Thursday, May 19, 2011

date #17: costumes, mustaches, hearses, and hauntings

there aren't many things that i love more than themed parties, costume contests, plays, or any other excuse to dress up and act like a clown or become a character. whisper the word "photoshoot" and i'm all ears. tell me to grab my camera, put me in charge of props/makeup/hair, hand me a crazy disguise; i don't care! i'm there.

so when i received an email from date #17 with that magic word, i hoped to the heavens that it wouldn't fall through. i didn't have (nor want) any details. i love surprises. of course, i did have some general idea of what the theme was because my date signed his name... Shaggy.

he showed up at my place with an apology, saying that the A/C wasn't working properly in the van. i appreciated that but i couldn't have cared less. i was going on an adventure in the Mystery Machine! he explained that he's had this idea for months now and when he found out about my project, he figured that it would be an awesome opportunity to see it executed. we arrived at El Chilito, and since i had never been, i had completely forgotten that the mustache seesaw existed! with a grin on his face, he revealed his grand scheme: Velma and Daphne giving the Mystery Machine a mustache ride. i wanted to hug his brain.

it was a complete blast. he had found a fun photographer, his friend agreed to dress up as Velma, and i took on the role of Daphne. for a bit, Shaggy even braved the oven that was the Scooby Doo costume. it was amazing to see the public's reactions; i felt like a celebrity! everyone was gawking, honking, waving, yelling... people were asking to take photos of us, with us, with the van... asking us what we were doing and why... but the best part, by far, were the kids. just to see their faces was enough to make it all worth it. and to think that Shaggy volunteers his time to do this for numerous fundraisers and events such as the Relay for Life, juvenile diabetes, and the blood drive. what a wonderful idea. if there's ever need a Daphne fill-in, let me know!

my mother will be shocked to see pictures. i've only willingly bought a dress twice in the past ten years and i can't believe how comfortable i was, especially in purple. we just decided to rock the costumes through Austin's Pizza and keep the fun vibes along for the ride.

what kind of ride you ask? a unique tour that i had never even heard of, and one that i'm going to tell practically everyone about. can you believe that the first limo i've ever ridden in was originally a hearse? it was transformed to seat about six people and now gives a tour of all the supposedly haunted areas in Austin. quite fitting for a couple of members of The Mystery, Inc. eh? what an interesting way to learn about some good chunks of history of my new city. that, and our tour guide was wonderfully entertaining. i'm already trying to plan my next excursion with him. i guess he also does bachelor parties, weddings, etc. personally i want to know what the "Nightmare Before Christmas" holiday package is all about. check it out: www.hauntedatx.com. come on. all the cool kids are doing it, even the Horrorpops and, yes, Cory Feldman.

so date #17, thank you for making this THE most fun date to write about thus far. thank you, as well, for letting me get to know a little about the man behind Shaggy amongst all of the crazy fun and unique shenanigans. you do realize that i'm going to be pestering you to take charge of that "brilliant" idea of yours, right? i look forward to seeing it come alive.

best part of the day: watching kids' eyes light up in excitement & watching Shaggy interact with them.
best part of the date: who's forcing me to answer these anyway??
worst part of the- oh hell, i give up already. could anything have bothered me that day?

check out the photos from the photoshoot by Shadows of Grey as well as the hearse limo: flickr

4 comments:

  1. Dearest Amber, your link does not work. And I really wanted to see them!

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  2. I can now vouch for the fact that your link now functions. Thank you for your diligence!

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  3. How much super fun!!
    Favorite quote, "i wanted to hug his brain."

    Great guy, I hope you do get to be a fill-in-Daphne in the future.

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