit. We had a couple beers and vodka sodas and the prices were very reasonable. They also serve Scandinavian food apparently, but we didn’t see anyone eating.

The Haunt, Astoria
The Haunt, Astoria
The Haunt, Astoria
The Haunt, Astoria

After a couple drinks at The Haunt, we stopped in to catch the end of a live music show at Labor Temple diner and bar, which also looks like a really great breakfast spot. On the way back to our hotel, we poked our heads into Galactix Arcade and Taphouse with an immersive sci-fi space theme. No cocktails offered here, but the beer and cider selection looked great, as well as the prices. We didn’t have any drinks, but I always appreciate a solid commitment to a theme.

Galactix Arcade and Taphouse Astoria
Galactix Arcade and Taphouse Astoria
Galactix Arcade and Taphouse Astoria
Galactix Arcade and Taphouse Astoria

Sunday morning we decided we couldn’t leave the Oregon Coast without a Dungeness crab benedict and biscuits and gravy at the Pig N Pancake. Pig N Pancake has locations up and down the Oregon Coast and never disappoints with their hearty breakfasts. The Dungeness crab benedict is always my favorite.

Dungeness crab benedict at the Pig N Pancake, Astoria
Dungeness crab benedict at the Pig N Pancake, Astoria

Astoria is a town with a lot of character, great food and drinks, and a fun, creative community. We left in disbelief that it took us this long to explore it. Cannon Beach and Seaside have the gorgeous beaches and family activities, but Astoria has a more unique charm. It is kind of like a micro Portland in a way. A salty-sailor fishing town full of artists and weirdos. Just our kind of place.

Halloween in New Orleans 2015

Halloween in New Orleans 2015: Spooky fun, awesome food, Frenchmen Street, Voodoo Musuem, Garden District, the French Quarter, and a vampire ball

 

Our first trip to New Orleans was ten years ago, in the spring before Hurricane Katrina. We stayed a week and fell head over heals in love with the city. We’d always dreamed of coming back for Halloween, and this year, we finally pulled the trigger and spent Halloween in New Orleans.

Halloween in New Orleans is probably second to Mardi Gras as far as a big city-wide event. It’s not just Halloween night, it is several nights of events and costumed revelry. There are masquerade balls, witches’ balls, vampire balls, parades, haunted history tours, and the annual Voodoo Fest music festival all at once. It is a bit overwhelming, and there isn’t a way to possibly do it all.

If you want to spend Halloween in New Orleans, I recommend planning ahead. Book your plane tickets and hotel early (9 months in advance is a good idea) and do some research to figure out which events are going on in your time frame an what is most important. If tickets are required, purchase early.

Also, bring at least two costumes. New Orleans is serious about costumes, so bring some good ones.

 

Day 1:

Our flight from Seattle arrived into humid New Orleans at 5:30, and getting a taxi to our hotel was a breeze. The taxi line was long, but it moved quickly. There is a mandated flat rate for all taxi fares for two passengers of $36.00 for most parts of New Orleans. The rate increases $15 per extra passenger after that.

We arrived at the Frenchmen 519 condos, where we had booked a two bedroom condo to share with our friend Keith from New York. The location couldn’t have been better–right on Frenchmen Street and in walking distance to everything in the French Quarter. The condo was spacious, had AC, and the beds were comfortable. The front desk is open 24 hours and the desk agent was extremely nice. There is an outside gate with a pass code as well for security. We found the best rate on Booking.com at $250/night.

Frenchmen 519 condo on Frenchmen Street
Frenchmen 519 condo on Frenchmen Street
Frenchmen 519 condo on Frenchmen Street
Frenchmen 519 condo on Frenchmen Street
Frenchmen 519 condo on Frenchmen Street
Frenchmen 519 condo on Frenchmen Street
Frenchmen-519-Halloween-in-New-Orleans 217
Frenchmen 519 condo on Frenchmen Street

Frenchmen 519 condo on Frenchmen Street

There was also a pool and hot tub in the back courtyard, but we never had time to use it.

We had three other friends who flew down with us staying a few blocks away at the Lamothe House hotel on Esplanade, which they were very happy with as well.

Our front desk clerk recommended Coop’s Place for dinner, only a few blocks away on Decatur Street. We didn’t have to wait long for a table for 5, but a long line began building after we were seated. I walked by this restaurant a few times during our stay and there was usually a big line for dinner. The menu is a smorgasbord of Cajun/Creole fare and the prices are reasonable.

Paddy and I couldn’t decide, so we both went with the sampler platter which had fried chicken, jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, red beans and rice with okra, and a cup of gumbo. It was a good sampling of New Orleans cooking, and the fried chicken was excellent.

Fried chicken at Coops Place Hallowen in New Orleans
Fried chicken platter at Coops Place
Sampler platter at Coops Place Halloween in New Orleans
Sampler platter at Coops Place

After dinner, we walked down Decatur Street and poked around in the little shops that were still open. Then we turned up towards Bourbon Street.

The first time you see Bourbon Street, it’s kind of exciting. Lots of neon, lots of people, live music pouring out of every bar up and of course the Huge Ass Beers guy selling beers to go.

Bourbon Street Halloween in New Orleans
Bourbon Street
Bourbon Street Halloween in New Orleans
Bourbon Street

Bourbon Street Halloween in New Orleans

Bourbon Street Halloween in New Orleans
Bourbon Street

For most people in the US coming from states with strict liquor laws, being able to get a beer in a to-go cup and walk around is a novelty in itself. When we first came to New Orleans, we didn’t know much about the city and spent most of our nights on Bourbon.

This time, all we saw was tourists. Tourists on balconies trying to get other tourists to show their boobs for beads (wrong holiday, guys), tourists doing bad karaoke, drunk bachelor parties, and most of the music we heard blaring out of the bars were cover bands doing covers of classic rock songs. Our friends hadn’t been to New Orleans before, so we did a thorough walk up and down Bourbon to get a taste, but everyone was over it pretty quickly.

We headed back towards Frenchmen Street on Bourbon, past the very well-decorated gay bars to our favorite bar from our last visit, Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop.

Bourbon Street Halloween in New Orleans
Gay bars on Bourbon Street had the best Halloween decorations
Bourbon Street Halloween in New Orleans
Bourbon Street
Lafittes Blacksmith Shop Halloween in New Orleans
Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop

Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop is reportedly the oldest building used as a bar in the US, dating back to 1722. It is dark, using mostly candles as light. The decor is minimal with only old wooden tables and a piano player in the back. The only electric lights are over the bar and over the piano music. There is also a nice outdoor courtyard. We were extremely disappointed this time to see that a digital juke box with neon lights had been added to the wall across from the bar. It’s music competed with the piano player in the back and the neon light was a major eyesore in a dark, historical, candlelit bar.

We still had a good time, and were early enough to get table service. I recommend the local Abita Blackened Voodoo beer or Dixie for something lighter.

Laffites Blacksmith Shop
Lafittes Blacksmith Shop piano player
Lafittes Blacksmith Shop Halloween in New Orleans
Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop
Lafittes Blacksmith Shop Halloween in New Orleans
Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop

Our friend Keith from New York finally arrived at our condo back on Frenchmen Street, so we headed back there to see what was going on. We met up with Keith and spent some time watching the jazz band on the street corner playing for tips. The crowd was growing, people were dancing, and some dude was walking around selling beers out of a cooler duct-taped to a hand truck. It was a refreshing change from the adult Disneyland that is Bourbon Street.

Frenchemen Street Halloween in New Orleans
Frenchmen Street

After a little while we were in need of more beers, but our entrepreneur with the hand truck cooler was lost among the crowd. We headed over to Dat Dog for drinks and ended up staying for the best hot dogs we’ve ever had. I had the crawfish etouffee dog which was crawfish sausage covered in creole mustard, tarter sauce, relish, tomatoes, and onions. Paddy had the Guinness special which was a Guinness sausage with yellow mustard, bacon, onions, and I’m not sure what else. He said it was amazing.

Also on the menu was duck sausage, alligator sausage, vegan sausage, turducken sausage, Polish sausage, German bratwurst, chili cheese fries, and crawfish etouffee fries, among other items. It was ridiculously good.

Dat Dog Halloween in New Orleans
Dat Dog–we embraced our sausagey bliss.
Dat Dog Halloween in New Orleans
Dat Dog
Dat Dog Halloween in New Orleans
Dat Dog Guinness Special
Dat Dog Halloween in New Orleans
Dat Dog Crawfish Etouffee Dog

Halloween-in-New-Orleans 318

After our late-night munchies were satisfied, most of us turned in for the night. Paddy went across the street to watch a jazz band for awhile.

