Wanted: Memories of Halloween in the Hudson Valley

Having grown up in Fishkill, went to college in New Paltz, and spent most of my adult life in the area, most of my Halloween memories are rooted here in the Hudson Valley.  Even though it's fun experiencing Halloween as a parent, I must admit that some of my favorite memories of the holiday are from the '90's, are you with me?

For anyone that spent their prime Halloween years in the Hudson Valley, who remembers trick-or-treating at the Dutchess Mall if it happened to be raining on Halloween?  I remember my mom bringing my sister and I to the Roy Rogers in the mall, in costume, and then letting us run around the mall (like total jerks) getting candy from all the different stores.  We would check in with her at the fountain (you definitely remember that fountain, right) every so often and dump our candy (from a pillowcase, obviously) so we had room for more.

Another memory that comes to my mind was getting a McDonald's free ice cream coupon from some houses while out trick-or-treating.  Back in those days it seemed like the ice cream machine was a bit more reliable, right?  While I enjoy ice cream, I can vividly remember trying to trade coupons with my sister or the group we went out with for my favorite candy.

This will be our fourth year trick-or-treating in the Hudson Valley and we haven't received any ice cream coupons, so i'm thinking this is a trend of the past.

Obviously this isn't specific to the Hudson Valley, but the post trick-or-treat get togethers, aka, the candy meetings, are pretty memorable too.  Once you went through your loot and determined what was up for grabs and which ones were all yours, trading with your siblings, friends, and neighbors.  Remember how serious you took a swap though, "sorry Mary, this Butterfinger is worth two Hershey bars, but nice try..."

So now it's your turn, what are some of your favorite Hudson Valley Halloween memories?  Costumes, traditions, favorite places to trick-or-treat?  We want to hear about them, and even better if you've got photos to share!