Friday 9PM: It’s late and I really do hate driving on the 12 highway. I remember the first time I drove to Stockton, it was to meet up with my boyfriend, Aaron. Stockton is his hometown and when he first gave me directions to get from Sonoma State to Stockton he told me I would have to take highway 80 to highway 12 and eventually the 12 would take me into Stockton. He then mentions that highway 12 is the deadliest highway in California. Fast forward a couple months and I again find myself driving on highway 12, at night…great! I tell myself it will all be worth it when I get to him in one piece.
Friday 11PM: We pull up to Valley Brew, I could really use a beer. Aaron, his friends Mike and I grab a table and the rest of our friends show up shortly after. We are all reunited again. The brewery is warm and welcoming with white lights strung from the ceiling and country rock playing in the background. Not only does Valley Brew have good beer, but it has even better food. We end up staying there for a few hours just enjoying the atmosphere, exchanging stories, making fun of each other and deciding our game plan for the next day.
Saturday 5PM We pull up excited and ready to go! We have arrived at Del Oso Farm’s Halloween festival. I know what you may be thinking, all this build up for a corny and child-centered Halloween carnival? But this was no kid’s carnival. This Halloween festival contains one of the largest and most difficult corn mazes. The corn stocks are over 12 feet high and once your in, your on your own. There are no lights and only a few hints throughout the maze. We did the maze for the first time two years ago, and it has now become one of our favorite spooky traditions.
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Saturday 7PM It is always nerve racking because as much as you think you can get your bearings in the maze, it always ends up impossible once your inside. There are many ways of getting out of the maze. Some say to just put your hand along the outside wall and follow it all the way through. Others say just always make right turns. We however, wanted to figure it out the hard way.
Saturday 8PM After a good hour of turns and dead-ends, loops and having to turn back we finally got to the middle of the maze, which has a huge high-rise platform that you can climb. It allows you to see over the entire maze and the formation that the maze forms. This year it was a bat, a spider web and a witch’s hat. It really is breath taking when you get to look over the entire maze. It seems like it goes on forever, but all your fears about finding a way out and having to go to the bathroom vanish. It really is serene and peaceful up on that tall slender high rise.
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Saturday 8:30PM We come down from the high rise and find a lead. We think we are on at the tail of the bat and that could lead us through the witch’s broom to the end!
Saturday 8:45PM We can feel it! We are almost there, it is getting lighter and the paths are less windy. Two more turns to go and YES! We finally made it out after about two hours! We are all relieved and yet so happy we completed it without cheating.
Saturday 9PM We get caramel apples and celebrate the end to a great October evening, we also reflect upon how fun and festival this Halloween carnival is. Stockton really does feel like the perfect community. They have a true festive spirit and sense of joy. I haven’t been to community or a festival quite like the Del Oso Farm Festival in a while. It has and I think for many years will be our tradition.
Happy Halloween and may the ghosts be with you!
