Lucky Strike

The other Sunday was a successful outing snatched from the jaws of defeat. Our initial plan was to visit the London Aquarium, which doesn't get the ravest reviews, but is supposedly quite large, has its fair share of sharks, and has at least one fish that looks like Nemo, which is basically the only thing young kids care about or remember anyway. Almost needless to say, the Jubilee Line of the Tube was under repair for the weekend and ran only to Green Park, well short of our destination at Waterloo Station. Clearly informing us of that before we went through the turnstile would have been nice, but the oxymoron of British customer service continues to play out predictably and painfully.

We finally got to the aquarium, which ended up being in the same area as the London Eye (still haven't gone) as well as what appeared to be many other family attractions, all along the south bank of Thames, from which you get spectacular views of the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Not at all unlike the whole Navy Pier experience, with lots to do (albeit touristy) and great views of the Chicago skyline. We've been here in London with small children for eight months, so the fact that we've not visited this area renders us either progressive or clueless.

It was really cold and windy that day and the line for the aquarium snaked down the sidewalk for at least 100 yards - way too long a wait with the kids in tow. So we popped into another building next door with a McDonald's (McNuggets are a legit parenting bribe, no?) and there we stumbled across a big indoor play place with lots of games and - you guessed it - bowling. Strangely enough, though McDonald's was a mob scene, the arcade wasn't all that busy.

Ben loves to bowl and this place had short lanes with light balls, so it was perfect for him and Zach. Even Sarah got in the mix. To boot, it was two pounds for ten frames (compared to 48 pounds for the "family budget" option over at the aquarium - that dry British sense of irony never ceases to amuse), so this could well rank as the most cost-effective family entertainment in town. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.