Traditional Old Town Halloween Decor

We love to visit Old Town Alexandria. Not just for morning walks, but to see the decorations for every season. We have been visiting Old Town long before we moved to Capitol Hill from the Midwest seventeen years ago. Now that we live in northern Virginia we still visit. It’s about twenty five minutes away and usually a lovely drive down the GW Parkway. So at this time of year the fall decorations appear. Obviously for Halloween there are many ghouls and goblins and skeletons. But there are also more traditional Halloween decorations that remain well in to Thanksgiving. In particular the front entryways of the lovely townhomes and row houses are delightful as are the window boxes. There are so many assortments of pumpkins and gourds. We usually park at the waterfront and walk through the downtown area, then meander up  and down the streets. It’s one of the friendliest place to walk. And, it’s a great alternative to the National mall and the DC area. So wherever you happen to live, we hope you have a happy Halloween! 

Old Town Alexandria Spooky Halloween

We love Old Town Alexandria. As the seasons change the neighborhood always dresses itself up - and that’s especially obvious around Halloween. There is the more traditional look - lovely front entrances with seasonal flowers and pumpkins; and then there is the more spooky look - with skeletons and spirits and bones. The decorating starts early on in the month with the traditional flare lasting in to Thanksgiving. I’m sure it’s even more interesting at night when the real ghosts and goblins are out and about - especially in this very old place with a lot of haunted spaces. When we took a morning walk a couple of weeks back we passed through one of the most decorated streets - where the werewolves and the skeletons abound. But it seemed more subdued this year. The wicked witch of the west was missing. Perhaps the owner moved or just didn’t have the time. And the number of skeletons was less and there were fewer decorations overall. It’s still a cool place to visit - and the cobblestone street reminds you of a place in time. It hardly matters when we visit Alexandria. Its always a happy place. 

DC Halloween

Last week we spent some time in Old Town Alexandria for a morning walk, and to take photos for the weekly 52frames challenge. Halloween is a big deal there, as we walked about looking at the decorations. This week we drove in to DC to do the same thing and to search for options for another photo challenge search. Since the subject matter this week was “shot with a phone” anything was up for grabs. Sometimes when the subject matter is so broad it’s harder to focus! Anyway, we drove to our old neighborhood on Capitol Hill and started to walk in our old footsteps. There were nicely decorated doors and the usual skeletons and witches. There was one ghoul that was most interesting and would serve as the subject of a portrait. It was a lovely fall day and we always like visiting the old neighborhood. It’s hard to believe we lived there for thirteen years. Everything is all so familiar. 

Old Town Alexandria Halloween

It’s that time of year again. It feels like we were just there. Halloween is a big deal in Old Town Alexandria. Every year a particular cobblestone street is filled with ghouls, goblins, skeletons, and witches. This year was no different. The whole scene must look spooky in the night hours. As we were observing the dancing skeletons a group of school children walked past. Anyone else who went that way was delighted by the display. It must have taken hours to put it up and there was obviously coordination among the neighbors.  I was also hoping to get a photo for the weekly photo challenge but the lighting wasn’t right and it was such a busy scene it doesn’t do well on film - but more probably it’s the photographer with very poor technique. It’s always a delight to drive in to old town regardless of the season. Having such a beautiful day for a morning walk is always a treat.