The Great Blaze

New York and Halloween go together like peanut butter and jam.  This city thrives on this holiday.  Even the surrounding areas seem built for Halloween.

After all, Washington Irving lived just up Hudson River from here.  In his beloved Sleepy Hollow which shares the name of the famous story of the headless horseman. In fact, I think the town actually changed its name to match the story.  Either way, around Halloween that area just lights up.  Literally.

Last year, I went to a Sleepy Hollow Halloween complete with a guy wearing a pumpkin for a head riding a horse and a midnight walk through the graveyard.

This year it was all about the Blaze.

OH

MY

GOD

The Blaze is held at Van Cortland Manor every October and can only be described as a magical wonderland of pumpkins.  40, 000 pumpkins are carved.  FORTY THOUSAND.  Nothing beats coming up over the little hill and seeing thousands of pumpkins glittering in the night.  It was even better considering the moon was nearly full and whisps of clouds created eerie shadows on the grounds.

I can't even describe or fully show you how amazing this event is.  You meander through a field of ghost pumpkins with jack-o-lanterns creeping out of graves, a dinosaur park, an alien land, Henry Hudson's ship complete with pirates, a druid circle, an under-the-sea world  . . .  I can keep going.

To top it all off add some apple cider and a walk through Tarrytown which is like Main Street America at Disneyland.  Oh, and an FYI, the Blaze is NOT in Tarrytown.  Nope, it's three stops away. We luckily learned this in enough time to run to the train station.  And then get on the wrong platform.  And then have me race up the stairs to yell at T that I will hold the train for her.  Only then to have the train sit there for ten minutes.

It's an incredible thing to see at Halloween, check it out:

Oh, and did I mention you get to start off the night with a carafe of red wine and fried cheese?  Ummm, yes.  And if you are as lucky as us, you can still sit outside.