Pickleball The States

 January 10-15 2021 This was our third tour of multiple states. The Covid-19 Pandemic was still affecting travel with varying levels of restrictions in different areas. The plan was to hopefully take advantage of some warmer weather and outdoor play in some of the southern states. Our first state was 11 hours away and we took two days to travel there with stops in Georgetown KY and Pigeon Forge TN. We packed our bikes, thanks to a suggestion of our friend Gene, to ride some trails. This proved to be a great decision. Our first night in Georgetown KY allowed us to ride the rolling countryside on the Legacy Trail . While it was in the 30s, there were many out on the trail. We froze our toes. Looking forward to riding it again in the future.  Our second night was in Pigeon Forge TN where we hoped to take in a show, but the virus had most of them operating on a very limited schedule and were all sold out. The next morning we visited Smokey Mountain National Park before continuing on our wa

 January 15 2021 Play at the Greenbriar Event Center was scheduled for 9:00-12:00 on Friday morning. The drive from Tupelo MS to Greenbriar AR, which is north of Little Rock AR, was approximately 4.5 hours. We decided to drive to Brinkley AR on Thursday evening leaving us a 1.5 hour drive Friday morning. The Greenbriar Event Center is a beautiful facility with three pickleball courts marked out in the gym. There was no cost to play and the players were extremely friendly. Scott, pictured above in the back row, was very helpful in arranging play for us and he along with Larry battled it out with us on the court.  Our first game was against Gary and Amy who got us warmed up for the day. Amy has connections in northern IN where she had lived for awhile. We wished we had more time to play all the players here who were so friendly and welcoming. I was the odd one in this group of four. Linda & Julie made us work hard for all the points we scored. Good players and very friendly. We felt

 January 14 2021 4:00 We arrived in Tupelo with enough time to check out the location of the courts, get some ice cream at Bop's and make a quick visit to the birthplace of Elvis Presley. As the GPS took us closer and closer to Old Mill Town City Park, the word old was appropriate. We passed abandoned warehouses and decrepit boarded up homes. It was not a section of town where we would expect a pickleball court to be located. The courts were lined overtop basketball courts and the surface was full of cracks and deformities that would affect the bounce of the ball. No do-overs, you played the ball as it was. Parking was on the street and at a minimum. Players started arriving at 4:00 to set up nets and begin play to take advantage of the remaining hour or so of daylight. The players were very friendly and welcoming. Marty our contact was very helpful leading up to our play. They use Play Time Scheduler to arrange for play. He talked of the possibility of someday getting dedicated p

January 14 2021 The drive from Clarkesville GA to Huntsville was 4.5 hours, and Google Maps took us through Atlanta. We should have opted for one of the northern routes which took a bit longer, but would have been less congested. The scenery would likely have been better as well. Note to self, consider alternative routes in the future.  Originally we had planned to play outdoors at the Sandra Moon Community Complex, but when we arrived there were no players and we didn't even see any pickleball courts. We saw tennis courts, but no lines for pickleball. I called my contact at the Mark Russell Recreation Center and he gave me some general directions to his location. Again, Google Maps did not hit the mark, but with the helpful assistance of a local, we found our destination. We were the first to arrive at this fantastic new recreation center where there were no entrance fees which always appreciate. Our contact, Greg Parker,  at the center helped us get nets to set up on the gym flo

 January 13 2021 The trip from Greenville SC to Clarkesville GA was a short 1.5 hours, so making it there for 11:00 play was relaxing. The drive through the rolling countryside was enjoyable. While the temperatures were cool, the sun was shining which made for some fantastic play. Christine, pictured above was very welcoming and helpful as we arranged for our play at the Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center outdoor courts. Christine keeps quite busy organizing play at multiple locations and she is a peach that the pickleball community appreciates. Here she partnered up with John against Barb and me to show us that they can give us a competitive game by winning against us. The courts here are overlaid onto tennis courts and were in excellent shape. All the players at Clarkesville were welcoming and friendly. Jerry and John gave us our first game to get us warmed up. Then Gwen and John played us in some mixed doubles. As previously stated and shown in the photo at the top, John and Christine ga

 January 12 2021 A trip to southern states in the winter months is always a good option for those of us who live in northern Indiana. Florida is particularly nice, but it was state number 6 for us. So, we opted to get that row of states north of FL that were still on the list. Those states were South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. We then we added Arkansas for good measure. Greenville in the northern part of SC would be an 11 to 12 hour drive for us, so it was going to be a multi-day drive just to get to our first play. Along the route is Smokey Mountain National Park, so that would definitely be a stop. I determined that we would end our first day of driving in Georgetown KY which was where we added state number 9 . A friend had asked if we were taking our bikes. I hadn't planned on it, but the more I thought about it, the more it appealed. It was a good thing we did. There was the Legacy Trail which goes between Lexington and Georgetown. It was a fantastic trail ac