The Kids On A Haunting Experience

Earlier in the week, Jake told me that one of his former classmates had planned on going to Great America's Haunt over the weekend. Since he didn't have volleyball practice on Saturday, I was fine with it. But I wanted him to check with his mom. However, he does have a retreat at Bellarmine pretty much all day Sunday.

Most of Saturday was uneventful. Other than lunch, nothing else was lined up. We tried to get some beverages from Gong Cha but the long line was so discouraging. We just went home. I took a short nap, then it was time to take Jake to the drop off place for this Haunt excursion. It was at Senora's.

The boys and girls who showed up were all so excited to see each other. Two other boys, who happened to be hanging out across the street, stopped by as well because they wanted to catch up with their former classmates. Unfortunately, these two boys didn't come along. The host of the drop-off place was so gracious enough to prepare pizzas and brownies for the kids before they left.

The group drove off in 2 vehicles, carrying 5 boys and 6 girls. One other classmate was to meet them at Great America. The two mom-drivers had planned on hanging out at a nearby watering-hole after dropping off the kids, instead of heading back to Fremont. The place was Pedro's in Santa Clara. Since I didn't have plans that evening, I joined them for some drinks.

I remember Pedro's when I used to worked at Applied Materials, which was just close by. We went there
during Happy Hour, and enjoyed their margaritas and free appetizers. This evening, the place wasn't packed and was going through its set of late diners (it was past 8pm already). We settled by the bar area, and were the only ones there. The kids were hardly at the Haunt for half an hour, but they were already asking to be picked up much later than what was agreed upon. Final pick up time was 11pm.

The hours went by so fast. We were so engrossed in our conversation because the next thing we knew, the waiter was making a last call for drinks. They were closing at 10pm. But that didn't stop us from talking. When we finally got up, it was almost 11. Time to pick up.

We told the kids to meet us at the parking lot as you drove up Great America. Actually, we entered the parking lot the wrong way, and it took us awhile to get out, and back in the right way. When we did, the kids were already waiting. I wasn't really part of the drop-off/pick-up service, but since I was there, I volunteered to take 3 other kids and take them home, including Jake. The kids complained that the food inside the park was so expensive that they didn't buy anything. Obviously, there were all hungry.

I suggested that we grab a bite to eat at In-N-Out at Automall Parkway since it was probably the only place open after 11pm. One of the mom-drivers and the 3 kids she had with her came along as well. And yes, they were hungry alright. Soon after, we all headed home.

Note:  Author wishes to acknowledge Wikipedia for the use of the logo in this post.