We left the picnic at about 6:45pm (a few minutes before it officially ended). Now, if it were me, we would have been the first to arrive and the last to depart, but that's just the way I am. We did have to run by the drugstore to pick up something for my son and we decided to hit the drive-thru at McDonald's on Route 60 as well (just for a small snack and a drink before the evening's festivities). Right after we got back to the hotel, my son got cleaned up (he had gotten rather dirty running through the creek towards the end of the picnic) and settled in for an evening of computer games.
Dianne buzzed by cell phone at about 7:30pm to say she was over at the Point to see how the keg party turned out (a couple of folks Friday night who weren't going to the picnic said they'd be doing a keg party at the Point during the day for whoever wanted to come). Turns out the kegger didn't get far off the ground. They got out there after 5pm instead of 2pm like originally planned. And instead of a keg it was a cooler of beers and a few pizzas. Not a big turnout. So, we told Dianne to head over to the Clarion and that we'd join her downstairs at the Clarion's dockside bar - the official site of the Saturday post-picnic gathering.
The weather couldn't have been any more perfect. There was a cool breeze coming off the lake but not too cool. Being outside in the opening evening air at the hotel's deck, it made for great locale for the final reunion get-together. Folks could take a walk along the waterfront if they liked (and some did just that later in the evening). It allowed for plenty of room for folks to talk too.
We weren't there but a few minutes when Denice and then Kimberly joined us. The band for the night was setting up and we guessed that they might turn out to be loud, so we commandeered a bunch of tables in the open courtyard area down by the pool. Good thing we did too as the numbers quickly ramped up. Mary Lou, Margaret, Sharon (Gadewoltz) and Ryan soon joined us. Then Gary and his wife arrived, and then Lynette and her friend Nikki. Soon the menus were passed around with food and drink ordered. The Bud Light girls came by giving us raffle tickets and free bottle openers. The party didn't take long to ramp up.
Within an hour, more classmates arrived - some from the picnic earlier in the day, some from Friday night and some I had not seen yet all weekend. I was able to talk with Larry Klajbor and Laurie (Pietro). A few of us talked with Edwin Ramos about the events of Senior Skip Day back in 1983 and how a number of the skippers managed to work their way back in to the Senior Class trip to Darren Lake a week later (where Molly Hatchet was performing). I saw Greg Skubis and his wife briefly.
The band was playing a road-house blues type of music. They were pretty good but loud. At one point, Lubs Lugen got out a set of spoons and began playing them where we were all hanging out. Eventually, some of the gals from our class dragged him up to play a number with the band. He's pretty good with them.
By midnight, I was ready to call it a night. I knew we had big plans for Sunday, our final day in town before the long drive back home on Monday. I number of folks had started to depart. Kimberly and her husband had to be ready for church for 8am. Ryan had to get home to his family. Dianne had an early morning planned as well. Surprisingly, my wife was the one who was enjoying the conversation with folks so much that lead us ultimately to staying down until 12:45am. We said our goodbyes to folks who hadn't left yet, some of which was contact that might have to last another five years until the next reunion.
(to be continued...)
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