Spooky Fun at the Halloween Spooktacular

It’s no secret to anyone who knows my 5 year old that he is obsessed with sharks. And we all really love San Diego so earlier this year when Sea World San Diego offered free passes for preschoolers, we had to take advantage! My husband and I had passes pre kids which it was really easy to make the 2+ hour drive down to San Diego. Luckily, our kids are pretty easy to travel with and this past weekend, they had no problem making the drive down. I knew we HAD to check out the Halloween Spooktacular which is Sea World San Diego’s Halloween event.

Sea World’s Halloween Spooktacular had lots of fun activities to do. One thing we noticed right away was their Halloween décor with a sea flair. Pumpkin fishes, octopus tentacles with candy and pirate jack o lanterns in the Shark Encounter exhibit were some of my favorite decorations. I made sure to get some pictures of the décor and then off we went to see animals! 

There was also a Dia de los Muertos display that was beautiful.

The main event, at least for us, was the trick or treating aspect. I knew there may not be a lot of safe options for my food allergy son but I also knew that he would love the act of being able to trick or treat. That part started at noon and we started trick or treating right away. Much to my surprise, my 1 year old was into it too! I was thrilled that the first stop was tootsie pops and safe for my son and there was one other trick or treat location that was safe for him. I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t more options for him but the important part was that he didn’t seem to mind at all!

Beyond trick or treating, I knew we would all get a kick out of Clyde and Seymour’s Big Halloween Bash. Clyde and Seymour are sea lions and their show is always hilarious. This was no exception. My favorite part of the whole thing is Biff, who basically the opener of the show. He cracks me up no matter what he does. 

As we were walking through the park, we noticed there was a live DJ. We stopped and listened for a few minutes before moving on. There was also a really cute sign that I had to take the kids picture in front of.

There were a couple things that we didn’t end up seeing. There was a “creepy creatures” presentation like owls, tarantulas and more that we didn’t see. Then there was a Sesame Street night time parade which was on too late since we had to work the next day. For those adrenaline junkies, Manta, had some special effects and creepy sounds which gave it a spooky element.

Are you feeling sad that you missed the Halloween Spooktacular? Never fear, this upcoming weekend is the last so you still have a chance to visit!

Fall Fun at The Original Farmers Market

We don't really have a lot of fall. Fall in California just means it cools down at night. However, we do have some fun fall festivities around the area. Today, we went to the Fall Festival at The Original Farmers Market in Los Angeles. Let me start off by saying that The Original Farmers Market is one of our family’s most favorite places in Los Angeles. We go often and walk up and down the aisle’s of permanent food places. We often find ourselves buying produce for the week or stocking up on meat from Huntington Meats (which buy the way, the last time I checked, was peanut free (this only pertains to the meat itself)).  We then go to its neighboring mall, The Grove, to walk around.

You can feel the history of the farmers market as you walk through it, some of the vendors have been there since 1934 when the market started! While I’ve loved and eaten at quite a few of the places, I somehow always end up back at my favorite, Charlie’s, which serves up diner food. It’s so delicious and everyone who works there is really nice! I’ve heard rumors that even Walt Disney had hung out there (though I’m not sure how true it is!).

I could go on forever about my love for The Original Farmers Market but let’s get back to the topic at hand. The Fall Festival. There was so much to do!  A petting zoo, beer garden, piggy races and more. We started off watching the pig races, they were so cute!! The little pigs looked so cuddly. My 5 year old couldn’t get over how cute they were. 

From the pig races, we made our way to lunch and along the way there was so much to see! We saw Pumpkin Carver Arthur who was SO talented. Nearby, was the Harvest Knot Workshop with American Straw, they made amazing things with straw and you could even braid your own straw! We didn’t have time so we didn’t stay for that but it looked so cool. As we walked toward the market, there was a place where you could guess the weight of a pumpkin and win a prize. I entered but I’m not sure how close I was to the right answer at all haha.

My favorite part of the whole festival was the photo ops. For whatever reason, I think the cut out photo ops that you stick your head through are so fun. We definitely stopped for some pictures and someone was even nice enough to take a picture of all 4 of us. I love all the pumpkin and fall décor, it was so festive! From there we ate (I had Charlie’s of course!) and then walked around The Original Farmers Market.

There were a few things that we either couldn’t stop for or we missed completely. There was this cute petting zoo that my son really wanted to go to! The line though was just too long the entire time we were there. I never found the pumpkin patch or game zone, however, I believe that they were down the street from the petting zoo hence why I didn’t find them. Next year for sure! There was also quite a bit of live entertainment from bands to walk around performers. However, you might laugh, but I am the saddest about missing the pie eating contest! I think it would be so entertaining to watch and I somehow miss it every time we are at a place that has one. One of my goals for 2019 is to see a pie eating contest!

We had such a great time at the Fall Festival! I can’t wait until next year!

Are there any fall festivals that you’ll be going to this year? Tell me about it in the comments!