New York City - Part One - The Museums

The skies were smooth and the late September weather was great as BowlingWidow and I coasted into JFK airport for our first ever trip to New York City.  After some initial confusion we hooked up with a cab company to set up the 45 minute ride into the city.  Other than some talk about our destination and cab fare, nary a word was spoken between us and the driver.  I wasn’t expecting to be on the Cash Cab or anything like that, but I thought New York cabbies were a bit more talkative than this one and the others which we encountered.

Our "Home" on the Upper West Side (2nd Floor...Open Windows)

We were in NYC for a full week, staying at a comfortable studio townhouse in the upper west side of Manhattan called (appropriately enough) The West Townhouse.  It was part of the endless brownstone row housing built in around 1890 that are abundant in the upper west side neighborhoods.  Our unit even came with a kitchen, giving us the ability to buy bagels, cream cheese and orange juice for the week and enjoy them at our leisure before hitting the streets and the subway.
 

Having a Kitchen Area Was a Nice Feature

For this blog post series, I’ve just made the executive decision to chunk the trip up into the following set of words and pictures:

Museums (that’ll be in this one)

Broadway and Times Square

Sites and Destinations

Walks

Food, Drink, and Concluding Thoughts

Let’s jump right into Museums…..

We regretted not visiting any museums when we were in Chicago, so wanted to make sure we went to the key ones in NYC.  We had plenty to choose from, and would have gone to all of them if we had a month to spend in the city.  That would have included places like The Frick Collection, The Guggenheim and the Jewish Museum of NewYork.  And then there’s the New York Public Library which we never got to.  Here’s what we did see:

The American Museum of Natural History.  This place has an amazing number of exhibits and buildings.  The planetarium show that we went to about the universe was interesting and well done.  There’s nothing like seeing one of these shows to help you walk out of the theater feeling really insignificant about your place in the solar system.  If you like exceptionally well done stuffed animals and dinosaur bones from all over the world, this is the place for you.   And it’s not just Natural History as the name indicates.  Artifacts and creations by cultures such as American Indian tribes are in abundance as well.

Well Made Stuffed Animals:  One of the Many Displays at the Natural History Museum

The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  At 2 million square feet, this is the largest museum of its kind in the country.  There’s no way one could get through this entire collection in a day unless you subscribe to the “speed theory” of art appreciation.  So we picked and chose.  They don’t just have paintings and sculptures here.  Sure they have Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Monet, and Picasso but their collection of musical instruments and armor, for example, is world class.

One of the Many Rooms at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Knights in Shining Armor at the Met

Museum of Modern Art.  Smaller than the Met and located in mid-town Manhattan, modern art here appears to be defined as “from 1900 to present”.  Mainly paintings, some of the more famous works here include “The Starry Night” (Van Gogh), and works by Jackson Pollock, Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol.  I’ll admit it….some of the more recent modern art acquisitions look like something I might be able to make at home in a couple of hours, although I’m sure that’s not true.  I guess we just don’t “get” art as many do.

Andy Warhol's Soup Cans in the Pantry at the MoMA

The Cloisters.  This is a small collection associated with the Met, and is a short cab ride away on the north part of Manhattan Island.  It’s essentially an exhibit of art and architecture from Medieval England.  Made possible by an endowment  grant by  John D. Rockefeller Jr., this can easily be experienced in a couple of hours.  It’ll probably take you longer to get to and from here depending on where you’re staying in the city.
    

Courtyard Garden at The Cloisters

Next up:  Broadway and Times Square

The Hits Just Keep On Coming

I don’t attend many concerts these days, and the ones that I do attend are usually in small settings with no more than a couple of hundred people in the audience.   That’s because I find that the odds are drastically reduced that I’ll find myself seated next to some obnoxious drunk who spent big money to show up and make a fool of him (or her) self while ruining the experience for those who are unlucky enough to be within a 30 foot radius of him (or her).  Also, ticket prices tend to be a bit lower at smaller venues which don’t usually host “name” artists or bands.

Leftynemesis and Interiors Maven at the Concert

BowlingWidow and I deviated a bit from that plan last weekend.  Along with our friends Leftynemesis and Interiors Maven we ventured a few miles north to the Tulalip Amphitheater to listen to the bands America and The Doobie Brothers.  Two bands that fit squarely within our demographic wheelhouse.  They may not have been the best bands of the 1970s, but are certainly among the most familiar as they were constantly on the radio.  America had 17 songs that made the US Top 100.  The Doobies clocked in with a remarkable 26.

