Ghouls out in Georgia

NOTE: I have been meaning to post this blog for quite some time now but have been so busy that there was never a good time to do it. I am taking some time now to do so.

I love this time of year--the holiday season is beginning and pumpkins and pumpkin-flavored baked goods and coffees come back.

Last month we drove to Valdosta, Ga. to check out Wild Adventures' annual Kid-o-Ween activities. (For those who don't know, Wild Adventures is a theme park about a 2-hours drive from Jacksonville, Fla.) It's a trip we have enjoyed making for the past  few years.

There are a few mainstays we look forward to each year, such as the trick-or-treating - -the kids get a bag upon entering  and then proceed to various locations throughout the park where they can collect candy. No costumes required. My sons always try to hit every candy stop.

Kid-o-Ween also includes fun, family-friendly shows like the interactive game Do You Boo? and Count Rockula's Dance Party--a popular spot where kids dance along to Halloween songs. The park also offers some of its regular shows during this time, like Tigers of India.

When we weren't riding the rides, we took turns through the hay bale maze, let each boy pick his own mini pumpkin from Monty's Magical Pumpkin Patch (good deal for just $1 each), and they decorated treat bags and paper masks at the craft station.

Although we didn't stay into the evening hours, at night the park transforms into "Terror in the Wild" a more-adult-themed event. Terror, aimed at guests ages 12 and older, includes live actors dressed in costumes and scary attractions like the Ghost Train, Field of Screams and Pumpkin Forest.

The park will also be opening two new rides in 2013: TailSpin and Wacky Wheels.