 

Day 2:

Thursday we slept in a bit, and then Paddy, Keith, and I headed for brunch at the New Orleans Cake Cafe. Located further into the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood, it is a little local hidden gem.

New Orleans Cake Cafe Halloween in New Orleans
New Orleans Cake Cafe

It is seat-yourself and order at the counter, and the food is delicious. We weren’t in the mood for sweets but the baked goods in the counter display case looked amazing. Paddy and Keith both had the boudin and eggs, which was a fried cake of boudin sausage, grits, eggs, and a buttery home-baked biscuit. I had the crab sandwich, which had crab, bacon, and brie on challah bread.

Boudin and eggs at New Orleans Cake Cafe
Boudin sausage, eggs, grits, and a biscuit at New Orleans Cake Cafe
Crab, brie, and bacon sandwich at New Orleans Cake Cafe
Crab, brie, and bacon sandwich at New Orleans Cake Cafe

After brunch we met up with our other friends to explore the French Quarter. We found a lot of interesting antique shops on Decatur Street, and a witchcraft store selling books, soaps, potions, oils, voodoo dolls, and other witchy items. The antiques in New Orleans are a lot older than in the stores we have been in back in Seattle. There are a lot of old turn of the century furniture and collectibles in New Orleans if you are looking for that sort of thing.

Decatur street antiques new orleans
Old rusty letters for sale at an antique store on Decatur Street
Decatur street antiques new orleans
Furniture at an antique store on Decatur street
French Quarter Halloween in New Orleans
French Quarter
Witchcraft store on Decatur Street Halloween in New Orleans
Witchcraft store on Decatur Street

We also explored the French Market, which reminded us a lot of Seattle’s Pike Place Market. Lots of vendors selling art, jewelry, crafts, souvenirs, food, and produce. I didn’t take any photos in the French Market because a lot of art vendors had “no photos” signs at their booths and I didn’t want to be an asshole. So you’ll just have to see it for yourself.

After walking around for a few hours, we needed a little break, and Paddy needed to have some oysters. We walked into the glaring tourist trap French Market Cafe on Decatur and headed to the upstairs bar. It was mid afternoon and fairly empty. We all had some overpriced drinks (the “sex on the bayou” was refreshing), rested our feet, and Paddy and I shared a dozen oysters. We love oysters, but couldn’t get our squeamish friends to give them a go.

oysters at the French Market Cafe New Orleans
Paddy enjoying some raw oysters at the French Market Cafe

After we were rested up, we walked through the French Quarter some more and then checked out the Voodoo Museum.

French Quarter
French Quarter

The Voodoo Museum is small, and is a $5.00 entry. We were told we could take photos. It was really interesting to learn about the symbolism and history of voodoo.

Voodoo Museum
Shrine, Voodoo Museum
Voodoo Museum
Voodoo dolls, Voodoo Museum

After learning all about voodoo and hoodoo, we took a look at the famous LaLaurie Mansion nearby on Royal Street. It is where Madame Delphine LaLaurie resided in the early 1800’s. There are stories of her deplorable treatment of slaves in the mansion, including a mysterious death of a slave girl falling from the window of one of the upper floors. In 1834 a fire broke out in the mansion, and Madame LaLaurie reportedly ran out into the street in a frenzy asking bystanders to assist her with her saving her valuables. Firemen inquired about the slaves and Madame LaLaurie refused to give them the keys to the attic slave quarters. The fire was put out, but seven tortured and mutilated slaves were found chained in the attic when the firemen broke down the door. Madame LaLaurie was driven out of town and an angry mob destroyed everything in the mansion.

LaLaurie Mansion New Orleans Halloween
LaLaurie Mansion

Madame LaLaurie was featured as a character in the fictional TV show American Horror Story: Coven. The show was fictional, but the character and her horrific treatment of her slaves was based on real history.

We walked around the French Quarter a bit more, admiring the Halloween decorations. Locals really get into Halloween in New Orleans, and there were quite a few decorated houses and apartments.

Halloween in New Orleans
Halloween decorations in the French Quarter
Halloween in New Orleans
Halloween decorations in the French Quarter

Halloween in New Orleans

 

Halloween in New Orleans
Paddy and I in front of a beautiful New Orleans house on the edge of the French Quarter

Later, we all re-convened for dinner. I had made a reservation (definitely recommended for larger groups) at Sobou, a new and hip subsidiary of the long-standing New Orleans institution Commander’s Palace. The name Sobou is short for “south of Bourbon.”

The menu was more tapas style than big plates, meant to order small plates to share. The cuisine was modern New Orleans fare, and everything looked amazing. The meal started off great, with cocktails and a few small bites including a smokey gumbo with mashed potatoes instead of rice, ahi tuna cones with avocado ice cream, fried pork rinds with honey-whipped bacon fat and 24-hour smoked pork rillette.

Sobou New Orleans
Sobou
Sobou New Orleans
Sobou
Sobou New Orleans tuna cones
Tuna cones: Raw tuna with avocado basil ice cream
Sobou New Orleans
Gumbo with a scoop of mashed potatoes
Sobou New Orleans
Cocktails at Sobou: The Funnycide and the Rowdy Hawaiian

The meal went south after the first round. We ordered more food and drinks, and our waitress took our order and completely disappeared for half an hour. Finally we inquired about our food with the bartender who said he would check on it. A few minutes later another cup of gumbo was brought out without a spoon, with an explanation that our food was put in on separate tickets. We had to go back to the bartender to get a spoon. Waitress still nowhere in site. We inquired again a few minutes later and our drinks were brought by another server, who said he would check on the rest of our food. We waited a bit longer, and then some more dishes were brought but we were still missing two, and the second gumbo was also brought by a food runner without a spoon. We asked if the rest was coming and he said he would check, that (again) it must have all been put on separate tickets. Waitress still nowhere in site.

We’ve all worked in the service industry, and we’ve all had off-nights. However, this was a little ridiculous. Finally, news of our multiple inquiries with the bartender on our food (and spoons) reached a manager, who came over and apologized profusely, had some shots sent over to our table and made sure the rest of our food came out. She promised some complimentary dessert as well. Our waitress came back finally, looking very sheepish and apologized for the confusion. We received a complimentary round of the bananas foster on the half shell and the “pecan pie not pie” which was served in a jar with peanut butter whipped cream and a chocolate covered pork cracklin’. It was delicious.

Sobou babanas foster new orleans
Bananas foster on the half shell

When we received our bill, in addition to the complimentary dessert and shots, the manager comped the first round of appetizers. I’d chock the service issues up to a bad night for the waitress, and would definitely go back. All of the food was outstanding, and the manager made it right by taking some things off of our bill. A class act all the way. Paddy is still raving about the foie gras burger he had.

After dinner we walked back towards Frenchmen Street on Bourbon Street, which was rowdier than the night before and smelled of vomit and farts. It was only 9:30, but you still had to watch where you stepped to avoid random splatters of puke on the street. Aside from a stop for Paddy and Devin to get some cigars, we hurried through.

Bourbon Street New Orleans
Cigars on Bourbon. Photo by Cassandra Whelan

Back on Frenchmen Street, the same group of musicians were playing on the corner for tips again, and had drawn an even bigger crowd. We went up to the balcony of Dat Dog and watched from above with drinks.

Frenchmen Street New Orleans
Watching the jazz band below from Dat Dog on Frenchmen Street. Photo by Cassandra Whelan
Frenchmen Street New Orleans
Frenchmen Street
Frenchmen Street New Orleans
Frenchmen Street

Frenchmen Street New Orleans

Dat Dog might be an unassuming fluorescently-lit hot dog restaurant, but it is a great spot to get some drinks and watch the action.

While we were watching the jazz band, a man and his wife set up some folding tables and table-top BBQs on the opposite corner of the street and started grilling. After the band ended, we couldn’t resist checking out what they had going on.

The cook’s name was Steve and he had gone to college in Seattle, so when he found out we were from Seattle he made a big to-do about it and we all got our photos taken with him.

BBQ Frenchmen Street New Orleans
Steve’s BBQ
BBQ Frenchmen Street New Orleans
Steve’s BBQ

The BBQ platter was huge, so we got a couple to share. It was $20, and well worth it. It included a sausage, some corn on the cobb, amazing mac and cheese, jambalaya, a piece of chicken, and the best sauteed garlic bacon cabbage I’ve ever had. If you see this man on Frenchmen Street–drop your dinner plans and get his food.

BBQ Frenchmen Street New Orleans
Steve’s BBQ platter. Best $20 you’ll ever spend.

