"Where a kid can be a kid!"

It's Friday night/Saturday morning and I am tired but can't sleep. My neck has been killing me from physical therapy this week. So I decided to get up and write about my exciting Friday night instead of tossing and turning in bed.

Seeing that most of my friends are married now and starting families, Friday nights aren't what they used to be! My neighbor friend has two kids, 1 1/2 and 8 years old. Her 12 year old niece is also staying with her for the summer. At 4pm (b/c it's not too crowded at 4pm) we took them to Chuck E. Cheese's. I used to LOVE that place when I was a kid! The kids had a really good time and my friend and I got a chance to catch up on the latest neighborhood gossip (which, by the way, can be pretty pathetic).

Tonights Chuck E. Cheese's experience was not nearly as cool as I remember it in the early 1980's. Here are some of my thoughts, observations, and results of a Yahoo "Chuck E. Cheese" search (lame, I know).

1. It seemed a whole lot bigger when I was a kid.

2. There was no BALL PIT:( What the heck is the 2004 Chuck E. Cheese thinking!

3. Chuck E. Cheese (the mouse himself) did not seem as excited as I remember him...maybe it's old age.

4. There is a big indoor tunnel maze like the ones at McDonalds or Burger King. If I wanted to play in one of these plastic tube thingys I could do it for free at one of the previously mentioned fast food places.

5. The prizes were cheap, unless you had like a gazillion tickets. I guess that is one thing that has remained the same.

6. They still had Skee Ball, Hungry Hippo's game, and the Whack-A-Mole game - yeah!

7. Here is an article of one Chuck E. Cheese that had the police called 40 times in one year!

8. The first Chuck E. Cheese (1977) was in San Jose, California. Click this link to see the original brochure and menu. Take notice of the prices!

After my fun-filled night at Chuck E. Cheese's, I came home and worked on a scrapbook page, did a facial mask, read some of my Sting book, and talked to Justin on the phone. NOW I will try to go to sleep...