Last year I discovered The Jack-o-lantern Spectacular at the Roger Williams Park and Zoo. It’s a carved pumpkin trail lit only by the glow of thousands of pumpkins.
And last year I went alone to see what it was all about. This year I suggested to my friend Nancy that we take her two young children, Dawn (5) and Alex (7).. The only problem is that since I work weekends we would have to go on a weeknight aka school night.
Nancy decided it was worth it to keep them up so at 4:30 I was pulling into their driveway and we were bundling the kids into the car.
This year there was a new theme: All-new theme for 2011! The theme of this year’s show will be “A Journey Around the World.” It will include scenes from the Seven Wonders of the World (Taj Mahal, the pyramids and Sphinx, Mayan ruins, the Great Wall of China, and others) as well as representations of nations around the world, including a “European Vacation” and a trip through the Great White North complete with falling “snow”! And of course the famed centerpiece of the display, the “Laughing Tree,” will be back in all its spooky splendor. Visitors will be dazzled by hundreds of glowing jack-o-lanterns on the ground and in the branches, from tiny sugar pumpkins to gigantic gourds reaching up to 1600 pounds! (From RW web site)
We stopped at MacDonald’s and the kids were really wired. This was exciting for them then it was back on the road. We made one wrong turn… a slight detour that made me think of my sister’s philosophy…we’re not lost, just sight seeing…and then back on track it wasn’t long before we spotted the swan boats.
A bit farther along and we were being directed into a parking lot. Boy was it full! Even so we didn’t have to wait in line that long and were soon on our way to the start of the trail.
At first Alex was a little whiney..I’m not really sure why and Dawn kept saying she was scared but before too long we got to a section with music and from that point on the kids were in their element They danced the rest of the way.
According to the web site Photography is allowed on the trail when it will not impede movement on the pathway.
EXCEPTION: flash photography, tripods and monopods may not be used out of consideration for other people enjoying the magic of the trail.
I struggled along trying to get pictures with a long shutter without support..a near impossible task, while many people around me used their cameras, flash and all. Last year the No Flash Rule was strictly enforced but this year it seemed everyone was using flash.
I don’t know how long we took to walk the trail. The web site says it’s 45 minutes. It seemed to go fast to me but it was late when we got back to the car.
The kids were out cold before we were out of the parking lot. I had a great time and can only hope the kids did too. They were so tired when I dropped them off that I think they would have said yes to just about anything. 🙂