On November 8th, the Snakes on a Lane Bowling Club took a field trip to the Bowling Hall of Fame, which just so happened to be the last day that it was open in St. Louis before moving to Arlington, Texas. We had been talking about going ever since we heard it was closing and we figured that the last possible day was as good as any. Plus, it is in the STL 101 list:
51. By bowling at the classics (Saratoga, Tropicana or Olivette Lanes) and the retro newbies (Pin-Up, Flamingo). Then visit the International Bowling Museum to see what you could have been.
The museum itself was equal parts awesome and insane. For example, the early history of bowling really is left to conjecture. A part of the conjecture, evidently, is Satan bowling with a human skull:
My favorite part was a big banner of achievement patches:
There were several vignettes of awesome moments in bowling history:
There was also a computer with all the perfect games in it. We were able to find Jen’s dad and his 3 perfect games, which was pretty awesome.
Then, we headed into the Hall of Fame wing, where we found Brandon’s cousin, Norm Duke:
Then, we went into the women’s wing, where instead of bronze castings, they have awesome oil paintings:
After that, we went down to the basement to see the pin car, in addition to the Cardinals Hall of Fame and the rest of the collection. All in all, a pretty awesome day, but a tad bittersweet to see this one of a kind attraction leaving town.
The snakes on a lane bowling club has some serious genetic advantages. Note to self: don’t mess with Snakes on a Lane.