With our newfound breathing room (the additional pages we've been blessed with) we thought it was about time to give you guys a taste of more of the lifestyle that we mini-truckers live from day to day. What do we do to blow off some steam when our trucks have gotten the best of us? How about a little mini-trucker bowling?
For the past seven years Northeast mini-truckers have loaded up their coolers and gone bowling. What do mini-truckers and bowling have in common, you ask? Well, let's look at the obvious. You can hang out inside where it's warm and drink as many pitchers as possible without freezing to death. Not to mention, you don't have to be in top physical condition to roll a round object down an alley, although some people did find this to be a challenge. Every year Jeff King and the Pennsylvania chapter of Acrophobia get together at Chako's Bowling Alley in downtown Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to hold the East Coast Bowling Nationals (Bowling Nats), with chapters of Acro showing up from Ohio, New York, Delaware, North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Virginia to lend a helping hand.
Saturday afternoon, groups of mini-truckers started to roll into the unsuspecting town looking for hotels and the local refreshment store in preparation for the evening. Around 7:00 p.m. the bowling alley started to fill up with the first club members, representing Relaxed Atmosphere, Grounded4Life, East Coast Minis, Childhood Fantasies, Dream Setters, Low Rollers, CaliStyle, and numerous other clubs from all over the Northeast. The evening started innocently enough with all the clubs settling into their lanes to start bowling for some of the trophies that the Bowling Nats gives away each year.
Mini-truckers even rock customized...
Mini-truckers even rock customized bowling balls. We're very sick individuals.
After a couple of hours, though, the pitchers started to take effect, with interesting new bowling styles being invented, such as the two-man tandem bowl (the mini-trucker's way to pick up the 7/10 split), between-the-legs bowling, and, of course, the most popular: one hand on your beer and the other on the ball toss. In the early morning it was time to wrap up the Bowling Nats with the trophy presentation and saying goodbye to new and old friends alike. Some people carried the partying over to the local hotels and breakfast spots. Unfortunately, a few people were invited to not stay or eat there ever again.
Once again, Jeff King and the crew from Acrophobia PA have proven that you don't have to have your rides to have a good time and hang out with fellow mini-truckers. When next February rolls around and you are jonesing to hang out with some fellow mini-truckers, don't forget about the eighth annual East Coast Bowling Nationals. For more information, log on to www.acrophobia.net.
Top ten things John Jackson learned at this year's ECBN:
10. Excursions can drift sideways on interstates when slick.
9. Don't fall asleep with your mouth open around a mini-trucker.
8. Teeth are optional at breakfast places in the North, not just the South.
7. Jeff King is the king.
6. The road construction sign is the PA state logo.
5. In February it is too cold to think in PA at 3 a.m.
4. Beer flows like water in PA.
3. There are over 45 different ways to get to the Chako's from anywhere in Wilkes-Barre.
2. You can bowl pretty well while holding a beer in one hand.
1. Intercourse is actually a town in PA, not just a figment of mini-truckers' dreams.