I didn’t have high expectations for this show, but both bands actually delivered the goods and seemed to have a great time doing it.  If America ever gets tired of singing “Ventura Highway” or The Doobie Brothers are bored out of their minds doing “China Grove”, it didn’t show.  And between the two bands they clocked in at more than three hours (which included a half hour break to change the stage), making the $65 ticket stretch a bit further than usual.

The Doobie Brothers Rockin' the Amphitheatre

Finally, two more things about the night:  first, the horse still has no name.  And second, indeed right on schedule the annoying drunk guy was in our row a mere few seats away.

Welcome Back Hatch Chiles…It’s Been Way Too Long

Mid-August is a favorite time of the year for me.  It’s peak season for fresh fruits and vegetables that show up at grocery stores and farmers markets.  There’s fresh lettuce in abundance and the corn is starting to get good and sweet.

 That’s all fine and good, but what really gets this chile head going is the fact that it’s Hatch chile pepper season.  Pepper purists will tell you that there’s no such thing as a Hatch pepper and I suppose that technically they’re correct.  Hatch is a region in the state of New Mexico at which Anaheim chiles are grown.

Freshly Picked Hatch Chile Peppers

 I don’t know the science behind it, but the blistering hot days and cool nights at the elevation in which they’re grown result in a mighty flavorful product.  Twice the flavor (not necessarily hotness though) of your garden variety Anaheim if you ask me.

The Whole Foods near us is roasting them in their parking lot for the next few weekends, and as soon as we heard about it, BowlingWidow and I rushed down to have them roast five pounds for us.  The smell on the car ride home was heavenly.
 

Hatch Peppers in the Roaster

 After cooling, they were peeled and sealed into freezer bags in ¾ pound increments.  I can’t imagine getting through a winter without having pork chile verde stew at least a couple of times using these gems.  Not to mention enchiladas, quesadillas, and the countless other Hatch recipes that can be found in books or online.
 

Hatch Peppers "Sweating" in a Bag Prior to Peeling

Now if only I can learn how to stuff a chile relleno properly like they do in good Mexican restaurants……

Walking (and Eating) Through Vancouver BC

Every year or two, BowlingWidow and I like to hop on Amtrak and take a short trip north or south.  Typically that means either Portland, Oregon or Vancouver BC.  Both are great cities to visit.  This year, as in 4^th of July’s past, we chose Canada.  We didn’t have a real agenda and wanted to check out a couple of places we haven’t been before as well as some old favorites.

  

Vancouver:  Looking West Toward Stanley Park

One of those new places is North Vancouver.  It’s just a 10 minute SeaBus ride away from the downtown waterfront and the fare is included in the daily SkyTrain passes we bought.  North Vancouver is fairly easy to experience in just a few hours as most of the shops and restaurants are located on Lonsdale Street.  We had lunch at a Greek restaurant called Anatoli Souvlaki on lower Lonsdale near the ferry terminal, and can recommend it as a good place to eat.  My wife particularly liked her Greek Salad and Spanakopita.  We also happened upon a decent brewpub, Sailor Hagar’s, a few blocks off of Lonsdale.  It was surprisingly good, as Canadian brewpubs are very hit and miss (usually miss) when compared to what we have in the Northwest.  One more word about North Vancouver:  elevation.  Be prepared to walk up a long hill if you’re touring the area on foot.
      

Looking At The City from North Vancouver

Speaking of food (and when am I not?) we found a really cool Jewish bakery and deli, Solly’s, in the Broadway neighborhood, south of town.  We liked their bagel (with a generous amount of cream cheese) and coffee special so much that we went there twice for breakfast.  And at around six bucks for two of us it was a bargain.
      

Solly's Bagels:  A Must Visit...Twice For Us!

Since we’ve got Greek and Jewish cuisine fairly well covered here, let’s move on to the other two ethnic styles we had, in no particular order.  After a pint at the Yaletown Brewing Company (not surprisingly in the trendy new Yaletown neighborhood) we walked next door to an unassuming restaurant we nearly walked past called L’Antipasto.  This is a good Italian restaurant with prices that aren’t through the roof.  I recommend the Ravioli alla Filly, which is ravioli stuffed with lobster and crab served with a fresh tomato sauce.  BowlingWidow made a meal out of a couple of the fine tapas they have on the menu.

The City Turned Granville Street Into a Latino Fest for a Day!

    
In past years, to cover Asian cuisine, we’ve bypassed Chinatown and headed straight to the suburb of Richmond, 10 miles south of the city.  Usually we go for dim sum and have had good luck, but wanted to try something different and went to a noodle house, Neptune Wonton Noodle, in the Golden Village Shopping Center.  And get something different we did.

