Five Pin Bowling at Delaney

Last weekend we traveled to the Thousand Islands region of Ontario, and had the opportunity to try some Five Pin Bowling at the Delaney Bowling Centre in Gananoque. I had never done Five pin, and was eager to give it a try.

A mix between ten pin and candlepin bowling, but like neither at the same time. The balls might be a bit bigger than the candlepin balls, and the pins are the same as ten pin, but the game only uses five balls. The pins are set up in the form of triangle, I believe something like 16 inches apart. The center pin counts as 5 points, the two pins next to center are 3, and the two edge ones are two points, so you can get a total of 15 points per frame. But a perfect game is 400 pts I believe. The owner of Delaney said that he is aware of only 3 perfect games be played their since it has been a bowling alley. Don’t worry, I came no where near that, but in two of the three games, I did break 100…woot.

Well I will have to say, as long as Lizzie and I are going to the Thousand Islands region for our summer vacations, we will have to make it a point to stop in and bowl a few frames on each visit. If you get to Gananoque, I suggest you check out Delaney5 pin bowling for some great fun.

Bowling clip on Falling Video

I saw this video this morning on WorldBreak.com. Although it isn’t a Bowling video, it does have one really funny bowling fall.

Hope you enjoy. Will be posting about a five pin bowling experience I had last weekend in an up coming post.

Wii Bowling

My most recent Bowling adventure was while playing Wii…I was actually very sore the next day after playing Wii Sports.

Although the graphics are kind of funny, the Wii Sports was still good fun for all ages.  Oh, I did not do nearly as good at Wii Bowling as I do at regular bowling( I am pretty bad at regular bowling as well.)

Candlepin Bowling Blog

As a result of our first Candlepin bowling experience, I have made a Candlepin bowling blog, which I am intending to sign over to Matt the owner of Bowling Bowl if he is so inclined.

I made one quick post on the blog, but do want to make some additional changes to include a new header which resembles the sign out in front of the Bowling Bowl in Brunswick, Maine. I will also offer up any other services to Matt that I may be able to provide.

CandlePin Bowling at Bowling Bowl

I was recently on a Maine Vacation, and I had the opportunity to go bowling at the Bowling Bowl in Brunswick, Maine. Mind you this was not ten pin bowling that I was used to, this was candlepin bowling.

CandlePin bowling is a type of bowling that is mainly in the New England states and the maritime Canadian provinces. The balls weight no more than 2lbs 70z, and have a diameter of about 4.5″. The pins of which ten are up at a time, are 15 3/4 ” tall by 2 15/16″.

A player gets three rolls, a strike occurs if the player knocks down all ten on the first throw and the player receives 10 plus the score of the next two balls rolled. A spare on the second receives 10 plus the score of the next roll, and ten scored on the last ball, receives just the ten, and no additional points.

Lizzie and I only played one game, but we had a great time. Being the balls are so light, our keyboard working hands showed no signs of fatigue.

Another difference between Candlepin and 10 pin, is that the pins or woods, stay in the lane, and actually become part of the play. The only time that a wood can not knock down a pin is if a ball enters the gutter and pushes a wood that is in the gutter to knock down a pin. The resulting knocked down pins are therefore not counted.

Matt Laffely, the owner, said he usaully tells people that have never bowled candlepins, to take their average of 10pins and half it and then add ten, to see what they might bowl.

From the one game we bowled, I found that it seems to be a game of finesse rather than muscle.

The Bowling Bowl, is quite a vintage bowling alley, and if you are lucky enough to make it part of your vacation like we did, perhaps Matt will show you the working of the facility and give you a bit of the history. Matt says that there are some ladies from the area that have been bowling at the Bowling Bowl for well over 4o years.

I was particularly impressed with the workings of the pinsetters. Back when the Bowling Bowl opened kids were paid to actually drop the pins in, and were paid a dime per game. Now the vintage machines do it with the click of a button, which each player must do at the end of his or her turn.

The Facility, which Matt is working on even as I type, takes quite a bit of time and money to keep up with. He has to rebuild the Control boxes, which costs about $800 a piece. The setting devices, which are not manufactured anymore, are in continual need of some sort of maintenance. Thankfully Matt is a very mechanical guy and is able to fabricate many of the parts himself.
Well, If you get a chance to do some candlepin bowling at the Bowling Bowl or any other candlepin bowling alley, I certainly hope you have fun and remember to take your time and don’t expect to bowl as high as you would at ten pin bowling.

