The Experience: As soon as you walk through the door, the ambience evokes almost-forgotten memories of bowling alleys of your past. The sound of the pins falling and bowlers celebrating or lamenting the last roll of the ball. The smell of the oiled lanes and spray used to sanitize the shoes. Later, the feel of the surprisingly heavy ball in your hands, the flat feel of the bowling shoes, the slippery texture of the approach to the lane. It is a treat to remember bowling expeditions of the past, even if your skills have become, perhaps, a little rusty. And it's more of a treat to introduce this experience to your children, minus the thick clouds of smoke. Westgate Lanes is a clean and well-maintained bowling alley in a convenient location on William Cannon. On our visit on a weekday afternoon, we found it to be a family-friendly establishment. For example, the staff there went and got a special lightweight ball for the kids when we got there. We had forgotten to bring socks, but there was a sock machine which sold adults' or kids' socks for $3 per pair, which we thought was a fun way to buy socks and quite convenient. It was easy to set up bumpers that rose when the kids were taking their turn and lowered during the adults' turn. (Of course, this lack of gutter balls could possibly result in the kids getting a higher score than the parents!) The scoring system was completely automated, so we could just sit back and watch our points add up (or not add up as the case may be). The children enjoyed watching the animations on the screen after each of our turns. The short animation that showed on the screen compared our roll of the ball to a charging bull or a ball falling through a trap door, among other silly images. This bowling alley is very popular and is often frequented by families, so your kids won't be the only ones there. There is also a youth bowling league there for ages 5 through college student. The bowling alley can fill up fast, and especially gets full when league bowling is going on, so try to plan for off times or call ahead to see if lanes are available.