Nature walk

We didn't go to the haunted house last night after all. We were really tired and ... well, alright - I was scared.

I was psyching myself up to go all evening. I came online to read about the history of the Mars Haunted House building and that was it - I didn't want to go anymore.

I don't do ghosts. Or darkness, if I can help it. I'm not really a fan of walking through a pitch dark building, having scary creatures jump out at me, all the while hearing spooky screams and creaks and praying to God that's it's over soon. Nah. Putting on a blindfold and sticking my hands in bowls of cold spaghetti and peeled grapes is more my speed. An old building where people were murdered? Forget about it.

And so we stayed in.

Today was a nice, warm day, so instead of staying inside all day, Dave and I headed out to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center to go for a little hike. I'd never been out there before and had only heard good things. I made a few wrong turns along the way so it took us awhile to get there, but really, it's only 6 miles from where we live, and only about 15 minutes from downtown Milwaukee. The drive was fun - we got to see all the beautiful homes in Whitefish Bay and Fox Point, and all the cute autumn decorations people put out. I'm pretty surprised at how many people carve jack-o-lanterns. There were tons of them!

We didn't have as much time there as we would have liked - but we wanted to be home in time for all the trick-or-treaters who were going to be visiting us from 3 to 5 p.m.! The woman who greeted us when we got there gave us a map and a list of birds and told us where we'd be most likely to see deer and wild turkeys.

We hiked for probably an hour, making our way to the top of a tower that overlooked the area, and walking along the shore of Lake Michigan. We skipped rocks in the water, and said hello to the other families and couples we passed along the way. The trees surrounding us were vibrant shades of yellow and orange. They probably weren't as colorful as they were just a week ago, and the lack of sunshine muted them a bit, too, but they were still beautiful.



We crunched through the leaves and explored a couple of the trails, but upon looking at the map when we were back at the car, we saw that we'd hardly even put a dent in the amount of land that we could have covered. The Center covers 185 acres of land and contains six miles of trails. I didn't really want to leave so soon, but it was becoming overcast and we had candy to hand out at home. It's nice to know that this place that I can go to experience quiet and commune with nature is such a short drive from where I live - I'll definitely go back.

Three o'clock came and we were at home, ready with our big old bucket of candy bars, and we watched a few creepy shows on TV to pass the time. Three-thirty came, then four o'clock. We watched out the window as a few costumed kids here and there went by, but always on the other side of the street! By the time 4:30 rolled around, we just put the bucket out on the front porch. One kid came and took a candy bar. That's it.

So now we're left with a HUMONGOUS bucket of candy bars. Of course, I want to dive right into it, but I'm restraining myself - I've only eaten two so far today. Where the heck were all the Shorewood trick-or-treaters? Next year, I'm just not buying any candy!

Comments

[Andre]

It kinda slipped my mind that I moved into a family-type neighborhood this year, so I didn't have any candy. My bell rang a jillion times. I felt like a real dick.

[Amanda]

I would just like to say that when we were kids, Erin teased me ALL the time about being scared. And now look at her, scared as heck. You are too funny, Ms. Leffelman. Too funny indeed.

And to add on to Andre's comment - I, too, forgot that I would need candy this year. A few kids came and knocked on my door - and I hid in my apartment.

[Charlie]

Wow Erin, you have some honest children in your neighborhood.

Strategy for next year... just put out an empty bowl and a sign that reads "take one". This way you get to put on like you're participating but w/o having to buy or have candy leftover.