Ballin'

What up, gang.

Kris and I are always on the look out for family-friendly activities for the kids.  While there may be quite a lot of them out there to choose from, we Houghs are pretty picky with what we end up spending our time doing.  The problem we always face is finding an activity that's both fun for the kids and us; it's usually one or another, but rarely both.

After mentioning it a few times in the spring, we finally decided to pull the trigger and take the kids bowling.  We'd gone before, way back in Orlando, and that outing had mixed results (remember?), but it had been almost two years since that undertaking, so we wanted to give it a second shot.

The place we chose is called Northern Lanes, and is located right on the line between Midland and Sanford.  I used to drive past this building on the way to church every Sunday when I was a kid growing up at Mom's house, and I always thought it was a converted church (I would find out later that this was built by an architect back in the day who's big thing was designing buildings that looked like churches, and that the building had always been a bowling alley.)

Anyway, we went on a Friday in the early afternoon, so for the majority of the time we were there, we were the only people there.  The staff was incredibly friendly, the food and drinks were dirt-cheap (they had Oberon on tap - BOOYA), and the kids ended up having a blast.

Definitely going again.

For the first half of the game, the girls stuck to using the metal ball ramp. . . whatever the hell it's called.

The ball selection at this place was decent, too - the girls were able to find balls that fit their fingers and weren't too heavy for them (I was worried, since my kids are smaller than most.)

 

The girls turned the colorful tiles of the alley into a dance floor almost immediately, which we allowed since there weren't really any other patrons for which we had to put on our 'public behavior pants.'

Brian got a strike?  Damn straight.

I was doing better than usual today. . . probably because we had bumpers for the whole game (the bumpers at Northern Lanes don't automatically lower and raise like they do at other bowling lanes.)

We bought the girls 'lunch' at the place, although it more like a lunchtime snack than a real lunch:  some cheese fries and onion rings, with cheese that was spicier than the girls preferred. 

As usual, I choose to consume my lunch in liquid form.  I was happy to discover this joint had Oberon on tap, which isn't something you'd expect from a bowling alley (usually you're limited to domestic lights and whatever the hell's coming out of Milwaukee these days.)

Sweet, glorious trans fats. . . 

Slainté

Gotta say, it was pretty cool having the whole joint to ourselves. . .

Abby receives some pointers from a really crappy bowler

After awhile, the girls decided to try bowling without the metal ramp-thing.  The results were, well, mixed. . .

Abby, granny-style.

She never quite got this down, and I was convinced we'd have to cut a check to cover damages done to the lane from her dropping her ball so hard. . .

This is, without a doubt, the greatest game I have ever bowled.  It may or may not have had something to do with the bumpers, but still. . .

- Brian