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As much as us Clevelanders love our city, we can’t deny that the 6 month long winters can kind of get a little old after a while. It’s hard to find fun, fresh date night ideas that don’t involve going out to eat or having some civilizers (as Jason calls them) at the bar after work. As much as I love doing those things, it gets a bit repetitive after a while, even with our amazing restaurant choices.

SNOWTORIOUS | Cleveland | iCarabout.com

Well, Jason and I had been talking about going bowling for a while now. We’ve even tried to plan a double date to meet up at the Corner Alley on E4th. These plans failed over and over again before we realized that although Corner Alley is probably a blast, we wanted to really immerse ourselves into the REAL bowling experience.

Confused? 

As a native Clevelander, I’ve grown up to know that the Southwestern suburbs of our grand city (i.e. Parma/Brook Park) are where the real bowling magic happens. It seems that almost everyone living in this area is either in a bowling league, or knows at least 5 people who are. And trust me, I’m not insulting bowling leagues. After my experience, I’m actually bugging Jason to join one with me. 

With this knowledge intact, Jason and I set out on an adventurous date night to Brookgate Lanes Bowling Center. No, I’m not kidding. If you’re going to try something, you might as well try the honest to god, true experience. Especially one that left us waiting at the bar for the leagues to finish up their games. Seriously. This place was PACKED and quite “happening” on a Thursday night.  So, we waited patiently at the bar, watching the Cavs and chatting it up with the bartender. 

Once our names were called for an open lane, we bought two games and picked out our bowling balls. I took especially long to find one because of my mutant thumb. Don’t ask. (I guess if I had to be born with one malformed body part, I’m glad it was a fat thumb). I was really surprised how friendly and helpful the staff was, especially after the hectic night they had. They came right over, asked us if we had bowled before, and then showed us everything. Not only that, they kept coming back to see if we needed anything and then brought us coupons to use if we come back. 

Cleveland Plus Bowling | Jason Matthew Murphy | iCarabout.com

Anyways, after all his talk about being HORRIBLE at bowling, Jason proceeded to kick my blonde little butt all night. Although, I have to say that before I hurt my (mutant) thumb, I was giving him a run for his money.  

We honestly had a BLAST and are looking forward to more bowling dates, adventures, and laughs to come…maybe even in Parma?  I’m sure we’ll eventually give Corner Alley a shot, but maybe once we’re up to pro-status with our skills. 

Oh, and by the way, perfect bowling date night food? Taco Bell picnic in your car. It’s quite romantic if I do say so myself.