 

Day 3:

 

On Friday morning Cassandra and I were up and ready to go get beignets and coffee at Cafe Du Monde at 10:00 AM, but we were only able to get two of the guys out of bed to come with us.

The line was long, but moved fairly quickly. There was another line for to-go coffee and beignets around the back that moved a bit faster, but we wanted to sit down.

Cafe Du Monde New Orleans
Cafe Du Monde

It was worth the wait. There are only beignets and coffee on the menu, and it is cash only. The floor is covered in powdered sugar and the dining area is open-air.

Cafe Du Monde New Orleans
Cafe Du Monde cafe au lait and beignets

After beignets and cafe au lait with chicory, we walked across the street to Jackson Square and admired the St Louis Cathedral, and checked out the art being sold on the edges of the park by local artists.

St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square New Orleans
Jackson Square
St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square New Orleans
St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square

Walking back to our hotels we walked by a house decorated in various mutilated baby dolls.

We were able to rouse Paddy when we got back to the condo, but Keith was still sleeping off a late night. We took an uber over to the Garden District where we had a 1:15 PM brunch reservation at Atchafalaya. We were a bit early, so we went up to the bar to order some drinks. The poor harried bartender was obviously on the tail end of a very busy brunch rush and it took awhile to get our vodka on ice for the bloody mary bar, but we were patient.

Atchafalaya New Orleans
Atchafalaya restaurant—Brunch highly recommended!

Bloody mary bar? Yes–a bloody mary bar!! With standard bloody mary mix and a green tomato bloody mary mix. There was also an entire array of pickled veggies, hot sauces, pepper, and lime wedges to customize your bloody mary.

Atchafalaya bloody mary bar New Orleans
Atchafalaya bloody mary bar
Atchafalaya bloody mary bar New Orleans
Atchafalaya bloody mary bar

Everything on the menu looked delicious. I finally narrowed it down to the duck confit hash, and Paddy had the shrimp with cream cheese grits. This was probably my favorite meal our whole trip, and if you plan on going to the Garden District while in New Orleans, make a reservation here and get brunch. It’s the best.

Duck confit hash at Atchafalaya in the Garden District
Duck confit hash at Atchafalaya in the Garden District
Shrimp with cream cheese grits at Actchafalaya New Orleans
Shrimp with cream cheese grits at Actchafalaya
Chicken and biscuits with sausage gravy at Atchafalaya New Orleans
Chicken and biscuits with sausage gravy at Atchafalaya

After we were full of brunch, we waddled around the Garden District and admired the houses and Layfayette Cemetery.

I had heard that the reason people are buried in above-ground  tombs in New Orleans is due to New Orleans being below sea level, causing bodies buried below ground to rise back up in the event of a flood. According to the Lafayette Cemetery website, however, the tombs are primarily a cultural tradition from the French and Spanish colonists.

In any event, the tombs are beautiful and intriguing.

Lafayette Cemetery New Orleans
Lafayette Cemetery New Orleans
Lafayette Cemetery New Orleans
Lafayette Cemetery
Lafayette Cemetery New Orleans
Lafayette Cemetery
Lafayette Cemetery New Orleans
Lafayette Cemetery
Lafayette Cemetery New Orleans
Lafayette Cemetery
Lafayette Cemetery New Orleans
Lafayette Cemetery
Lafayette Cemetery New Orleans
Lafayette Cemetery
Halloween in New Orleans Layfayette Cemetery
Lafayette Cemetery

The Garden District neighborhood of New Orleans is home to some of the most spectacular old French/Spanish colonial southern houses. The last time we visited New Orleans, Paddy and I walked all over the Garden District looking at houses until we were dead tired. This time, we just did a short tour to check out Anne Rice’s former house (the house she used as the setting for her books about the Mayfair witches) and the houses nearby to the Rice house.

If you are really interested in Garden District houses, most guidebooks for New Orleans will have a self-guided walking tour in them that tells you about some of the most impressive houses and where to find them.

Anne Rice's house in the Garden District
Anne Rice’s house in the Garden District
Anne Rice's house in the Garden District
Anne Rice’s house in the Garden District
Anne Rice's house in the Garden District
Anne Rice’s house in the Garden District
Garden District New Orleans
Garden District

After we were tired of walking, we took an Uber back to Frenchmen Street to take a nap in our rooms.

Later that evening Keith, Paddy, and I ventured out in search of sustenance, and had a solidly mediocre meal at Frank’s on Decatur Street. The food was too bland to recommend, but the price, nearby location, and lack of a wait for a table were all what we were looking for.

On the way back to our condo we passed the dead baby house from earlier, now all lit up and with a host. A middle aged man in a diaper and a baby mask pretended to grind baby dolls up in a “meat grinder” that spit out candy. His cat sat on a chair next to the front steps looking bored.

Halloween-in-New-Orleans 390
Keith and the “man baby” at the dead baby house
Halloween-in-New-Orleans 386
Dead baby house

There were a lot more decorations out on Friday night, it was fun to walk around the French Quarter and see the houses and hotels all decorated for Halloween. Some were really elaborate.

Halloween in New Orleans
Halloween in New Orleans
Scary clown house Halloween in New Orleans
Scary clown house– Halloween in New Orleans
Scary clown house Halloween in New Orleans
Scary clown house– Halloween in New Orleans
scary clown house Halloween in New Orleans
Scary clown house– Halloween in New Orleans

The weather forecast for Halloween in New Orleans was grim–predicting rain and thunderstorms all day and night on Saturday and Sunday. Fortunately, Halloween in New Orleans is not just one night. We had brought multiple costumes for the weekend, and Friday night ended up being the most fun night of our trip.

Well planning our trip, we thought a group costume would be fun and we found some banana costumes for $25 each. Paddy was not enthusiastic about the idea, but we peer pressured him into it.

Halloween in New Orleans
Halloween in New Orleans. Bananas!

Keith had his nun costume on earlier, and decided to keep his holy cross on with the banana costume. Ba-nun-a.

Halloween in New Orleans
Ba-Nun-a

We had some beers at our condo, and then ventured out onto Frenchmen Street. We immediately got a lot of attention. Everywhere we went people were yelling “bananas!” Paddy had an attitude change when he saw how much attention we were getting. He has always been a bit of a ham.

There were a lot of other impressive costumes as well. I was particularly impressed with these two ladies dressed as peacocks:

Halloween in New Orleans
Peacocks– Halloween in New Orleans
Narwhal costuems Halloween in New Orleans
Narwhals– Halloween in New Orleans
Angler Fish costume halloween in New Orleans
Angler fish costume– Halloween in New Orleans
Halloween in New Orleans
Halloween in New Orleans –I don’t know what this couple’s costume is, but it is amazing.
Halloween in New Orleans Beetlejuice and Lydia
Best Beetlejuice and Lydia I’ve ever seen

We decided that we had to go back to Bourbon Street to parade around a bit more and see more costumes. We ended up posing in a lot of peoples’ photos.

Waldos and Bananas Halloween in New Orleans
We kept finding Waldo. Everywhere.
Dr-Frankenfurter-Halloween in New Orleans
Dr. Frankenfurter
Rocky Horror Halloween in New Orleans
Keith and Rocky exchanging pleasantries
Halloween in New Orleans
Roy Orbison in drag?

We came across one of the several Tropical Isle bars on Bourbon, and decided that we needed their famous Shark Attack drink that I saw on Zane Lamprey’s Drinking Made Easy. The Tropical Isle is famous for it’s New Orleans Hand Grenade drink, which you will see people walking around with everywhere in long green souvenir cups. This is not the best drink at the Tropical Isle. The Shark Attack is made with a slurry of booze and other sugary ingredients, but that’s not the attraction.

Tropical Isle Halloween in New Orleans
Tropical Isle on Bourbon Street
Shark attacks Tropical Isle Halloween in New Orleans
Making the Shark Attacks

The best part of the Shark Attack is that it comes with a plastic shark that has grenadine poured in its mouth, overturned into the drink and therefore spilling “blood” into the water. Our bartender also threw in a little plastic alligator for good measure.

Drinks that come with a plastic shark overturned in them? What more could you want. Go to the Tropical Isle. Skip the Hand Grenade. Get the Shark Attack.

Shark attacks Tropical Isle Halloween in New Orleans
Shark Attacks at the Tropical Isle
Shark attacks Tropical Isle Halloween in New Orleans
Shark attacks at the Tropical Isle

Upstairs at the Tropical Isle we found a good balcony view of Bourbon Street, and a photo op.

