Well, I’ve been rightfully bored. And I’m sure many others, including you, may have also been struggling to find ways to safely spend some good time out of the house. Sure, Netflix and games may have our backs when we’re at home, but we all gotta get out and enjoy time with others, and try new things, or celebrate nostalgic times. It’s difficult to feel safe, and it’s fully respectable to stay home and prevent the spread of Covid. Bless your soul! But if you’re truly about to go insane while at home, and need some time out, I’ve got a couple of ideas for you! As for myself, I enjoy spending plenty of time cozied up at home, enjoying whatever snacks n’ games I can pass the time with, and chatting with friends. But keeping active and making memories not from under our own rooftops are important as well, and keep us healthy, and happily social whenever we feel comfortable doing so! To start us off, there’s only one place I think about almost every weekend, that gets me excited to bring friends to, and truly just turn my brain off and have a blast. This is of course directed to more of the gaming side of recreational spots, but Espot arcade in Richmond has been a super fun place to head out to with friends, and they’ve got plenty of things to do that make the nightlife that much more fun!
Espot is located right on 8181 Cambie Rd. in Richmond, and is open right from 2 pm, to 2 am. All week long! They’ve got a huge selection of games to choose from, for however you like to spend your arcade time. Not to mention, they have a fantastic setup of billiards, and darts, for those who enjoy more bar-style games. I might have next to no idea how to play either, but I do still have fun with the crew while I’m there! If you’re looking for more traditional arcade games, they of course have setups for Skiball, a punching machine, basketball toss, space invaders, my favourite, Dance Dance Revolution, and tons of others! It’s an incredibly stacked lineup of rhythm games, classic fighting games, and everything else you can think that might be necessary! Not to mention, if you really can’t find what you normally enjoy, they also have PC setups for those who want to game away from home. Refresh yourself with some drinks or a snack at the counter, and then finish up with a powerful performance in the mini-karaoke booth! It’s soundproof plenty, and the rest of the arcade is noisy enough that you can scream ya lungs out, no worries. Everyone wears masks, and it’s fairly ventilated with all the doors open, plus fans! And multiple stations of sanitizer so you can keep your hands clean, and the buttons mashed. If you’re looking to close out your night with some fun arcade action, go ahead and check it out! I’m sure you’ll find a game to fall in love with, as I have.
Next up will be for the more movement-oriented people, who like to enjoy a bit of a workout with their recreation! Whenever we remember or wanna practice our swings, the guys and I will hit up the driving range! I’ve never been a huge golf kinda guy, but with social influence, just about anything can be fun! It’s been a great time learning a new sport, and I’m a bit of a natural! Who knows, maybe I’ll eventually get around to playing a full 18-holes! But for most of the pandemic, we’ve been hitting up the Musqueam golf academy which is close by, or we’ll hit up the Richmond driving range within the savage creek golf course. It’s perfectly suited for social distancing, as it’s outdoors and nicely spaced out between the slots for driving. Perfectly covid safe! It’s a solid workout, good practice for your swings, and cheap too! It’s less than $10 a bucket, and you can simply enjoy your time as you get some fresh air, and send those balls flying to release some stress. I know for a fact that I always feel better after launching a full bucket into the field. Try it out if ya ever feel like it’d help you relax!
There are many spots open to check out for sports-related activities. As we begin to reach a higher rate of vaccination, there are many places opening back up, and it’s fantastic that we’ve had so many more opportunities to enjoy our time outdoors! Even doing pitch n’ putt, has been an incredibly fun time! But enough about sports, maybe you’re not all that into golf, or whatever cool neat ball game out there. Who cares about sportsball anyway? I know just the place for you to burn off a whole bunch of energy. At Extreme Air Park, you can absolutely go crazy. Trampolines as far as the eye can see, and it’s a BLAST. I don’t believe I’m the fittest for being able to do plenty of sick flips or crazy cool trampoline tricks. But there were some basketball hoops, and getting the extra height from the trampolines to really dunk with all of your might, that’s the absolute best feeling to me. Gaining speed by hopping from trampoline to trampoline, wall-running and bouncing off the sides to keep momentum, feeling like a ninja until you hit a trampoline divider and almost die, but that’s what we all sign the waiver for right? It’s worthwhile to get out and focus on staying active, and getting away from the standard in-and-out of home life and work is an important part of mental health as well! It’s different for everyone of course, and again, plenty of respect, if you’re happy staying home, I’m glad you’re plenty comfortable and doing your part in staying safe. But if you’ve ever needed to find a way to get out, and explore something new during these harsh times, I hope this article helped ya at least somewhat. There are plenty of activities to enjoy now that we’re opening back up slowly, but I couldn’t wait to get out and explore. And hopefully, you get the chance to as well!