Hotter than H E double EL

This weekend we had the kiddy pool and the watergun fight to keep cool. Didn't get out too much otherwise. Too damn hot.

Star Wars Crack

I shouldn't use the word Crack in my posting, but we just ordered Star Wars Lego for PC through Amazon. The boy and I have been playing the (two-player mode) demo for 3 weeks and have bonded at a higher level through the magic of George Lucas and the little plastic toys. Except it makes him crazy. He needs it. He thinks about it all the time. He talks constantly about it. Hard to imagine how he'll fell when we receive the whole entire version. Not only 10 people on two levels, but 40 or 50 characters and multiple levels! Who will like it more: the 6 year old boy or the 34 year old boy who worshiped at the Lucas altar from 1977 till now?

Bowling for Suburbia

First off, I ask alot of people for advice, then promptly ignore it. What does that say about me?

So, the boy and I wanted to go bowling (after a sucessful bumper-bowling outing on our Wisconsin vacation) in the area and I began looking up and asking about the local lanes. I had driven by Circle Lanes (in next-door Forest Park) quite often and was intrigued by it's working-class look and old-fashioned 50s/60s charm. I had been advised that these lanes weren't great for kids by another Oak Park dad, but I had my doubts (and usually disregard advice). My wife had told me that the Oak Park Lanes at 6046 Roosevelt Road (near Austin and Roosevelt in Oak Park) was recommended as being kid friendly.

Sunday afternoon, I took the boy in the minivan and tried to go to the Oak Park Lanes. They were closed. On a Sunday afternoon. I should have known something was wrong when I called the week before and the person on the other end of the phone couldn't give me a clear idea of what their hours were. Bummer. We got back into the van and went to Forest Park.

Circle Lanes in Forest Park (7244 Circle in Forest Park, phone is (708) 366-2810) is a blast from the past. A bit smoky, though it seemed only the employees were doing the burning. Probably a good place for an Old Style or a Seven and Seven. Not the best sign of things to come. The shoes were 2 bucks a pair ($4.00 so far), and the games were $3.50 a person per game. Not too expensive. The ad in the phonebook said there was bumper bowling, but upon asking them, they said the bumpers had to be reserved in advance and were $18.00/hour and for kids under 7 only. What!? And I would still have to rent a lane for myself! I mean, we take a LONG time bowling.

In the end, we did not opt for the bumper bowling (also could not because we didn't reserve in advance) and the boy scored a big fat zero. Quite disappointing for him (I bowled very poorly myself), and probably wouldn't go back. Back to the phone book and asking for advice to discard. There is another bigger, more kid-friendly place in River Grove (some kind of Brunswick monstrosity game-parlor pizza-party birthday party joint), but it's pretty far away for a quick bowling session. Keep on looking

Oak Park Dad first post!

Hello.

I'm a Dad in Oak Park, Illinois, a near-western suburb of Chicago. I have two kids, a boy, age 6 and a girl, age 2.

I wanted to take my boy to the bowling alley last weekend and was woefully unaware of the local bowling offerings. We ended up going to Circle Lanes in Forest Park and had a decent (though not awesome) time.

So here I am, starting a blog with the intention of reviewing and posting about kid-oriented activities in the Chicagoland area, especially those close to Oak Park.

Please do post your comments and ideas and thank you for looking!