Tropical Isle Halloween in New Orleans
Tropical Isle
Halloween in New Orleans
Bourbon Street

 

Day 4:

 

The next morning our condo living area was strewn with banana costumes and rubber sharks. Keith was still sleeping, so Paddy and I headed out to get some brunch.

Halloween in New Orleans
The aftermath.

We walked over to Horn’s restaurant, which came highly recommended by a friend of ours. There was a wait, but you could put yourself on the self-sign in wait list at the door. It wasn’t too long before we got a nice booth, coffee, and mimosas.

Horns New Orleans
Horn’s restaurant

The menu was a touch choice, everything looked amazing. I went with my friend’s suggestion of the Jewish Coonass which was two potato latkes topped with two eggs, grilled spinach, crawfish etouffee, and a biscuit on the side. Paddy had the Eggs Dauphine with jalepeno corn bread, pulled pork, egg, and hollandaise sauce. Both were fabulous.

Horns New Orleans
Jewish Coonass at Horn’s
Horns New Orleans
Horns

After breakfast we did some souvenir shopping on Decatur Street and then went back to bed for awhile to rest up for Halloween night.

The late afternoon brought torrents of rain as promised, and New Orleans even had a tornado warning for awhile according to the news.

Every Halloween in New Orleans, there is a small parade on Decatur Street and back down Bourbon Street starting at Molly’s in the Market on Decatur. The parade is Jim Monaghan’s Halloween Parade, not to be confused with the big Halloween parade done by the Krewe of Boo. The big Halloween parade was the weekend prior to Halloween, which we missed. We decided to check out Jim Monaghan’s Halloween Parade, despite the rain.

The parade was scheduled to start at 6:00 PM, and we ended up standing under umbrellas with a bunch of other spectators near the start of the parade route until 7:00 PM when the parade finally started. I don’t know if the weather had something to do with it, but the parade was pretty much just some people in costumes walking down the street and riding in carriages. A few beads were thrown. It was over within 10 minutes, or at least it appeared to be. Seeing as how you can see people parading around in costumes all over Bourbon Street and Frenchmen Street anyway, we kind of wished we’d skipped waiting in the rain. It was also dark, which made visibility difficult as well. I guess it literally rained on our parade.

Jim Monaghan's Halloween Parade
Jim Monaghan’s Halloween Parade
Jim Monaghan's Halloween Parade
Jim Monaghan’s Halloween Parade
Jim Monaghan's Halloween Parade
Jim Monaghan’s Halloween Parade

We were starving, so we headed back through the rain to Dat Dog for a quick dinner, then back to our condo to get in costume.

Paddy, Keith and I had tickets to the annual Endless Night Vampire Ball at the House of Blues. It is New Orleans, home of Anne Rice, and a vampire ball seemed appropriate. Because the weather was so bad, we were happy that we did our street-partying together with the group the night before, and had a dry indoor venue for tonight.

Our other friends came over to join us and have a few pre-funk drinks before going out. Keith went with a “Lone Ranger” style vampire costume, and Paddy and I went a bit more traditional. They both got some really creepy contact lenses. I was jealous–I need prescription so I couldn’t get them.

vampire ball Halloween in New Orleans
Keith, Whitney, and Paddy getting ready for the vampire ball

vampire ball Halloween in New Orleans

vampire ball Halloween in New Orleans
Getting ready for the vampire ball

The Vampire Ball was full of very serious costumes. They have a strict dress code–no street wear. I did see a few random costumes there as well, so they must not be super strict with the vampire dress code. I’d recommend putting a good vampire costume together, but it seemed like any well-done costume was sufficient. Each year has a different theme, and this year’s theme was Penny Dreadful (1800’s London horror). There were a lot of costumes that went with the theme, and many that didn’t. All of them were interesting.

Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball–this lady sewed her own dress! Amazing.
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Keith, our blood-sucking cowboy

The House of Blues is a huge venue, and in addition to the main stage, there was a side room with a small stage as well. A vampire belly dancer put on a burlesque performance on the side stage involving eating live worms and drinking blood. I don’t know if the blood was real, but the worms were. Ew.

Endless Night Vampire Ball

Endless Night Vampire Ball

On the main stage were several musical acts, an aerialist, and more vampire belly dancers, some with live snakes. It was all very entertaining.

Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball

Endless Night Vampire Ball

Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball
Endless Night Vampire Ball

Around midnight we decided to head back to Frenchmen Street to see how the Halloween party was going there. Unfortunately, our friends were tired from the night before and sick of walking around in the rain, so they went to bed early. The rain was a disappointment, Frenchmen Street was not nearly as packed with costumed revelers as in the photos I’d seen of previous Halloween in New Orleans.

We had a great time Friday night though, and the Vampire Ball was pretty spectacular. I’m glad we didn’t have only Halloween night to celebrate with the weather being so wet.

 

Day 5:

 

On Sunday we had to check out by 11:00 AM, but our flight wasn’t until 6:30 PM. We weren’t able to do a late checkout, but the 519 Frenchmen was happy to store our luggage for us for the day. While we were packing, my blood sugar was taking a steep dive, so I went down the street to Cafe Rose Nicaud for lattes and some delicious biscuit “sammies” to go. The rain was still pouring, and I was glad I’d brought an umbrella on this trip.

At 11:00 we met up with the rest of our friends and went to brunch at Horn’s again. The wait was longer for five of us, but we didn’t have anything better to do and there was a covered area outside the door to shelter us from the rain.

Paddy had the Waffle Couchon, which was a cornbread waffle topped with pulled pork, chimichurri sauce and pickled peppers. I had the Chicken and Waffle, which was a sweet potato waffle with fried chicken and BBQ sauce. I was a little disappointed with my chicken and waffle, I thought it needed some type of light gravy or something other than BBQ sauce, and the waffle was a little on the sweet side for me. Paddy was raving about his Waffle Couchon.

Waffle Couchon at Horns New Orleans
Waffle Couchon at Horns
Chicken and waffle at Horns New Orleans
Chicken and waffle at Horns

After brunch, we still had a couple hours to kill but we were low on money and it was pouring rain. We figured we should just head to the airport and have some drinks at a bar.

Unfortunately, Alaskan Air only seemed to have one flight that day–ours. This meant that the ticket counter was closed and we couldn’t check our bags until 4:00 PM, so we had to kill two hours sitting in the check in area. There were some limited concessions outside the security area, but there really is only so much you can do with large suitcases. Normally we try not to check bags for domestic flights, but my ballgown for the vampire ball alone took up a whole suitcase in addition to our other costumes.

We made it home on a plane with broken wifi and continuously coughing and farting passengers. All in all, it was a great trip and we would definitely like to do Halloween in New Orleans again. Next time we’d really like to see the big Krewe of Boo Halloween parade, and maybe do a haunted history tour. As for New Orleans in general, if we go back during a time other than Halloween we’d like to explore some neighborhoods outside of the French Quarter a little more and rent a car and get out of the city a bit. We did a swamp tour the first time we went to New Orleans and I’d like to do that again. There is so much to see. We will be back.

 

 

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases from product links on this site.

Crafty Adventures: Carmen Miranda Costume

Crafty Adventures: Making my own Carmen Miranda costume for Halloween

I get really into Halloween. I start planning my costume in August. I love the experience of crafting a unique costume that isn’t a cheap out-of-the-bag costume that I may see ten other people wearing when I go out. Last year, I wanted to be Carmen Miranda. It took a little work, but my Carmen Miranda costume ended up being a success. Here’s how I made it:

 

Since I’m not a talented seamstress, I usually start with a pre-made costume or garment and modify it. I looked around at some of the “samba lady” costumes online, and didn’t find much that was my size, or that didn’t involve a bikini top.

I figured what I really needed was something strapless with a big slit up the side of the skirt that I could add ruffles to. I looked at some costumes on HalloweenCostumes.com and found a Jessica Rabbit costume that I thought might do the trick as the base. It came in plus sizes too.

 

jessica rabbit costume for carmen miranda costume
image from www.halloweencostumes.com

The dress showed up, and it fit but was a bit big. Not wanting it to be too tight, I decided to keep the slightly too big size and modify it to fit me better.

But first, ruffles:

making a carmen miranda costume
Ruffles galore

I bought all of the red and yellow ruffles that Joann Fabrics had. There was a bit more red than yellow, so I made that my main color, and it matched the dress anyway. I was hoping to make it a bit more colorful but I could only find other ruffles in white, black, or pastel colors that didn’t really go with the bold Brazilian samba look.

I started with a yellow ruffle along the hemline of the skirt and up the skirt slit, overlapping at the top. Next I added a red ruffle underneath it. I hand sewed everything, since my sewing machine died last year and I hadn’t replaced it yet. It wasn’t that bad, it was something productive to do while watching TV.

