Favorite place to have fun, GO!
Other than friends' houses, I can't think of too many places to be honest. A lot of the things I used to do around here were pre-Covid, like bar trivia with friends. I'd love to go swimming more, but there are no lakes around here and the water is usually ice cold anyway if you do travel to a river or lake. I don't actually go to arcades all that often, but there are a bunch in the area, and here are a couple favorites:
I couldn't find a newer image of Ground Kontrol, this is from a few years ago before they expanded. Anyway, it's a barcade that is fairly well-known in the Pacific Northwest. I suppose the main attraction is the Killer Queen machine, but they have a pretty good pinball scene too. It has all the gimmicky video game-themed food and drinks you'd expect, though they are pretty basic. I figured when I moved to Portland I'd come here all the time for Rock Band nights(it was a decade ago) and trivia, but that costs money and something becomes less special when you can go see it whenever I guess.
Hard to find a good picture of this place also. It's Next Level Pinball, a giant arcade that also kind of lives up to the museum tagline. It's family-friendly and you buy a day pass instead of paying per play, so that's nice. It's huge, so there are dozens of pinball machines and at least a couple dozen arcade machines, with some newer stuff like the giant Space Invaders cabinet. There are posters EVERYWHERE on the walls, as well as a ton of sealed action figures on the higher walls and in display cases up above. It can be a little overwhelming if you look at them too long, even the walls of the bathrooms are lined with things to look at. I can't tell if they are things from the owner's personal collection over the decades or if they were purchased just to display here. Coming here is a good way to spend a day if you're looking to kill time or get out of the heat in the summer.
Hmm. I really need to get out more. Not much point in living near a big city if you don't go out and do stuff, although I'm pretty used to being a semi-hermit these days.