My noodle bowl with beef was no doubt a favorite of the regulars but to our palates, the spices and sauces were a bit too fish flavored.  BowlingWidow figured she'd be safe by ordering what was essentially a bowl of chicken noodle soup, but the chicken parts, only partly cooked and complete with bones and fat was a bit much for her to handle.  Next time in Vancouver I think we'll be back to dim sum.

A Nice Evening at The Alibi Room

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention a stellar ale house we found a short block east of the Gastown District.  It's called The Alibi Room and is a must visit for any beer aficionado who shows up in Vancouver.  There are around 50 interesting beers on draft, most from Canada and the US West Coast.  If you want to eat there, you can do so successfully but with a limited menu.

I'll close with a few fun photos from the trip.

At The Train Station in Everett:  Don't Worry, No Humping Took Place

 

Ketchup Chips:  A Major Canadian Food Group

Vancouver May Not Be As Sanitary As Thought Upon Further Investigation

 

High Fiber Cereal in a Vancouver Grocery Store

Stepping Off the Approach

Regarding bowling, someone I know once told me that he’ll continue bowling as long as it serves a purpose.  Well, after a nice 17 year run of hitting the hardwoods every week, I’ve decided that for me personally that purpose is no longer there.  There are a lot of reasons that went into my decision but most of it has to do with the fact that I was “lucky” enough to have been born with over pronated feet.  In layman’s terms this means that I have no arches and feet which "smush" to the outside.

A normal foot (left) and BowlingJoe's foot (right)

This has always made balancing difficult and it’s getting to the point now where merely standing stationary on one leg and balancing for more than a few seconds is difficult.  As in most sports, especially bowling, good balance is key.  Especially in the scratch league I was in where the competition is very good.  So rather than watch my skill level continue to erode (as it has been the last few seasons), I’ve decided it’s time to go do something else.  Time will tell exactly what that is but I have some ideas.

There’s no sadness, though, and certainly no “pity party” to be found here.  I’m just happy that my fairly un-athletic self was able to compete at a fairly high level for that time.  I even managed to accomplish a couple of personal goals by getting a couple of rings for a 300 game and an 801 three-game series.  And BowlingWidow was even on my team for the perfect game which made it all the more special.

The 300 and 800 Rings:  Two Days I'll Always Remember

But most of all, I’m so thankful that I met as many friends and acquaintances because of bowling.  Friendships that will transcend bowling and continue forever.  And some of those people are even left-handed!

One thing is for sure:  I’m still a fan and will be dropping in on the league every now and then to check out the action and say hello.  And who knows?  After this upcoming season I might get the bug and discover a new reason to start another 17-year run of bowling.

The name of this blog is of course BowlingJoe.  Topically, it really hasn’t been about bowling very much of the time.  So I think I’ll keep the name.  I kind of like the way it sounds.

A Saturday Afternoon Ballard Pub Crawl

Some friends recently went on a pub crawl in the Ballard area of Seattle.  Like BowlingWidow and me, they appreciate a quality ale more than just every now and then, and were happy to report of several new microbreweries and nanobreweries (those with less than a 4-barrel brewing system) that have opened up in that part of town recently.  We decided to visit a few of those on a recent spring afternoon.

View of the tanks from the loft of Rueben's Brew

Our first stop was Rueben’s Brews.  Although technically larger than a nanobrewery, it’s a small microbrewery that’s run out of a spotless facility which appears to have been an auto garage or something in a previous life.  Owner and transplanted Brit, Adam Robbings, named the place after his young son, Rueben, whom I’m thinking is around 15 years or so from enjoying the product named after him.  We bought a sampler of four 4-ounce tastes each, ranging from pale to strong.  I particularly enjoyed the Robust Porter with its deep chocolate tones.

The funky neighborhood front of Populuxe Brewery

We next took a 10 minute walk to Populuxe Brewing.  This really is a small place in a residential area.  A couple of home brewing neighbors got together and pulled this off.  They had four or five selections on tap along with complimentary pretzels and peanuts.  We opted for the Populuxe IPA and enjoyed it immensely as the sun broke through the clouds in the outdoor area at the back of the house.  On the way out we had a nice chat with owners Peter Charbonnier and Amy Besunder, and walked a few more blocks to our next destination, Maritime Pacific Brewing.

Populuxe may be a tiny brewery but they make a great IPA!!!