For the armbands I bought some extra wide elastic, made arm bands with it, and sewed four tiers of ruffles alternating yellow and red. Unfortunately, I didn’t account for the fact that if you sew something non-elastic to elastic, it prevents the piece from being elastic.

carmen miranda costume ruffle armbands
Sewing ruffles on the elastic armbands

I solved this by cutting it back open and sewing a small additional elastic strip to give the band some elasticity. not the nicest looking job, but it was on the inside of my arm so no one could really see it. I did the same thing with the second armband, leaving some of the elastic open.

carmen miranda costume ruffle armbands
Open elastic to allow stretch on the ruffle armbands

 

The top of the dress had a big sweetheart neckline that was a bit too big. I folded it down and hemmed it, trimming off the excess fabric. I then took some yellow ruffle and sewed it around the top of the dress. The lack of elasticity in the ruffle actually helped out quite a bit here, as the dress was a bit big and it helped tighten it up.

Last, the most important piece of the Carmen Miranda costume is the fruit hat. I ordered this one online from another costume retailer, intending to add some fruit to it:

carmen miranda costume fruit hat

Not surprisingly, it arrived much less glorious and more deflated than the web photo above. That giant green ostrich feather at the top was only about 6 inches long. This wasn’t a problem as I wanted to add a lot more fruit to it anyway. The grapes were nice, but the little pineapple on top was pretty pathetic. I went to Michaels and bought more grapes, two bananas, two lemons, an apple, and an orange and two big red and yellow ostrich feathers.

The thing that was most helpful to me in embellishing the Carmen Miranda costume fruit hat was a glass head that Paddy acquired from an old roommate. It sat out in our garage for ages and I once asked if we could get rid of it but he wanted to keep it, and now I’m glad we did.

I was able to put the hat on the glass head and superglue the extra fruit and feathers to it while it was upright. Assuming that you are a normal person who doesn’t have glass heads in your garage, you might be able to get a styrofoam wig head from a craft store to use, or just ask your best buddy to model it for you.

Carmen Miranda costume

Carmen Miranda costume

Wearing the fruit hat was a bit of a balancing act. I had to bobby pin it to my head around the rim of the velvet turban part, but it was still a little slippy. I had some flower hair clips that I ended up clipping in the back to secure it further, and they worked well.

I added some bracelets and beaded necklaces, and some spangly chandelier earrings, and voila!

Carmen Miranda costume
My Carmen Miranda costume and Paddy the evil jester.
Carmen Miranda costume
Carmen Miranda tangos with Indiana Jones
Carmen Miranda costume
Carmen Miranda and Indiana Jones

Carmen Miranda costume

Somehow, my Carmen Miranda costume fruit hat stayed on crammed into a car, at our friend’s Halloween party, crammed into a car again, at another friend’s Halloween party, and then out at the bars on Capitol Hill in Seattle. It got me a free drink from a guy dressed as a widow carrying around a framed photo of an old man. Finally, just after we were kicked out of the bar at 2:00 AM, I was eating a taco at a food truck and my fruit hat dove off of my head and crashed onto the sidewalk. I’ll call it a success.

Happy Halloween and happy costuming!

 

 

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases from product links on this site.

Halloween in Seattle

If you are spending Halloween in Seattle, there are a lot of options for a spooky good time. Here are our recommendations for Halloween fun in the Emerald City:

 

Pumpkin Patch and Cider Tasting

If you are spending Halloween in Seattle have the means and enthusiasm to carve a pumpkin, one of our favorite October day trips is to Dr Maze’s pumpkin farm in nearby Redmond, WA. It has all the standard things a pumpkin patch should have–a corn maze, kettle corn, fruits and veggies for sale, hot apple cider, and a pumpkin patch where you can pick your own pumpkin. The reason we like this pumpkin patch the most is the fact that it is just down the road from the Minea Farm, a working farm with a 100 + year old cider press still in action. Buy a cup of hot cider and watch the cider press from the viewing window, or buy a gallon of fresh pressed organic cider to take home. They also sell apples, eggs, jams and jellies, honey, and other things made on their farm. Minea Farm is located at 13404 Woodinville Redmond Rd NE, Redmond, WA.

halloween in seattle pumpkin patch
Picking pumpkins at Dr Maze’s pumpkin farm in Redmond

 

Horror Movie Exhibit

The EMP at the Seattle Center has an exhibit that has been running for a couple years (not sure how long it will run for) called “Can’t Look Away: The Lure of the Horror Film.”  See real iconic horror movie props such as the facehugger from Alien, the axe from The Shining, and the script from Night of the Living Dead. I haven’t been to this exhibit yet but hope to before it goes away.

The EMP is also a good place to check for events. This year they are doing a 90’s zombie prom on October 17th. You can check their calendar for events here.

Halloween in seattle horror film
Can’t Look Away: The Lure of the Horror Film at the EMP Museum. Image from www.empmuseum.org

Super Scary Haunted House

One of the longest running Haunted Houses in Seattle is the Kube 93 Haunted House in the Georgetown neighborhood just south of downtown. I actually haven’t been to this since I was a teenager, but I keep meaning to go again. It’s a little pricey at $23 per adult, but they really go all out. They run the haunted house all through the month of October and even the last weekend of September.

Kube 93 Haunted House
Kube 93 Haunted House
Kube 93 Haunted House
Kube 93 Haunted House image from http://www.kube93.com/

 

Haunted Seattle Ghost Tours

Spooked in Seattle offers ghost tours of Seattle, including one ghost tour a month on the last Friday of each month in the Seattle underground, the part of old town Seattle that the current city was built on top of after the great fire of 1889. We’ve been on the regular Seattle Underground Tour, and it was spooky on its own without looking for ghosts. We’ve been on Spooked in Seattle’s regular city walking tour where they take you around Pioneer Square and downtown and tell you about reported ghost sightings in the historical part of the city. If you are interested in Seattle’s history and want a little spooky Halloween in Seattle fun, this is a good way to get a little of both.

halloween in seattle

Spooky Burlesque Shows

If you like dinner theater, burlesque shows, and Tim Burton, then you are in luck. The Triple Door downtown hosts a burlesque-style performance of the Nightmare Before Christmas, called This is Halloween every year. I’ve been to a few shows at The Triple Door, and this is dinner theater at its best. Food from the attached Wild Ginger restaurant is served prior to and during the show and drink service is available throughout. I saw the show with some friends two years ago as a girls’ night out and it was great fun. Get your tickets in advance, especially for weekend shows.

Halloween in Seattle Triple Door
This is Halloween show at the Triple Door, Seattle
Halloween in Seattle Triple Door
This is Halloween show at the Triple Door, Seattle
Halloween in Seattle Triple Door
This is Halloween show at the Triple Door, Seattle
Halloween in Seattle Triple Door
This is Halloween show at the Triple Door, Seattle

Seattle’s top spot for year round Burlesque shows is The Can Can downtown (right next to the entrance to the Pike Place Market). They love to do theme shows, and last year I went to a Halloween burlesque show called “Zombie Cheerleaders From Hell.” It appears that they are running it again this year. The title is a little misleading, (I don’t remember any zombie cheerleaders), but it was full of classic and devilishly spooky song and dance numbers, pasties, and humor. I did notice that their ticket prices have gone up a bit–the $40 ticket price used to include a cocktail credit but it appears that it is now just admission. The performers are great and the shows I’ve seen have always been fabulous, so if you have the dough and want to see a unique little part of Halloween in Seattle, I’d recommend it.

halloween in seattle
Image from http://www.thecancan.com/

Other good places to check for burlesque shows are the Columbia City Theater in Columbia City, and The Jewelbox Theater at the Rendezvous in Belltown. I checked their calendars for this October and both of them seem to be doing a Rocky Horror theme burlesque show of some kind, and The Jewelbox Theater has a “pole dancing Halloween recital”. I don’t know what all of those shows entail, but I’m sure whatever they are they will be at entertaining at minimum.

