Train!!!

Hi guys, this is Em. This is a very brief post. What can I say, it’s late and I’m tired, but we wanted to put up some pictures from our Halloween Train extravaganza with the boys and Finn’s best friend Hana and her parents Kei and Duy. Among the many cool activities available in Griffith Park, definitely one of the better ones is the Live Steamers. Okay…so they’re not all steam engines, a few of them are diesel engines and, much to Patrick’s chagrin, they charge a “suggested donation” of $5, which he sometimes refuses to pay – just on principle.

But all of that aside, the boys love the trains which usually offer a fairly long, winding ride through the peaceful terrain of Griffith Park. For two weeks before Halloween, though - watch out! All hell breaks loose – literally. Every year is different, but this year they had demon babies gnawing on hands, plenty of ghoulish ghosts, a bunch of scary clowns and…for the vegetarians in the family, a giant pig b-b-qing what looked to be a person’s foot. Personally, I thought there were a few things that were a little too scary for this kind of ride. I would say the oldest kids who ride on it are probably eight or nine, but they had a very scary display at the end with a person being electrocuted and another Hanibal Lechter-type in a mask trying to break free of his restraints and yelling, “I know where you live! I’m coming to get you.” I thought that was a bit much...but luckily the part that the kids always seem to remember is a skeleton making use of an out house. This display comes complete with sfx and a gaseous green glow seeping up from under the skeleton’s buns. For some reason this particular display also features, rather incongruously, the song ‘Moon River’. It kind of gives new meaning to ‘my huckleberry friend, I guess.’