Maritime is a pretty good sized place with a decent food menu, and the timing was right for some of that.  BowlingWidow had an IPA on the nitro system (think draft Guinness) while I had the same, cask style.  We shared an order of onion rings and a deep fried dill pickle.  We’d seen deep fried pickles on menus before and figured we had to try one.  It’s one of those things that is worth trying…..once.

BowlingJoe with Amy and Peter at Populuxe:  They were too photogenic NOT to take their picture!

Our final stop was at another small place called Peddler Brewing.  The proprietors of this small brewery must be real bike enthusiasts as there is plenty of space to park your 2-wheeler as well as bike memorabilia all over the place.  Like Populuxe Brewing, Peddler patrons can enjoy the bean bag toss game called Cornhole.  I’ve never actually played this game, but it is fun to say “Cornhole”.  The Northwest IPA we had at Peddler wasn’t our favorite of the day, but I’ll chalk that up in part to the fact that it was our last stop, our stomachs were full, and we were in need of a nap.  Getting older can be brutal.

Vanishing Alleys

If you ask me, Kevin Hong is on a really cool journey.  He's spending much of his free time doing something that I (and apparently a lot of other bowler types out there) have only thought about doing.  If you follow the business of bowling, you know that bowling alleys are becoming an endangered species.  Take Seattle for instance.  There are only a couple of bowling alleys in the city limits today, a small fraction of what once existed in the 1960s and 1970s.
    

I suppose there are several reasons for that.  People have more choices regarding how to spend their free time.  The land that bowling centers reside on is valuable, so condos and box stores will generate more revenue per square foot.  And so on.  That's why Hong and his camera have visited large cities and rural areas alike:  to take in the experience of being in these aged cathedrals of kegeling and capture their images with his photography - while they're still around.  I talked with Kevin recently about his Vanishing Alleys project and the resulting book of his photography.

 

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Kevin Hong

How long has bowling been a part of your life and how did you get started doing it?

I started when I was about 6. My parents bowled in leagues together and that's how they met. I tagged along and eventually started bowling myself and I got bitten by the bug. I have bowled ever since, except for when I took about 7 months off after having knee surgery in high school. 

What inspired you to want to start the Vanishing Alleys project?

I've always liked visiting small bowling alleys. In college in Columbia, Missouri, I had a group of scratch bowler friends and we would go to an 8-lane house on Saturday nights. It was in Fayette, Missouri and it's no longer there. Above ground ball returns, hand scoring, dollar hot dogs. We would bowl with our plastic balls and try not to kick the balls on the above-ground racks as they came rolling back. We also went to Saratoga Lanes in St. Louis and Arcade Lanes in Universal City, Missouri (which burned down tragically a couple of years ago). It was great history. I wish I had started the project back then, because I would love to have some pictures of the insides of those places to remember them by. I also used to go to Mt. Si Bowl in Snoqualmie, Washington when it was all wood lanes and had the Brunswick Gold Crown motif. That place has been modernized and looks much different now.

In early 2012 I was bowling in an 8 lane house in Connell, Washington. It very much reminded me of the places in Missouri and of Mt. Si Bowl. And I suddenly had this idea. I wanted to photograph these centers while they were still around. There are even fewer 8-lane houses now, so I figured I'd better get going. 

Has the project evolved in scope since you originally started it, and if so how?

I never set out with the intention to do anything specific with the project. I just like taking photographs (I used to be a newspaper photojournalist) and I liked visiting old bowling alleys, so it seemed a natural fit to do the two things together. On one trip to bowl a tournament in the Tri-Cities, I hit three small bowling alleys in one day. I made an appointment at one and just dropped into two others with no advance notice. They were very welcoming, but they wanted to know what I was doing with the pictures. And I had no idea what to say. It was then, after I had visited about 6 or 7 places, that I had the idea to put the pictures online (www.vintagebowling.net) and also start a Facebook page (facebook.com/BowlingAlleys).  I had no idea if anyone would look at the pictures or even care what I was doing. But soon I had 200, then 300, then 400 then 500+ followers from all over the world. Then someone said I should do an art book. Then a couple of guys from Texas said I should go to San Antonio and check out the ninepin clubs because it's the only place left in the U.S. where you can bowl ninepins. So during Spring Break this year I flew to San Antonio and spent a week there. 

Now I am making plans to go to the East Coast this summer and check out candlepins and duckpins. I've always wanted to try those. So at every step of the way, I run into people who have a passion for vintage bowling centers and disappearing variations of the game, and we talk a lot, so I'm always getting new ideas to add to the "to do" list. 

