We heard on the radio that families could trick or treat on St. George Street in St. Augustine on Halloween afternoon. We didn’t have any plans to dress up, but we thought it would be fun to go and see the costumes. It was a beautiful October afternoon, so we also took our Great Dane, Willow, along with us. I said, “We can tell people she’s a chihuahua in a Great Dane costume!”
Even though the parking garage was almost full, the city didn’t seem too crowded. Costumed adults and children were everywhere. Witches, princesses, superheroes, dinosaurs, bloody ghouls, bananas, aliens, the Sanderson sisters, and creepy clowns were outside and inside every store. I saw a dog in a Nemo costume, another in a banana costume, a third in a tutu, and a white dog someone had sloppily spray-painted with blue paint.
We visited the dog store and got a few free biscuits. Surprisingly, we found some all natural peanut butter at a jerky store. We’re fans and picked up two big jars. While we were there, we bought a big four-inch dark chocolate peanut butter cup. Yum!
It’s been a while since we wandered around St. Augustine, and we came upon a cider place, Cidersmith. Can we bring a dog in? Not inside, but she’d be fine at an outdoor table. Sign us up. We took a table, ordered a flight of four different ciders (pineapple, pumpkin spice, peach, and dry apple), along with a flat bread, some garlic Parmesian wings, and a bowl of water for the big dog.
As we wandered the street, virtually everyone who passed either said, “Marmaduke!” or “Scooby Doo!” And an occasional, “Whoa!” Our Great Dane is on the small size, but still an attention-grabber. All I had to do was sit down with her on a bench, and a parade of people came over asking, “Can I pet your dog?” Some of the kids were shorter than her. One was holding a white cane, so I described every detail. Several people took pictures. Instant celebrity status!
On the way out of St. Augustine, I washed all that down with a pumpkin cheesecake popsicle from The Hyppo.