The Rocky Horror Pastie Show at Columbia City Theater
The Rocky Horror Pastie Show at Columbia City Theater 10/30/15

 Creepy Circus Show and Dance Party

One of the best Halloween events I’ve been to over Halloween in Seattle is the Emerald City Trapeze annual event Carnevolar. Hosted at the Emerald City Aerialdome in Sodo, they usually do 2-3 shows over Halloween weekend. The evening starts with a trapeze act, followed by a stage show including dancing, aerialist acts, and other circus performances. Every Carnevolar has a different theme. I’ve been to the Vampyre Circus and The Haunting. Last year I think it was Funhouse, this year it is The Funeral.

halloween in seattle carnevolar
Watching the flying vampires at Carnevolar
carnevolar halloween in seattle
Image by J Boyer Photography
halloween in Seattle Carnevolar
Carnevolar: The Haunting. Image by J Boyer Photography

After the performance, a DJ spins into the wee hours of the morning and the whole place becomes a dance party. Costumes are strongly encouraged, and from the two times I’ve gone people get very into the costumes here. Don’t be the boring lameass without a costume.

halloween in seattle carnevolar
Costumed attendees at Carnevolar

halloween in Seattle Carnevolar

Psycho at the Symphony

If you’re up for something spooky but a little more low-key on Halloween night, The Seattle Symphony at Benaroya Hall downtown does a live performance of the score to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho along with the movie.

Psycho at Seattle Symphony Halloween in Seattle
Image from www.seattlesymphony.org

Halloween Night Fun in the City

Lastly, of course you can always spend Halloween in Seattle out on the town. Every bar in the city will have some sort of Halloween party going on, but if you really want to be at the heart of the action, the Pike/Pine corridor on Capitol Hill is the place to go. It will be busy, so go early if you want to snag a spot to sit and people watch, or go later and wait in lines and bar crawl like everyone else. One year when Halloween was on a Friday, we went to Linda’s early at 9:00 and snagged a booth. We had the intention of moving on to other bars, but as Linda’s became more and more packed our booth started looking a more and more appealing to stay in. The entertainment pretty much came to us–it was an endless parade of costumes.

Whatever neighborhood you end up in, finding booze and people in costumes shouldn’t be too difficult.

Halloween 2014 535

Halloween 2014 533

Whatever you decide to do, Halloween in Seattle is always a great time.  Don’t forget to bring a costume.

Halloween 08 001

 

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Culinary Adventures: Broken Glass Cupcakes

Culinary Adventures: Making “bloody” Broken Glass Cupcakes for Halloween

I had seen these Broken Glass Cupcakes on Pinterest and really wanted to try them out for our annual pumpkin carving party this year. I wasn’t sure how making the glass would go, as I’ve never made hard candy before. I found Martha Stewart’s recipe for the sugar glass (she calls it caramel, which makes no sense to me) online, and tried it out:

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup water

Instructions:

Bring granulated sugar and water to a boil in a small high-sided saucepan, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium-high, and cook until mixture just starts to turn pale gold around edges. Remove from heat, and immediately pour caramel onto a rimmed baking sheet. Working quickly, tilt pan to spread caramel to edges to make a very thin layer. Let cool to harden.

I added the sugar and water to a pot and began bringing it to a boil. I wasn’t sure about the “cook until mixture starts to turn a pale gold around the edges” part of Martha’s instructions, and there were no photos to show what that looked like, or any reference to about how long this would take.

I am familiar with reducing liquids down to thicken, so I figured the consistency would need to be pretty thick for it to make the glass candy.

broken glass cupcakes  (21)

how to make broken glass cupcakes  (21) (1)
Bringing water and sugar to a boil

It took quite a while, about 20 minutes or so. Definitely watch it and stir on occasion. Eventually, it reduced down and very little steam was coming off of the syrup any more, it was mostly just bubbling. I tested it with a spoon, and it was a honey-like consistency. It looked like this just before I took it off the burner and poured it onto the cookie sheet:

how to make broken glass cupcakes

I poured it onto the cookie sheet as instructed, quickly tilting it to spread the syrup in a thin sheet. It was really bubbly at first and I was worried that the bubbles would end up in the candy. Once it spread out, the bubbles quickly disappeared and it formed a clear, glossy sheet.

how to make broken glass cupcakes

how to make broken glass cupcakes

I let it harden while I made the cupcakes. You can use any recipe you want, really–but I would recommend using a white frosting for contrast with the “blood.” I used chocolate cupcakes and cream cheese frosting. Red velvet cupcakes would be a good idea too.

When the sugar glass was hard and my cupcakes were frosted and ready, I used a metal spatula to break the sugar glass apart. To my delight, it worked out perfectly and looked just like broken glass.

how to make broken glass cupcakes

how to make broken glass cupcakes

I added cherry pie filling to the tops to look like blood. (Tastes good too).

how to make broken glass cupcakes

how to make broken glass cupcakes

I inserted the sugar glass shards into each cupcake, and ended up having some leftover. The recipe makes a large batch.

how to make broken glass cupcakes

how to make broken glass cupcakes

how to make broken glass cupcakes

how to make broken glass cupcakes

how to make broken glass cupcakes

I had originally planned on making the sugar glass a day or two before the party, because I figured it would keep fine and I wanted to make sure that I could do it without screwing it up. I’m glad that I ran out of time and waited until the day of–the day after the party the sugar glass turned frosty and began to disintegrate a bit. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be.

Tips:

  • The sugar glass for the broken glass cupcakes will take about 30-40 minutes, plus at least 1-2 hours of cooling time
  • The syrup is ready when there is little steam coming off of the syrup anymore, and it is thick like honey, forming glassy frothy bubbles while boiling
  • Make it the day of your event, do not make ahead of time to keep your glass looking clear and realistic.

Our pumpkin carving party was a success, and everyone seemed to like my broken glass cupcakes. They weren’t as difficult as I thought they’d be, and the effect was delightfully gruesome.

Happy Halloween!

how to make broken glass cupcakes for Halloween

Crafty Adventures: Rediscovering the Art of the Halloween Costume

Crafty Adventures: Rediscovering the art of the Halloween costume–crafting great costumes for grown ups with minimal sewing skills and a lot of enthusiasm

 

Halloween has always been my favorite holiday. Paddy’s favorite too. As a kid I used to count down the days until Halloween, and lay my Halloween costume and all its accessories out on my bedroom floor the night before, so excited to be that character at school the next day. Figuring out what I wanted to be and carefully gathering all the necessary components to my Halloween costume was half the fun.

When I got to high school, I went through a goth phase and Halloween usually involved slapping on a pair of vampire fangs and calling it good. In college I got back into costume planning, but “cute” and “sexy” were often factors in my costume decision, and the vampire fangs came out with every costume (because I had them, and well, they were kind of cool). During my early to mid twenties, Halloween usually involved slapping on a wig or a pair of devil horns with a cute outfit and heading out to a bar (cute and sexy still being major factors, of course).

Homemade Halloween costume vampire cowgirl
Halloween 2000, vampire cowgirl
Homemade Halloween costume insane asylum nurse
Halloween in Hawaii, 2001–evil insane asylum nurse
Homemade Halloween costumes
Paddy and I, Halloween 2004
Homemade Halloween costume devil
Halloween 2005. Devil horns make another appearance. Creativity is nowhere to be found.

Paddy told me that he had a few good costumes in his 20’s before we met, but sadly he has no photos to share. He remembers being Jack the Ripper and Uncle Sam. (I think the rest of the Halloweens are a blur…)

In 2008, we decided we wanted to have good Halloween costumes. Batman Dark Knight had just come out, and Paddy really wanted to be the Joker (Heath Ledger style). I decided to be Marie Antoinette, but wanted to do in in a more authentic way, not the pre-fab “sexy Marie Antoinette” Halloween costume way. We bought Paddy a pre-fab Joker costume and scar patches for his face, and swapped out the cheesy polyester tie for a real tie and shirt. His hair was the right length and style, and it looked great.

I found the world’s most hideous bridesmaid dress at Red Light Vintage in Seattle. It was a monstrosity of pink lace and ruffles, with poofy sleeves and a bow on the butt. I feel terrible for the poor woman whose bride friend subjected her to wear such an ensemble.

With the help of my good friend Gretchen, seamstress/crafter extraordinaire, she helped me cut a mountain of lace off the dress and de-poof the sleeves. I got a white corset at Frederick’s of Hollywood for the bodice, and used an old crinoline to poof out the skirt. I sewed pink and white lace along the edges of the corset for extra pizazz and added a cameo pin to the center.

Homemade Halloween costume Marie Anoinette and The Joker
Halloween 2008–Marie Antoinette and The Joker
Homemade Halloween costume Marie Antoinette and The Joker
Halloween 2008–Marie Antoinette and The Joker

Paddy and I both went through an atrocious amount of colored hairspray. I put a ball of yarn on my head and pinned my hair up around it to create a wig-like pouf. In retrospect, a wig would have probably been the way to go, seeing as how Marie Antoinette actually wore a wig as well. I think we also should have gotten Paddy a real jacket and vest, but funds were tight. Overall, we were pretty happy with it.