People are always telling me, "I've ALWAYS thought about doing something like what you're doing! I've always wanted to go check out the alley in..." so that gives me some new leads.

But I never originally set out to do any of it. 

Kevin Hong Getting Into His Work at Highland Social Club in San Antonio

Can you pick out one or two favorite bowling centers you’ve photographed?

My favorite ones are the ones in unlikely places. One of the first places I went to was Ebey Bowl, which is in an old squash barn on Whidbey Island, WA. It's in the middle of farmland and if you weren't looking for it, you'd almost miss it. Farm, farm, field, field, and then suddenly there is a 6-lane bowling alley. 

Layton Shirley, who has been around NW bowling for a long time, told me there were two lanes in a church on Seattle's Capitol Hill. Well, I grew up in Seattle and I attended Seattle University across the street, and I thought, "There is no way there are bowling lanes in that church. I would have known if there were." I'd even been inside that church before. But I called, and made an appointment, and sure enough - there are two lanes upstairs. Semi-automatic pinsetting, lanes in immaculate condition. Then Layton told me there are 4 lanes in a state-run school for the developmentally disabled. Then I get an e-mail saying there are two lanes with manual pinsetting in a church in Vancouver, Canada. I go to these places and I can't believe it. These are hidden gems and I bet practically no one knows they are there. It was like being in a candy store.

Other than Washington State, what parts of the country has the project taken you to so far?

 
I have been to several places in northern Oregon. I have been to two places in Canada; aside from the church mentioned above, I went to Youbou Lanes in the Cowichan Lake region of Vancouver Island. Four lanes of manual pinsetting. Between driving from Seattle, the ferry, and more driving, it was probably about six hours each way. But well worth it! I also have been to San Antonio to photograph ninepin clubs, a four lane center in Oklahoma, and I went to one center in Boulder City, Nevada, during a trip to Las Vegas last year.

Has there been anything that has surprised you as you’ve roamed about from community to community researching for this project?

The communities are different, the centers and proprietors are all different, but all of the people I've met have been so warm and inviting. The proprietors love talking about the history of their buildings. The bowlers LOVE their 6 or 8 or 10-lane wood houses and really care about them. They are the small town hubs, and neighborhood gathering spots, so the customers want to see these businesses survive as much as I do. That's the thing I love about bowling - it unites people from all different walks of life. It's truly a universal sport.

Kevin Hong Setting Up at Ken-Cliff Lanes in Oklahoma

Are there any parts of the country (or world) that are “must sees” when it comes to visiting classic alleys that have not vanished?

 
I would like to go to the East Coast because they have some forms of bowling rarely found anywhere else, such as duckpins and candlepins. I would love to see the Holler House in Milwaukee, which is kind of the holy grail of old bowling alleys. Also, I'm told there are a TON of 6 and 8 lane centers in Montana. They're not all on the main highways, however, so it would probably take a couple of trips crisscrossing the state by car. 

Do you have any new books planned for the future and will they follow the same format as the Vanishing Alleys book of photographs?

 
The book was a big undertaking. I self-published it, which was more expensive but it got it out there faster than trying to find a traditional book publisher to take it on. I don't think that would have been likely (that a traditional publisher would pick this up); this project has a very specialized audience. I don't think an art book about vintage bowling alleys would have sold well at Barnes & Noble, for instance. Since I had to front the cost of publishing, I didn't make anything off the book. I would love to collaborate on a project about the history of bowling. Ninepin bowling, for instance, was very eye-opening. It can only be found in about 3 counties near San Antonio, so I bet 99.8 percent of all Americans have never seen it in person or even heard about it.

I'm a photographer, not a historian. So the research and interviews and wading through papers and records would have to come from another, more skilled source. But I would love to contribute my photos to a larger effort someday. I don't plan to publish another book, but there has been interest from some in buying fine art prints of some of the photographs. I would be interested in selling those or even doing a small art show someday.

Thanks for the chat, Kevin.  Finally, what do you like to do when you’re not bowling tournaments or taking pictures?

I work a lot with young people. I teach elementary school, coach youth bowlers and used to be a summer camp director and counselor. But I do spent a lot of my free time involved in bowling somehow... whether it's competing or working on this project. 

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To order a copy of Vanishing Alleys (30 left as of this writing!) go to the website www.vintagebowling.net. There is a credit card link as well as a printable, mail-in form to pay by check or money order. The books are also available at from the pro shops at West Seattle Bowl, Hiline Lanes and AMF 20th Century Lanes in Portland.