Take a walk on the Darkside

Not with Lou Reed - this was entirely more fun!

And featured a gorgeous blue moon

When I heard that Andrea wanted to go wander 100km around Hamilton on Halloween, I was in. When that became a desire to just wander all day with friends regardless of the distance covered, I was even more on board! Knowing that Dree's hip is not always happy about running (and my own tendency to want to get a run in, even if I have a long day on feet), I did a shortened version of my run down to the farmers' market Saturday morning to get that out of my system for the day.

It was a beautiful morning to go out and prove that to "run like the devil" isn't really all that impressive a feat

Our usual shopping, home for brunch, then pack up and head down to the Hammer to meet up with Dree. Of course I was going in costume, but not the same one - knowing that Andrea is just as rabid (possibly even moreso) a Star Wars fan as I am, there was only one choice.

I was especially delighted to realise I have a pack that would allow Stormy to ride along without being covered by my cape!

We arrived a bit ahead of the time we'd set up, but while Andrea was still out on a loop with Tim and Don, so we hung around her garden for a bit until she showed up and Don decided to call it a day. If you think I was up a tree dressing up as Lord Vade-her, you clearly don't know our girl!

The really surprising part is that Tim the Grim couldn't find his costume!

Lest you wonder, yes: the first words out of my mouth were "Aren't you a little short for a storm trooper?" Certain things must be done.

We headed out just before 5:30pm, which meant I uncharacteristically got to hang out with some of my running friends in daylight. SO UNFAMILIAR for this year! We also discovered that Dree - who had decided to wear her storm trooper helmet for this particular loop - was almost completely blind in her full costume.

Some guidance required, to avoid close encounters with telephone poles, bus stop signs, and abandoned shopping carts

There was nearly a commotion as a Jedi knight came wandering out of a convenience store as we passed by; he wielded his lightsabre in particularly (phantom) menacing fashion, but since I'd forgotten mine and storm troopers notoriously can't hit a damn thing (even when not blinded by a too-large helmet), we conceded and walked on. I should have force choked him.

In any case, we meandered away without further confrontation. We actually got a load of compliments on the costumes, and bless Andrea's heart - she's short enough that some people did seem to mistake her for a kid out trick-or-treating. I guess that made Tim and I "mum and dad taking her out 'round the neighborhood"?

That amusing thought aside, we hit the York Boulevard bridge just after sunset, with the orange sky behind illuminating the gravestones to the west in suitably spooky Halloween fashion.

And then the bay - almost like we planned it!

The. BEST.

Oh, and then we turned around to see the full moon over the harbour - fat and orange, leaving its trail on the water.

Second full moon of the month - a blue moon.

This would be slightly more majestic without the graffiti.

Then down a massive staircase I'd no idea existed. It has switchbacks. It takes you down far enough your ears might pop.

Better down than up!

That took us down to the Waterfront Trail toward the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club as darkness truly fell. Fortunately the wind they'd predicted never materialized so we didn't have the chill of the lake blowing at us!

The infrastructure is fantastic - a safe, accessible place to run and walk.

The helmet had to come off after dark.

Heading back toward Andrea's place, we came across a place wildly decorated by some well-lubricated ladies sharing beverages around a brazier set up on the driveway.

I'm not known for my good decisions - we had to have a closer look.

A giant demon, a huge spider with a light-up body, a pole dancing skeleton, the inflatable ghost & mummy, and a corpse being devoured by...babies.

We loved the effort they'd put into the decorations - they even had a movie playing in the upstairs window of some dude in a hockey mask dancing with a chainsaw - and they loved our costumes, insisting we each take a bag of candy. Who are we to argue with the proprietors of such a place?

Back to the house after 10 miles, Tim headed out for home - he'd been hanging around since late morning and was starting to get a little beat up. We picked up Diane, though, who arrived looking Incredible!

Fun!

There was a quick sparkling wine break - because why not? - and then we were on our way again for a loop of downtown. Oh, and maybe some shenanigans..

When a unicorn offers you candy from a chute, well - you kinda have to try, right?

If you give a storm trooper a lolly..

There were only a few people left on the streets, though some had gathered in bars despite the pandemic.

One of which had adorable signage outside

We passed a movie set with a matched pair of Pontiac Parisiennes, one of which I assume is the stunt car that they'll destroy.

The security guy in the black SUV behind the rougher car was friendly

..and we even had an adorable little kitten follow us home to Dree's house, arriving around 10:30pm after a little more than 25k for me and a total of almost 85km for Andrea herself.

Such a cute, springy little fellow - sure hope he's ok!

I've never really spent much time in Hamilton, and it was delightful to have Andrea as my tour guide as she and her family have a colourful history in the city. It was lovely to get to spend time with Tim and Diane as well, and Tank and Kevin seemed to have some fun chatting in our absence. I miss my trail and ultra peeps, and it's awesome to have the opportunity to connect with them in a safe and fun way!

It was a pretty awesome Halloween!

Then it was back home to get some food and sleep. I was a little beat up the next day from a total of ~32km of running & walking, but couldn't take a day off as it was the start of a new challenge.

I know I said I wasn't doing virtual races, but..

I got suckered by a medal with flashing LED lights in it, and coincidentally the 2020/2021 100 runs in 100 days is now starting (for some reason) in mid-November, so I'll be spending a fair bit of time on my feet in the next bit here.

As a matter of fact, I have something pretty stupid planned for Sunday. Stay tuned!