Oh, the irony.  When I moved here 9 months ago, I was stoked.  Sunset Bowl was a pretty good bowling alley; a mere 5 minutes away, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Not only that, but weekend bowling was dirt cheap so long as you showed up before 10AM.

I speak of it in the past tense, as it is soon to become victim of one of the cold hard realities of zoo-like urban living in a land mass that was never intended for it.  A few weeks from now, it'll be shutting down, making way for yet another pile of high-density housing monstrosities that are popping up everywhere.  With each passing month, there are more and more people packing in to this area with nowhere to go but up.  As the sheep roll in, past-times such as bowling roll out, leaving behind only America's two favorite past-times; eating and drinking.  Sunset Bowl could very well be the last decent bowling alley in Seattle, and it'll soon be gone.

That's right; Seattle, "home" of the Professional Bowlers Association.  Not only do we have no tour stop on the schedule, but it would now appear that there will be no opportunity for one in the future.

A few weeks ago, I stopped at a number of places in the area, trying to figure out where I was going to go once the masses trample over my alley of choice.  West Seattle Bowl, though recently remodeled, ended their remodelling efforts at the foul line.  The first 15 feet of their ancient wooden lanes look like the surface of the moon; no chance for a consistent roll whatsoever as your ball bounces its way through the heads.  The Garage is simply a bar with bowling pins at one end of the room.  The only place in Seattle proper I've yet to try is AMF Imperial Lanes which is located in a somewhat seedy area of the city.  As it stands, it's Seattle's last hope as far as I know.

Nearby communities have a few offerings. One was a very nice, modern facility that turned out to be nothing more than a very expensive playground for screaming kids.  At $25/hour, I think I'll take up golf; thanks.  In fact, most of the offerings just outside the city are quite expensive.  The only promising prospect I've seen so far is Robinhood Lanes in Edmonds.  The prices are decent ($15/hour) and the facility seems fairly well maintained and not too terribly out-dated.  We'll see how long that lasts.

End rant.

My Dexter SST 4s are shot. Actually, they've been that way for quite some time. I've had them for roughly 2 years, and unfortunately can't say much for them in terms of durability. The insole has peeled back, the lining behind the heel has opened up, exposing some rather abrasive threads, and the "finish" on what is supposedly a leather exterior wore off within a month of buying them, exposing a light blue surface beneath. I could swear these shoes were spray-painted.

Now secure in my decision to try another brand, I ordered a pair of Linds Wedge shoes; Linds having a reputation for creating a very durable (if not rather stiff) shoe. A prominent bowling supply website suggested that Linds run about a half size large, while Dexters are true to size. My 9 1/2 Dexters fit pretty cozy on my rather small feet, so I requested the Wedge in the same size, figuring I was plenty safe. I would have bought these from a pro shop so I could first try them on, but I've never seen a pro shop in which these were carried; much less for lefties such as myself.

If you have never tried Linds shoes, here's a word of caution (or encouragement, depending on how your feet are built). These shoes are VERY, VERY NARROW. True to the recommendation of the aforementioned website, they ran about 1/2 size big... Length-wise. I had a good 1 1/2" of clearance between my toes and the front of the shoe. However, my toes were being squished together to the point where they were practically overlapping each other by the sidewalls of these shoes.

So, it's return time for these sardine cans. Since I don't feel like going through a lengthy process of multiple exchanges, I'm going back to Dexter for the time being. I guess I'll see if the SST 7s hold up any better than the 4s.