Philadelphia Bowling Alley

We were just down in Philly over the past weekend for a Real Estate Expo, and took these pictures of the outside of the Lucky Strike Bowling Alley,

which is across the street from the Marathon Grill on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia.

It looks like a vintage bowling alley, but apparently there is a chain of them. I read on a review site that they are a bit pricey. Must be paying for the retro bowling alley feel.

Bowling Grandma

This is my Gram bowling back in 1962, several years before I was born. At this point in time she was not yet a Grandma, but would be in a little less than a year when my brother was born. Gram’s only sport was bowling, which I guess in Cleveland was quite the past time. She was even in a bowling league at one point in time.

Bowling Dates

I am a recreational bowler that  bowls maybe one to two times a year, unless I get involved with an organization that requires I do it on a regular basis. For instance, I had worked with an autistic lad as a TSS(Therapeutic Staff Support) where I would carry out therapeutic activities with him several times a week. Scott, as I shall refer to him, was involved with his schools bowling team. So one time a week for several months I would go bowling with him. Scott, his school aide and I would bowl about three games each time. This was by far the most bowling I had done in many years, and sober at that. Amazingly, I can barely break 100 while bowling sober. Give me a few drinks, and I can bowl a consistent 125 or so. My all time high game while in the military of 160+ was done while looped. While bowling sober with Scott, I did beat him several times, but he out scored me more often than not.

About the that time or soon after the league ended, I tried my hand at Internet dating, and had several bowling dates at the very same Jordan Lanes in Allentown, PA.  Both dates were very memorable, and I would do again. The first was with a very fascinating lady that was different each time we went out. The second was with Lizzie who is my significant other to this day. Lizzie and I have bowled a number of times since then, but only with kids, not as a date. Kids love bowling too, and it is a great activity that the whole family can enjoy.

Some of my earliest bowling memories are of bowling with my grandparents, who had both been involved in bowling leagues in Cleveland. Numerous times my grandmother would give me advice on how to bowl. These bowling outings, however, usually ended in frustration because I would not do things grandmas way. We are a bunch of hard headed Hungarians.

Bowling alleys are very accommodating, and will go out of their way to help people like Scott or youngsters like my kids. If everyone is able to have a good time, you are more likely to come back and bowl again. There is nothing wrong with using a ramp for a ball if you are unsteady, and gutter guards, which are devices that keep the balls from going into the gutters can be used on select lanes. Anyway, the concluding thought for this post is, if you are looking for something to do, bowling is a great activity for everyone to do at least a couple of times a year. So no matter your physical condition, get out there and bowl…the exercise will do you good.

Bowling Ball Construction

Have you seen the floating bowling ball experiement ?  I also saw the experiement  on tv. When I was teaching, I always aspired to do these types of experiements.

So I get it that if the ball is heavier than a certain weight( above 12lbs) it will sink. So what the heck makes a ball so heavy or light. It seems that I am not alone in my curiosity, many people to include the guys in the above picture who investigated a little closer have wondered the same. According the articleReactive, Urethane & Polyester. Match the Ball to the Conditions prior to the 1960’s they were made of hard rubber. Then in the 1970′ came polyester balls. Hmm, I just thought it was used for clothing. Then came urethane, which now days is used in some low end balls. The new thing is balls are reactive balls, which means the ball is able to react to what the bowler tells it to do much easier. I have a feeling these reactive balls are something that a beginner like me does not need. Hmm, not quite sure about this reactive bowling technology, I may have to do a little more research on this. Well if you are a bowler, and you read this, please leave me a comment and tell me what a reactive ball is made of, and what it can do?

Bowling Balls from Cheapbowlingballs.com

Cheapbowlingballs.com– Came across this site some time ago, and for some reason unknown to me, I keep coming back to it. Cheapbowlingballs.com is a bowling equipment site that sells discounted bowling equipment, to include bowling shoes, bowling shirts, bowling bags, and of course bowling balls. I think the thing that I like the best about the site is the exclusive Got Balls shirts. The sexual innuendo of the slogan just appeals to my maturity level, which my girlfriend says is frequently at 13. Anyway, Cheapbowlingballs, has lots of great gear to help make your bowling game that much more pleasurable, without putting a huge dent in your wallet, leaving you with more cash to bowl a few more games.