Homemade Halloween costume Marie Antoinette and The Joker
Marie Antoinette and The Joker, 2008

We went out to a bar that night with friends, and got lots of compliments. There were two other “sexy Marie Antoinette” costumes out that night, but they weren’t nearly as cool. I had forgotten how much fun it was to plan a costume and get really into it. It was fun to be The Couple With The Cool Halloween Costumes. There’s also a certain amount of respect you get–from others who have also put some decent planning and effort into their costumes, and from those who wish they had. From then on, we have stepped up our Halloween Game.

The next year in 2009, we were newly engaged. I had always loved Lydia’s red wedding dress from Beetlejuice, and Paddy had the right haircut that year. I sewed rows of tulle onto a old red strapless dress with the help of my friend Christine (also a sewing master). My costume didn’t come out super authentic, and Paddy made a much better Beetlejuice than I made a Lydia. But we were a hit at the party we went to, and Paddy had fun being in character.

Homemade Halloween costume Beetlejuice and Lydia
Beetlejuice and Lydia, 2009
Homemade Halloween costume Beetlejuice and Lydia
Beetlejuice and Lydia, 2009

 

Unfortunately, some years didn’t work out. If I remember correctly, in 2010 we didn’t have any parties to go to (our friends Ian and Jaz took a year off), and we had just gotten married and back from our honeymoon in Tahiti in September, so we didn’t have as much gusto to get into it with the Halloween costumes that year.

We came back in 2011 full force as Jem and an 80’s glam rocker. I had my Halloween costume custom made for me by a woman in Canada on Etsy.com. It was made to my measurements and very authentic. I am a huge Jem fan and was super excited.

Homemade Halloween costume Jem and a glitter mummy
German army officer with no pants (??), Jem, and a glamorous mummy 2011
Homemade Halloween costume 80's glam rocker
80’s glam rocker
Homemade Halloween costume Jem and the Holograms
80’s glam rocker and Jem 2011
Homemade Halloween costume Jem and the Holograms
Truly outrageous, 2011

 

In 2012, the company I work for had a software transition in October that went horribly awry, causing lots of overtime and stress for months. Unfortunately, my gumption to create an awesome Halloween costume was gone, and our friends who throw their annual Halloween party had just had a baby and lost their gumption for that year as well.

Still wanting to have a great Halloween, I slapped together a vampire costume and went out with some friends to Carnevolar, the Emerald City Aerialists annual Halloween party and show. It was an awesome show, and a lot of fun. My Halloween costume was so last-minute that I ended up braving horrendous Northgate Mall traffic on the Friday of Halloween weekend and a line wrapping around half the store of Party Display and Costume. Planning ahead is definitely the way to go. My old vampire fangs had disintegrated, and I needed some new ones. I must say, the fangs they have out now are much better than the ones in the 90’s.

Paddy had other plans, so he didn’t end up having a Halloween costume that year.

homemade Halloween costume devil and vampire
With a friend at Carnevolar, 2012
halloween costume realistic vampire fangs
My awesome fangs, courtesy of Party Display and Costume.

 

Last year, we went full force back into Halloween costume creation. I started planning in September, and created an Anne Boleyn (post-mortem) costume. Paddy was the executioner.

This was probably the most effort I’ve ever put into a costume. Researching portraits of Anne Boleyn and the fashions of the era, I needed to come up with a dress with a full skirt and a square neckline, a French hood for my head, and a corset that flattened my bust. Only finding very expensive French hoods for sale on Etsy.com and renaissance costume supplier websites, I googled instructions on how to make one, and found this awesome website with a printable pattern and instructions. I found all the supplies at Joann Fabrics and followed the instructions, and somehow managed to pull it off without screwing it up. I was amazed at myself.

For the dress, I found this dress at a discount online, and widened the skirt by removing the gold panel and replacing it with a larger gold panel with the help of my other seamstress whiz friend Christine (thanks Christine!!). I also cut the neckline lower, and sewed the sleeves to be more in line with the Tudor style, adding a white gauze and lace under-sleeve.

renaissance lady dress
renaissance lady dress

I had a really hard time finding a Tudor-style corset (as apposed to Victorian hour-glass style) that would flatten my bust as was fashion in the Tudor era. I finally found one that worked perfectly at DraculaCorsets.com.

The last accessory I needed to make the ensemble complete was a pearl necklace with a gold B, just like the one Anne wore in all of her portraits. Fortunately, you can find this made by talented crafty people on Etsy.com.

I had a giant crinoline that I wore underneath my wedding dress, and it was perfect for filling out the skirt. We found Paddy a medieval executioner costume at a Halloween costume store.

Halloween Costume Post-Mortem Anne Boleyn and her executioner
Post-Mortem Anne Boleyn and her executioner 2013
Halloween costume Post-Mortem Anne Boleyn and her executioner
Post-mortem Anne Boleyn and the executioner 2013

Halloween costume Anne Boleyn

We went out twice over Halloween weekend and turned quite a few heads.

Halloween costume Anne Boleyn
Wearing a big crinoline can be a little cumbersome. You can wear tennis shoes underneath though!

I have already begun my costume for this year, stay tuned…

Grayland, Washington, October 2013: Cranberries, Beaches, and Oysters

Our Fall getaway to Grayland, WA: A cranberry harvest festival, a crusty old beach town, delicious oysters, and a pumpkin patch.

We wanted a relaxing and fun fall getaway in October, 2013. Our last trip to the Washington coast was Ocean Shores, which left much to be desired (in our opinion). We opted for the lesser-visited Grayland, a tiny beach town just south of Westport.

I looked on the map and found an old hotel on the beach (the closest one to the actual beach that I could see) called the Walsh Motel. There wasn’t much about it on Tripadvisor yet, and their website didn’t have a ton of photos. The price was right at $95 a night for a room with a kitchen, fireplace, ocean view and king sized bed, so we went for it. We expected old and outdated, but were hoping for charm. The website doesn’t take reservations, so we called and did it the old fashioned way. The man on the phone was super friendly and suggested room 26, that was one of the best ones. We booked it.

The Walsh Motel has two kinds of accommodations–the beach front hotel part, which is non smoking, no pets, and no kids (great find for the childfree set!) and cabins that are not beachfront that allow smoking, pets, and kids. From the few reviews we read, the cabins are a very cheap, family friendly way to go…..but are pretty old and run down.

Day 1:

We left Seattle  in the afternoon on a Friday, and traffic wasn’t too bad, it was around a 3 hour drive. We arrived in Grayland starving and ready to go get some dinner. Check in was easy, we pulled into the Walsh Motel office and a friendly, laid-back woman checked us in (I’m guessing the co-owner, it seems like a couple owns it and lives in the house attached to the office). We pre-paid, were given a key and directions to the hotel at the end of the drive, and went to check in.

The room was older for sure, as expected. It was very clean, however and a bundle of wood was included for the fireplace. The kitchen had just about everything we needed, although we brought a few pans and utensils just in case.

Walsh Motel, Grayland WA (53)
Walsh Motel, Grayland WA
Walsh Motel Grayland WA (5)
Walsh Motel, Grayland WA
Walsh Motel Grayland (4)
Walsh Motel
Walsh Motel Grayland (3)
Walsh Motel
Walsh Motel Grayland (2)
Walsh Motel
Walsh Motel Grayland (6)
Walsh Motel
Walsh Motel Grayland (7)
Walsh Motel
Walsh Motel Grayland (8)
Walsh Motel

We quickly unloaded our car and then drove down the road to Bennett’s Restaurant for dinner. It was completely packed with a wait at the door. The staff was doing a great job, and while it took us a little while for the host to get us on the list they kept track of who was next very well. Unfortunately there were a lot of rude customers and we felt bad for the staff. We’ve worked in restaurants in a tourist town, and we sympathize. The host brought drinks to anyone who wanted them. We had some wine while we waited, which was nice.

We were finally seated around 8:30, and ordered some food. They have a lot of seafood options, and I decided to go for the captain’s platter of fried clam strips, fish, and shrimp. It came with a salad, sauteed vegetables, bread, and a baked potato. Paddy had a steak which came with the same sides. It was a little pricey, but all really good and at that point, we were famished. I had to take some of my captain’s platter with us, it was so huge.

Captains platter Bennett's Restaurant Grayland (9)

Bennett's Restaurant Grayland
Bennett’s Restaurant Grayland

Bennett's Restaurant Grayland

After dinner we went back to the room and attempted a fire in the fireplace. There was only a small stack of newspaper, and no kindling. We couldn’t get it going. We made a note to buy some fire starter sticks the next day.

