Halloween 2007: Two New Faces

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Halloween 2007 has come and gone at the Meister House, but while I cut up the video I took during the night, I thought I would post a little snippet with two of the latest additions to our animated figures: Jason from Friday the 13th and Joe, the self-decapitating zombie.

News-Herald: Things That Go Boo!

The Meister Mom and her indoors halloween collection (photo taken by Michael Blair / MBlair@News-Herald.com)
Click to Enlarge — Photo take by Michael Blair (MBlair@News-Herald.com)

Ghosts and ghouls greet visitors outside the Meister House.
Click to Enlarge — Photo take by Michael Blair (MBlair@News-Herald.com)

The Meister Mom and her Halloween decorations made it into the Community section of Sunday’s News Herald newspaper in an article written by Janet Podolak:

Meister has been decorating for Halloween sinze the late 1970s — well before it became a trend.

Her specialty has become moveable characters that she invites visiting children to touch. They’re battery-operated, which keeps her electric bills modest, and they are complete with howling and blood-curdling screams.

Although some of her displays have body parts, she tries not to let things get too scary because she loves seeing the little kids in their costumes, she said.

Her little fright fest is set up so guests have to pass through a cobwebed archway first.

That way, I don’t miss any of the little ones,” she said.

Some of them are so intrigued looking at my creatures that they forget to come for candy,” Meister added. “And many of the grownups come back with their friends.”

If you’re looking for photos of our previous year setups, you can find them in our Holiday Photo Gallery, as well as our Halloween 2006 Video.

Trick or Treat in the city of Painesville will be from 6 to 8pm this Wednesday, October 31st.

Video Reminder: Halloween is Coming

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Here at the Meister House, we’re in the process of getting ready for Halloween 2007, but here’s a look back at our 2006 setup along with the 200-plus trick-or-treat visitors we had on Halloween itself.

You can also find photos from the night in our Meister Holidays photo gallery.

Hawaii: Day Four – Pineapples and Parks

Dole Plantation - Garden

Our fourth day in Hawaii involved a drive to the Dole Plantation, part of the history of James Dole‘s Hawaiian Pineapple Company that eventually became the Dole foods company we all encounter in supermarkets today.

Honololu Nature Park

We also took a walk through one of Honolulu’s many nature parks, taking in the breathtaking plant and animal life native to the island.

PHOTO GALLERY » HAWAII: DAY FOUR

Hawaii: Day Three – Craters, Submarines and Memorials

The third day of our trip involved three seperate adventures, the first of which nearly killed us with all the walking and climbing involved.

Diamond Head

Diamond Head - View from the Pacific

The Diamond Head is one of Hawaii’s long extinct volcano cones that lies right next to the Waikiki beach. There is a mile-long path that leads up the 700+ foot tall rim of the Diamond Head, which leads to a stunning view of the Pacific Ocean.

Diamond Head - The long trail upwards

While the tourbooks describe the hike as “short”, it’s definitely not something to be undertaken lightly, as the terrain is rough and the climb can be very steep as the path twists and turns up the side. The last portion of the hike involves going up over a hundred flight of stairs and through the lookout complex at the edge.

Diamond Head - Lookout across Waikiki

The view from the top, however, makes for a very satisfying conclusion to the difficult hike.

Atlantis Submarine

Atlantis Submarine - Surfaced for boarding

After the long hike to the top of the Diamond Head, we were glad that our second adventure consisted of an underwater trip in of the Atlantis Adventure submarines.

Atlantis Submarine - Inside the ship

The water was a stunning blue-green at the hundred foot depths we reached during the trip. The colors only made the artificial reefs formed out of the sunken airplane and ship encountered during the trip that much more spine-tingling.

The Punchbowl

The Punchbowl - National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific

Our final trip of the day was to the Punchbowl Crater where houses the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, which pays tribute to the men and women who’ve given their lives in service.

The Punchbowl - Closeup of the Memorial

PHOTO GALLERY » HAWAII: DAY THREE