Feather Bowling at Pryes Brewing

 Minneapolis, MN

Pryes Brewing

Today, after the newspaper printing tour (read about that here), we walked over to Pyres Brewing for a beer and some lunch, and also, to our surprise, Feather Bowling!  We were there at opening on a Friday so no one was bowling yet so we stepped up.  It's a really fun thing to do while drinking beer.  The object is to bowl a cheese wheel shaped wooden ball across the playfield and have it end up as close to the feather at the other end as possible.  Scoring is the same as curling, the player closest to the feather gets a point for each ball they have inside the closest ball of of the opponent.  So if you have 2 balls next to the feather and then your opponents ball is the next closest, you get 2 points.

The brewery has a massive amount of seating indoors and out.

They also have a great selection of styles of beers to choose from as well as a kitchen.

They Feather Bowling Alley is shaped like a half pipe to make it easier.

I got to drink a 13% Barrel Aged Stout as I bowled.

I also sampled the same beer but different vintage.  They were both very good.

Donna sends it!

We look like we know what we are doing!

The balls tend to hit each other and group up together.

I believe in this round dark brown scored 2.  It was pretty close.

After bowling we each got another beer and ordered some food.  The wings and pizza were great.

I also bought a vintage bottle of Barleywine for another day.

That's it for this post.  Check back soon for the 3rd installment from our day of fun on September 20th, Donna's birthday.  If you missed the first post, The Minnesota Star Tribune Print Facility Tour, check it out. 

5 Pin Bowling

 Winnipeg, MB

Park Alleys Bowling!

Trying 5 Pin Bowling

Today we headed to Park Alleys to try out 5 pin bowling.  It's exactly like 10 pin bowling except there are only 5 pins, each of the pins are worth different points, you get 3 balls, the balls are smaller, and there are rubber bands around the pins to make them move more.  Actually it's nothing like 10 pin bowling.  5 pin bowling is like a combination of 10 pin bowling and duck pin bowling (seen here in Cincinnati).  We went at noon on a Friday so we were the only ones there for most of our time there.  We paid for an hour of bowling and each got a beer and settled in.

They had a great beer selection

The décor was really cool too.

Lanes 1 and 2 have been replaced by a stage for live music and karaoke.

The Dude made an appearance

Old score sheets lined the ceiling 

This location was chosen, in part, because they had 2 pinball machines.  We played after bowling.

They had a place to track your high score

These pins were embedded in the bar.  You can see the rubber band around the middle.

Donna spotted Pumpkin Pins that weren't currently in use.

After bowling we had breakfast sandwiches for brunch and then played some pinball before going grocery shopping.  When we returned home we found someone parked in our spot in the parking garage so we worked with the Airbnb host to sort things out.  They ended up telling us to park in another spot that is associated with a listing that they manage.  This hosting service is not as organized as we would have liked but we are down to only a few more days here so hopefully the rest of our stay is without parking drama.

That's it for today.  If you missed The Manitoba Museum check it out.

Chicago Dogs and Bowling

 Chicago, IL

It's only when I write the blog that I realize I forgot to take a selfie of the day.  Here is the back of Donna's head.  It was supposed to be used as a shot to give you a sense of place at Redhot Ranch.

Carl's List

One of the things that was very appealing for us about San Francisco was the food.  Not just the food but the food culture.  Both Donna and I had good friends at work that were foodies and we could talk to them about all of the places we should eat, all of the new places opening, and all of the places closing down.  It was their hobby and we benefited from it.  Carl was my go to for foodie talk and I still get his recommendations from time to time.  One of the good things about Carl's List is that it doesn't have to be fancy to make the list, it just has to be top notch good.  In fact if the dining establishment has a white tablecloth it probably won't make Carl's List.  Redhot Ranch was a recommendation from Carl.  It's delicious and cheap and the one we went to was right under The L (Blue Line) so it's also iconic.  Their website appears to be down (they are a food joint and not a tech company) so here is an Eater article with them on the list.

The entrance (this is actually us leaving but the narrative wants an establishing shot of going there so I put it first.  I don't think people will notice). 

Not fancy, just good.

"Their idea: Replicate the In-N-Out Double-Double for Chicagoans. In our fair meat-and-potato city, one could throw a rock and hit a corner grill with a mediocre burger."  (The next photo would have been the one of Donna reading the stuff on the wall but I had to use it in "The Selfie" spot).

I was going to go for the free earplugs but in the end I didn't.

Iconic eating spot.

The Train was quite loud when it went by.

We both got Double Dogs with Fries.  They came wrapped up nicely.

As you unroll the fries and double dog reveal themselves.  Some of the fries were in the dog which was fine.  You can't see it here but it's a hot dog bun with 2 dogs, Mustard, Hot Peppers, Onions, and never ever, ever ketchup or catsup.

Waiting is the hardest part!

Donna got a new phone so the quality of the images are much better.

We Are Becoming Bowlers

After our hot dog experience we decided to go bowling.  Donna has been wanting to go go Waveland Bowl since doing research and it's cheap during the day M-Th.  We hopped the bus and soon we were at Waveland Bowl.

The Entrance is pretty iconic.

This is what I look like when I do a bad bowl.

We didn't roll ourselves into The Finals.

Not the most hygienic place but I guess being born in a bowling alley would make a good story.

On the way out I took pictures of their bowling tie collection.  It was the largest of it's kind that I have ever seen.

Dinner

After all of the adventure and hot dogs we went home and made a light dinner, Spicy Cold Tofu with Century Eggs.  It tuned out great.  It was my first time having preserved duck eggs and I can say I don't mind them but I also don't think they added anything to the dish, especially for the price.  I would add a soft boiled egg next time.

Yum!

After dinner I went to Logan Arcade to play a few games of pinball.  I got 100mil on Addams Family.

That was it for the day.  If you missed Free Pinball and Expensive Beer check it out.  I played pinball.