The TV was small, and kind of in an awkward spot at the side of the bed. We tried moving it, but it didn’t work out. There was a small dresser near it, however and we moved that to the foot of the bed and put our laptop on it to watch a spooky movie. It worked out fine.

We’ve always kind of dreamed about buying an old hotel or resort and making it over. Since the owners were about our age, I’m guessing that is what they are doing. We looked at the room and thought about what we would do with it if it was our place.

The first thing we’d do is put new mattresses, the mattress was pretty old and creaky and my back wasn’t so happy by the time we left. I’d also get rid of the 1980’s polyester floral hotel bedspreads and trade them in for down comforters and duvet covers. Huge upgrade right there. Some flat screen TVs and DVD players would be a good addition, and after that–just some cosmetic upgrades. My mind gets all craftsy….adirondack chairs on the deck? An end table made from driftwood? Fishing nets and bouys strung over the deck railing? Maybe someday we’ll buy a small resort and re-vamp it.

 

Day 2:

The next morning we slept in a bit, and then I baked off some homemade cheddar biscuits using the ingredients and recipes we brought. Paddy made a chicken sausage gravy and scrambled eggs and we had breakfast with an ocean view.

Grayland Beach WA (12)

One of our reasons for choosing Grayland this particular weekend in October was the Grayland Cranberry Harvest Festival. Washington State grows so many cranberries on the coast (Ocean Spray is located here) and I have never in my life seen a cranberry bog or where they come from. We also happen to love all things cranberry, and I have recently become a novice canner and wanted to get some cranberries to can homemade cranberry sauce for the holidays.

Our first stop was the community hall in Grayland, where the “festival” was going on. It was a small town community festival, with cranberry products being sold–bath products, baked goods, jams and jellies, etc. There were some people setting up food stands outside for later.

Grayland Cranberry Harvest Festival (14)

They were also offering bog tours for $7.50 per person. The tours left several times during the day in a small school bus to a bog down the road. We were wondering if we could see a bog on our own, without a long tour. We left and drove down the road, seeing the school bus tour group getting an explanation of the cranberry picking machine that was invented by a farmer in Grayland in the 1930’s. We quickly realized that every block was a bog, and you can walk right up to them and take a look at the berries yourself. It was pretty interesting.

Grayland Cranberry Harvest Festival

Grayland cranberry bog
Cranberry bog

Grayland cranberry bog

Grayland cranberry bog

Grayland cranberry bog

Grayland cranberry bog

Grayland (22)

Grayland cranberry bog

Grayland cranberry bog

Grayland cranberry bog

After we marveled at the cranberries (Paddy sampled one raw, he doesn’t recommend it), we continued driving up a big hill out of curiosity about the area. We found a plot of land that was recently cleared for building with a fantastic view of the bogs, which made for a great photo opportunity.

Grayland cranberry bogs

Grayland cranberry bogs

Grayland cranberry bogs

After taking in the view, we drove back to the main road and continued south to Tokeland. On the way, we pulled into the Nelson Crab Company to check out the seafood selection for dinner that night. We didn’t purchase any seafood but we did buy two lbs of cranberries for canning.

Nelson Crab Company Tokeland WA
Nelson Crab Company Tokeland WA

It being October and all, the month with the best holiday of the year, we followed a friend’s suggestion of visiting the supposedly haunted Tokeland Hotel. There are stories of ghost sightings, dinner plates in the restaurant spinning in the air on their own, and a supposed murder of a prostitute  that occurred in room number 7 in the early 1900’s, which is related to the haunting.

Tokeland Hotel WA
Tokeland Hotel

We walked in, expecting to be greeted or shown a menu, but no staff members were at the front desk or paid us any mind. We wandered around the creepy living room with a skeleton lounging in a chair, and took a look at the antiques on display. No one came out to talk to us, so we left.

Tokeland Hotel WA
Tokeland Hotel WA

Near the hotel was a house with one of the most magnificent driftwood sculptures of a horse I’ve ever seen, and some little shacks selling seafood.

Grayland driftwood horse sculpture

Grayland WA crab (33)

Grayland Tokeland WA

Next, we continued out tour back north past Grayland to the neighboring town of Westport. Paddy and I had been to Westport before years ago, and I have to say I do like it better than Ocean Shores. There is some meager attempts at tourism in the town, with a tiny aquarium and a few boardwalk souvenir and saltwater taffy shops. Overall though, it is a crusty old fishing town that time forgot. It has lots of local color without the big hotels and family fun time obnoxiousness of Ocean Shores. It is what it is, without apology. And we kind of love it that way.

Westport Harbor WA
Westport Harbor
Crab pots in Westport
Crab pots in Westport

We stopped at the local grocery store in Westport (there isn’t one in Grayland) and picked up some ingredients for dinner that night. On the way back towards Grayland, we made a stop at the Cranberry Road Winery. They produce two types of cranberry wine–a regular cranberry wine and a cranberry cinnamon wine. Both were very good and we bought a bottle of the cinnamon wine to enjoy with our families at Christmas. They do sell the wine in stores in Seattle as well.

After wine tasting, we took one last detour to Brady’s Oysters to pick up some oysters for oyster stew. Brady’s Oysters is a little family-owned roadside oyster farm and cannery, just outside of Grayland. We purchased some fresh oysters and smoked oysters for dinner, and a can of smoked oysters to take home. If you like oysters and seafood, Brady’s is definitely worth a stop.

We were hungry and felt like relaxing awhile. so I re-heated my dinner leftovers in the oven and made us some bloody marys.

Bloody marys in Grayland (38)

We read books for a little while (I was reading the original Bram Stoker’s Dracula, in honor of my favorite holiday of the year). After a little rest and some damn fine bloody marys, we went out for a walk on the beach.

They don’t call it Grayland for nothing. In the winter the gray sky, sand, and ocean all meld together into one big black and white photograph of a landscape. It is beautiful in it’s own humble way.

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland is also a great spot for clamming, if you’re into that sort of thing. I’ve never tried it, but a friend of mine has all the gear and loves digging for razor clams on the coast in the winter. The season is winter only, and you have to get an inexpensive permit. The Walsh Motel has an outdoor shellfish cleaning sink for guest use as well. I think we may have to come back and try it sometime.

In the evening, Paddy made some oyster stew from a recipe that he modified a bit. We used smoked oysters and regular, and it turned out really good. (**Tip: a little beer in oyster stew really brings out the flavor as well). The sun came out a bit and I went back to the beach to catch a few sunset photos.

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

Grayland Beach WA

We sat and ate our oyster stew and watched the brilliant fall sunset from the window. It was a perfect cozy fall evening.

oyster stew Grayland (63)

Fall sunset Grayland (70)

Spooky spiderweb
Spooky spiderweb

Fall sunset Grayland

Fall sunset Grayland

We had remembered the fire starter sticks for the fire, and we got one going no problem. We set the laptop up on the dresser at the end of the bed again and watched a bunch of episodes of American Horror Story with only the firelight. It was a spooky good time.

Walsh Motel Grayland WA

 

Day 3:

In the morning we ate some leftover biscuits and gravy, packed up, left Grayland and drove half an hour east to Aberdeen, WA. We’d been through Aberdeen many times but never drove by Kurt Cobain’s childhood home, so we thought we’d stop off for a quick view. There it was, 1210 E First Street. Not much else to report.

Kurt Cobain's house Aberdeen WA
Kurt Cobain’s house Aberdeen WA

We continued east about 15 minutes to Montesano and made a stop at the Shaffner Farms Pumpkin Patch to pick up pumpkins for our annual pumpkin carving party the following weekend. I’m a sucker for all that cutsey poo fall stuff like pumpkins and cider. Paddy is a good sport about it.

It was a spooky foggy fall morning, perfect setting for pumpkin picking. We were some of the first visitors to arrive, and we were loaded onto a tractor and driven a short ways out to the pumpkin field to find our pumpkins.

Montesano WA pumpkin patch

Montesano WA pumpkin patch

Montesano WA pumpkin patch

Montesano WA pumpkin patch

Montesano WA pumpkin patch

After pumpkins were selectively chosen, we were trekked back to the farm where other vegetables, gourds, and pumpkin carving accessories were for sale. We purchased our pumpkins and hot cider and got back on the road back to Seattle.

Overall, we had a really good time in Grayland. There’s not a lot of stuff to do there, but we would go back. It’s not as nice as Cannon Beach, Oregon, but it’s also way less expensive. If you like cranberries, fresh seafood, beaches, and relaxing, it’s a good Northwest getaway. Grayland and Westport still retain their local, crusty old beach town character, and we’re all about that.