Pickleball The States

 May 3-8 2021 This was our fourth multi state pickleball tour. It's essential to plan ahead, make local contacts and then be flexible. I am extremely thankful for those individuals who are local contacts, many of which are pickleball ambassadors. They are the reason these trips are successful. Originally, this was going to be an eleven state tour, but the time it would take did not mesh well with other already planned events we had in May. So, we chose to do NY, VT, NH and ME at another time. Perhaps in the fall. While we did take time for other activities which included visits with family and friends, we regret that we didn't take more time for local sightseeing.  Monday May 3rd Unless absolutely necessary, I like to limit our driving to 4-5 hours at a time, no more than 6 hours a day, and no night driving. This made a stop at Cuyahoga Valley National Park a great option. We brought our bikes with us, but the morning rain put a damper on any riding. We settled for a little wa

Saturday May 8 2021 11:00am Early in the morning we played at Edgewater Pool & Tennis in Raynham MA then drove about 45 minutes to play late morning in Bristol RI. Our original plans had us playing in Narragansett RI on Sunday morning at Clarke St Pickleball Courts, but we decided to travel home earlier than planned. I was able to connect with Cliff Tiexeira and he welcomed us to play at the Bristol Town Square. They had six courts originally built for tennis. There were enough players that the courts were filled and rotation was tracked on a whiteboard. Cliff was extremely welcoming and within minutes we were on the court playing with him and Bernard, pictured above (Bernard center and Cliff right).  Our second game was with Jon and Ellen. We had the advantage since Barb and I play as a couple all the time and this may have been the first time Jon and Ellen were partners. We had a good time playing with them. Hopefully they enjoyed playing with us. Our last game was with Tom and R

Saturday May 8 2021 9:00am Our Saturday morning play was originally scheduled at Lakeville Athletic Club in Lakeville MA. When I checked with Kim the day before, she let me know that the play had been moved to Edgewood Pool and Tennis Club due to a tennis program at Lakeville Athletic Club. It is situations like this that make us appreciate contacts who keep us informed of changes that we might not be aware of.  The courts at Edgewood are nestled back in the woods which provided a nice setting. When we arrived, there were already a couple of games going and we could tell from the play that these would be formidable opponents. We were able to work into a game with Mike and Karen and quickly went down 3-11. It was a warm up game, right? So we switched sides and did it again. We did better scoring 7 before taking the loss.  Even though we suffered two losses, we thoroughly enjoyed playing with Mike and Karen. Great players. Great attitude. Fun to play with. We had time for another game

Friday May 7 2021 10:00am When we arrived at Tunix Hill Park in Fairfield CT a little before 9:00am, we saw a ball field, but couldn't see any pickleball courts. We did see a hill beyond the ball field and a few cars parked there, so we went around the wooded corner and up the hill and voila! There were the pickleball courts down the hill just out of sight from from where we first encountered the park, and players were on the court which is a good sign. We saw 4 dedicated courts with permanent nets, another good sign. As we approached the courts, we could see some beginners on one end, some intermediate players in the middle and three players on the opposite end chatting. It was obvious that they had been playing and were possibly finished. Barb and I walked over and gave a brief explanation of our endeavor to play pickleball in all 50 states. Two of the individuals were Mark and Barb and they had just finished playing having started at 7:00am, yet, they were willing to play a few

  Thursday May 6 2021 3:30 After playing in the morning in Newark, we headed to Cherry Hill NJ. We were scheduled to play in the evening at 5:00 on the DeCou Fields courts, but hoped to play earlier so that we could make the drive to Fairfield CT before sunset. We arrived at about 1:00 and found some advanced players on the courts. They indicated that at 3:00 there were likely to be other players there and we should be able to get in some open play. So, we headed off to Verdant Cafe for some lunch. Returning at 3:00 did provide us with a substantial group of players to work into some open play. Eric was very welcoming and we joined with him and Walt for our first game. We played well despite having played earlier that day in Newark DE and Barb's hamstring complaining  about how much stress and pressure she was giving it to score some points. Barb and I then split up for a game. Barb and Noah were partners and Lou and I took them on. The older guys were not able to match the skill

 Thursday May 6 2021 10:00am This was one of those days where you wanted to have a backup plan. A plan to play inside if the weather was not conducive to playing pickleball. While it was a cool morning, it wasn't the temperature that had us concerned, it was the wind. We arrived at Deacon's Walk Park in Newark DE a little before 9:00. No one was there. It was our understanding on days when the weather doesn't cooperate, they move play indoors at the Fraim Center for Active Adults. This was a 20 minute drive so we headed there. When we arrived no one was there to play, and then we were informed that play was scheduled for 11:00. We hung around a bit while they attempted to make contact with their pickleball peeps. At 9:30, we decided to head back to Deacon's Walk Park. We were delighted when we saw a couple players on the court, and were thrilled when they agreed to play a game with us. Thanks George for playing with us. By the time we were finished with our game other p

 Wednesday May 5 2021 9:00am It was one of those days when outdoor play would have been questionable. It had been raining and the pavement was wet. Fortunately today's play was scheduled inside at the Trinity Rec Center. When we arrived, we were welcomed by Jim. We were supposed to have signed up ahead of time since players were limited due to the pandemic. We shared with Jim that our endeavor was to play pickleball in each of the fifty states and he was kind enough to let us play even though we had not signed up previously. The play at the Trinity Rec Center was for intermediate players and we felt comfortable fitting in. Due to the number of courts and the number of players, games were to 9 instead of 11. All of  the players we met were cordial and it was like we were regular players.  Pictured here are Ray and Jim, Mike and Rob, Chris and Jan. One of the conditions of play due to the pandemic was that you could play with the mask off, but when waiting to play you had to have you

 Tuesday May 4, 2021 9:30am We arrived early at PISA and were the first ones there. We were greeted by Jennifer who told us that players were hit and miss since the pandemic. This was not what we wanted to hear, and with good weather outside, perhaps they were playing somewhere else. We had a backup location in mind if this one did not work out.  There were at least three indoor courts that had multiple uses and therefore multiple lines. It was kind of crazy identifying which lines were for pickleball. We didn't wait long before a couple players showed up. Lisa and Amy were going to drill since they were signed up for the upcoming CTPA tournament  June 4-6 2021 in Cranberry PA. They were playing women's doubles in the 3.0 skill level. They were kind enough to play three games with us for which we were grateful. They were delightful opponents, a pleasure to play against and we wish them well in their tournament. The courts at CTPA look amazing. On our way to play pickleball in