10-Pin Bowling

Who doesn’t love bowling?  When I was a kid growing up in Prince Rupert, we had the “Rupert Lanes.”  It was 5-pin bowling and I remember going there on the weekend to hang out with friends and bowl.  The place has closed down since.  I guess that bowling is not “the thing” to do nowadays.  When I moved to the Sunshine Coast 17 years ago after graduating from UBC, there was 5-pin bowling in Gibsons.  A handful of years later, there was even a second bowling alley.  Well, today there are no bowling alleys on the Sunshine Coast.  Too bad.  My kids loves to bowl.

On this special day, 11-11-11, my little family spent Remembrance Day in Vancouver.  We had our moment of silence to remember those who gave their lives on the BC Ferries.  We are deeply grateful.  Lest we forget.  My twin brother is visiting from Toronto.  We saw him last weekend, we resumed our lives during the week, and here we are again to reunite at my parents’ condo.  We met up with my sister and her little family to enjoy a HUGE BBQ lunch at Memphis Blues on Granville and Broadway.  The food was delicious and plentiful.  We followed up this “Man vs. Food” event with an afternoon of 10-pin bowling.  At first, I was reluctant.  In the end, I had an awesome time.

The bowling alley had 48-lanes, loud music, videos, electronic scoring, and disco-like lighting.  My sister, brother, man, kid, and myself were bowling up a storm and prided ourselves when we accomplished a spare or a strike.  I won the first game with a score of 107.  My sister took the second game with 131.  My kid did not want the bowling to stop.  It was super fun.  The ego did not take a super beating.  And, my daughter had a strike and a spare.  We will definitely go there again.

Bowling today was like going back in time.  Spending good times with people you care about and love.  Creating memories and new loves that intrinsically motivates us to come back again.  I love our little family reunions.  It’s an special opportunity to step away from the routines of life and engage in something enjoyable, community oriented, and family-centered.  We ended our day connecting up with my parents and having a HUGE Chinese Crab dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.  YUM.