King Pinz

The hubs surprised B and me by taking us to King Pinz in Leesburg Friday night.  Wow.  Not like any "bowling alley" I've ever been in.  They were right in their description of an upscale lounge-like atmosphere.  They take reservations!  And you better make them if you want to bowl on a weekend.  We were told they were all full up when we got there but she took our name just in case and we went to the bar to order dinner.

The bartendress who served us in our modern and roomy booth was very personable and attentive and was able to recommend good items on the menu.  Her Cosmos were kick ass!  I had 2 and 1/4 of them and had to lean on the hubs to walk to the car.  After insisting to the hubs that I had to update my FB status, I went straight to bed.  Since the economy took a turn for the worse, we have noticed lighter and lighter pours in drinks.  Have any of you?  Well, not at this place last Friday night.

While waiting for our food to cook, we walked around.  They have arcade games to play but they don't take money.  You put money on a card at a machine, similar to fare cards for the Metro.  Each game is activated by swiping your card.  You earn points for each game you play and your points total is kept on your card.  When you leave, you can go to the prize counter to check your balance and either cash the points in on prizes or save them for another time.  Just like the tickets at Chuck E. Cheese.

Anywho, we were almost done with our dinner when the hostess came over to us and said they had a cancellation and we could take our food and beverages up to a lane.  They only have 12 lanes, another good reason to make reservations.  I had never put my feet in new bowling shoes before!  :o)  Each lane has a couch facing a coffee table you share with a lane on one side of you and the waitress up there was also friendly and attentive.  In the alley floor, there is a dotted line down the center of each lane and a squiggly lined pattern throughout the floor that lights up from the black lights in the ceiling.  3 jumbo tron TV screens span the alley wall over the pins and the music they played was great.

The lane we bowled in happened to be part of the "VIP Suite" that you can rent for private parties for a minimum of $500.  They have curtains to close off the suite (lanes 9 - 12) during those private parties.  There were 2 kids' birthday parties going when we 1st arrived, but neither were in the VIP Suite.  They were done by the time we bowled.

It was a very fun night for all of us, but the cost of the whole evening (drinks, games, dinner, bowling) would make it a special occasion thing only for us.