Pickleball The States

  June 20, 2018  Since we were travelling through IL on our way home from Branson MO, we determined to add it as #4 in our Pickleball the States endeavor. We had relatives in the Peoria area where we could spend the night, so courts in that area would be ideal. I joined the Peoria Area Pickleball Info FB group to assist me in finding a location to play. It turned out that Birchwood Park in Morton seemed to be a good location. There was good communication on FB leading up to the day we would be there. There were a few players that had committed to play and the skill level was comparable to ours. Then, the day of our scheduled play the dreaded FB message came. "Harold I think we're rained out." It had been raining prior to our arrival late afternoon and we were unsure now if any players would show up. One of our requirements in checking a state off our list is to play with other players, so the two of us playing would not qualify IL as our fourth state. We arrived at the co

  June 18, 2018  Our trip to Branson MO was one of being duped into a timeshare sales pitch. So we determined to be resolute in our decision not to buy into it. It's interesting how they are so friendly at the beginning and then their demeanor changes to nasty when they realize that they won't be making a sale. But we made the best of the trip by seeing Sampson at Sight and Sounds, kayaking on Taneycomo Lake (which is shaped more like a river) and locating a place to play pickleball. The location was at Branson Sports Club. The courts were in a gym sharing a basketball floor. We knew nothing about the players, but we were able to rotate into games rather quickly. It was showtime for us. We got over our nervousness and enjoyed our time there. One of the players had a serve that reminded me of a person bowling the way her right leg came across and behind her left leg when serving. We also met another couple, Janelle & Mark, from Portland OR. We had the pleasure of playing wit