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On Saturday, November 18, 2000, RMNAAFA had a bowling outing at Fat
City in Littleton, CO. A great time, once again, was had by all.
We arrived at the scheduled time of 2 p.m, but were a little dismayed
to discover that we wouldn't be able to get a pair of lanes together for
45 minutes. So, I and Nick went down to the "ball house" (OK, it's called
the clubhouse, I guess) to kill some time. This is quite the place. There
are a ton of small (baseball sized) foam balls all over the place. The
balls are light enough to be blown around by air hoses, and soft enough
that they don't sting if you get hit by one (think "Nerf"). There are a
various number of clever devices in the house which shoot the balls at
other kids in the house, throw the balls up in the air, let you vacuum
them up, send them up in a fountain, dump them on everyone's head, float
them on a cushion of air, etc. Leslie and her friend Jason joined Nick
and I in the house, acting like we were all kids until it was about time
to bowl. |
| (My) Debbie joined us by the time it was time to bowl. Patti Kelly,
Margaret, Debbie, and I were on one team, while Jason, Leslie, Angela,
Margaret Mary, and Nick formed the other team. This was Nick's first time
bowling without bumpers, and I owe everyone a vote of thanks for your patience
and encouragement. Actually, everyone bowled better this time than last,
but none of us are exactly ready for the state tournament ;^). |
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This is an interesting place to bowl. The lanes are darkened, with
some a kind of fluorescent black light on the bowling area. There is fluorescent
paint used for the lane markings, and the house balls are also fluorescent,
as are the house shoes. So, it's a glow in the dark bowling happening.
That, combined with the usual RMNAAFA silliness (we always seem to laugh
a lot when we are together), made for a memorable experience. |
| After bowling, we walked down to the inside miniature golf course.
Margaret and Angela didn't join us, but the rest of us had a relaxing time
shooting 18 easy holes. Again, our standard frivolity enhanced the experience.
Debbie Brown and JanMarie also dropped by for a while, although
they didn't join us for bowling or golf. It was still good to see them. |
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After golf, we sort of split up. Debbie and Nick and I hung out for
a while more.
While Nick terrorized the ball house, Debbie and I tried out the
virtual reality roller coaster. This is the larger one, that is white on
the outside, and looks vaguely like the space shuttle. The entire "vehicle"
is rocked back and forth by external hydraulics, to give a simulator-like
ride.
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| Inside the ride, a screen at the front of the vehicle shows a short
film, which is coordinated with the vehicle's hydraulics. The ride is pretty
rough, but is a great deal of fun. The illusion of being on a space coaster
is actually pretty good. The seating was actually very fat friendly. All
of the seats were benches (no buckets). There are no seat restraints. You
have to hold on to a safety bar with both hands (and you have to hold on
tight). You get jostled on the ride, but at lest you can sit comfortably
and brace yourself. Make sure the stuff in your pockets are secure though
(I almost lost my cell phone!).
There are plenty of things we didn't get to try out while at Fat
City. Leslie said she would have done Laser Tag with us, but her ankle
was starting to act up. There are also plenty of arcade games, another
virtual reality coaster, air hockey, a virtual driving range, laser shooting
gallery, and more. I guess we'll just have to go back!
Joe Obrin |
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