Loops and bonds

My son and I recently took a quick trip to California to go to Six Flags Magic Mountain. My wife was on a business trip and Ben had a day off from school on a Friday, so I took a vacation day that day so he and I could spend it together.

I have flight benefits from my job. We have season passes to Six Flags Over Texas, which are good at any Six Flags park. I decided to put those two perks together so Ben and I could check out the rides at Magic Mountain. When I lived in southern California, I would go to Magic Mountain about once a year, and when Pat and I started dating, we went there together several times. It's much more of a thrill ride park than Disneyland, and they have lots more roller coasters now (14 in all!) than they did in 1990 when I was there last. Ben, being a 13 year old boy, is a big thrill ride fan and was understandably excited when I told him of my plan for us to go. Pat was happy that we would be going, but also a little jealous that she would miss out. She isn't nearly the ride fan that Ben and I are, but she enjoys coasters occasionally, especially if she hasn't tried them yet. We'll have to make another trip there when all three of us can go.

This was the first time that Ben and I had traveled without Pat. He and I get along quite well, at least these days; who knows if I will be able to say that a year from now, when he is 14. We share a lot of likes and interests, and going to amusement parks is definitely one of those, so I was glad to have the opportunity to take him to this one while we had some father-son time. We rode nearly every big ride they have there. The park was practically empty, the lines were short to non-existent, and the weather was postcard perfect. We enjoyed every minute of our adventure there, although by the end of the day my stomach had endured just about all the twisting and turning that it could. Of course, Ben was still raring to go try Deja Vu, the one coaster we hadn't been on. I told him that would give us something to come back for.

We drove back towards L.A. through Friday evening rush hour traffic, but I didn't really mind it that much. We didn't have to be anywhere in a hurry. We did stop in Westwood Village, where Pat and I went nearly every weekend for dinner and a movie when we lived in the area. Ben and I had In-N-Out Burgers for dinner, and then bought some Diddy Reese cookies (cheap but absolutely delicious) to bring home for Pat (and ourselves). We got to the Rodeway Inn near the airport in time to hit the sack early because we had to get up before dawn to try to catch the first flight home in the morning.

My flight benefits expire at the end of June this year. That is another reason I wanted to make this trip, and I'm very happy that I did. I can't say for sure whether Ben and I bonded any more than before in just that one day, but it certainly didn't hurt, and we both had a lot of fun. Maybe it will be a day that will be a fond memory for both of us in the years to come. I'm fairly sure that it will be for me.