September 29 - October 7 2021
This is our 5th multi state pickleball tour and is an overall summary of both pickleball and other activities. For more detailed info on pickleball in specific states, click the links included in the summary.
Wednesday September 29 2021
Our first day was a 4.5 hour drive to
Cuyahoga Valley National Park just south of Cleveland OH where we spent the afternoon riding the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath and then a hike to Ledges to watch the sunset. We previously had been rained out on our attempt to ride the Towpath when we went on our
Eastern States Pickleball Tour. Looking forward to returning to bike more of the Towpath.
Thursday September 30 2021
We arrived in the Rochester NY area in plenty of time to bike the
Genesee Riverway Trail before heading to the courts in Greece NY for some pickleball play. We enjoy taking our bikes along with us and finding trails to ride during our non-pickleball time. This trail begins on the pier at Lake Ontario and continues down through Rochester NY. We biked as far as the Lower Falls particularly enjoying the ride on the boardwalk along the river.
Greece NY #33 - Great courts and friendly players. Meg photobombed our photo with players Tom and Patty. She, along with Trish, were our next couple to play, and they are known as "The Tough Ladies." They were. They had been watching us play and knew what to expect. They quickly were ahead at 10-3. Keeping our cool, we stuck with our normal game hoping to get a few more points before accepting a loss. We managed to score 7 points before turning the serve back to them. Miraculously we held them and then finished the game with the two winning points. We enjoyed our time playing here and would recommend this pickleball community as a great place to play.
Friday October 1 2021
The drive from Greece NY to Bennington VT was about a 4hour drive, and the only thing on our agenda was a stop at
Saratoga Historical National Park where we took an 11 mile bike ride on the one way tour road. The weather was favorable and we had no time table pressuring us. There was very little traffic on the one-way road and the vistas were fascinating. We did the audio tour and made the most of each stop. In addition to historical sights, we caught a glimpse of some deer along the way. Another bonus of our visit was that there weren't a lot of tourists that particular day. For the most part, the route was easy. However, the last mile or so had some challenging inclines and for a short distance we were on a road outside the park which fortunately wasn't busy with traffic.
Saturday October 2 2021
Bennington VT #34 - Vermont holds a special place in our lives. Harold's mother grew up in VT and as as a child, there was the annual 2 week summer vacation in VT to connect with relatives. When Barb and Harold married, they honey-mooned in VT. While Bennington was not in the area of the state where all our connections were, it was still special. Covid-19 was still a concern to players in Bennington, but being fully vaccinated and playing outside was a benefit for everyone. When the weather is nice, they play at Paradise Inn. When colder temperatures or precipitation prevail, it's indoor play at
The Mill. The Mill is limited to one court, so scheduling play is critical. A short walk from Paradise Inn, where we stayed, is the cemetery where Robert Frost is buried. Near his grave, his poem "In A Disused Graveyard" was displayed. He was an extraordinary poet touching the lives of many. While we were not able to take the elevator to the top of the Bennington Battle Monument or walk up the stairs, it was an enjoyable visit. This monument can be seen from miles away. Our last stop in Bennington was at
The Blue Benn. Unique dining is always a plus on our trips. Our time in Bennington VT is now added as one more 'special place' in our lives.
Manchester NH#35 -The plan was to play in Manchester NH on Sunday morning. Anxious to get on the road earlier on Sunday, we decided to drive over to Rock Rimmon after checking into our room. We were fortunate to find a few players there. While they were fairly new to the game, we were all able to play at a level that wasn't totally awkward. After a number of games, we took a stroll along the Riverwalk. Barb snuggled up to the memorial of Ralph Baer who was a video game pioneer. We finished the day dining at Beijing Cuisine where we had the best egg rolls we have ever eaten.
Sunday October 3 2021
We attempted to get some pickleball in on Sunday, but the dreary, rainy day denied us. We had confirmed that there would be outdoor play at Pegasus Landing in Brunswick ME and that the players would be at our skill level. As we drove from Manchester NH to Brunswick ME we hoped that the rain would have missed Brunswick. It had not. We would now have to locate another ME location for play in the next few days. In the meantime, we continued to explore ME. We headed to nearby Mae's Cafe & Bakery in Bath ME for breakfast. Seems like all of Bath had the same idea. We settled for a couple of Wild Berry Scones and coffee to go. Our planned lunch stop was Red's Eats in Wiscasset ME for a Lobster Roll. It's so popular that people will wait an hour or more in line to place an order that they could then eat at outdoor picnic tables. We arrived 30 minutes before they opened and were third in line. There would be no outdoor dining today due to the light rain falling. The two parties ahead of us spent more than $200 on lobster rolls. At $36 a sandwich, it only takes a handful. It was fun, but we wouldn't make it a daily choice. After eating the lobster roll in our car, we headed off to Pemaquid Lighthouse Park. Normally on a day like today they wouldn't be allowing visitors to climb up into the lighthouse due to wet shoes on iron stairs. We were fortunate to be able to go to the top. Only one group at a time. We had reserved a cottage for the night at Moody's in Waldoboro ME which was about 45 minutes away taking the scenic route along the jagged coast. Moody's Diner was also recommended to us by our friend David Sjoberg who formerly lived in Maine. My uncle Calvin who hauled granite throughout New England had eaten here many a time, so it was sort of a must. There is a group in Waldoboro that play pickleball at the First Baptist Church, however they play on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.
Monday October 4 2021
Our schedule had us spending the afternoon at
Acadia National Park which was about 2.5 hours from Waldoboro. We also had planned to play pickleball in Orlando ME on Tuesday morning. It sure would be nice though if we could get our fourth and last state on this trip completed Monday morning somewhere between Waldoboro and Bar Harbor ME. We saw that there might be play at 9:00 Monday morning at Belfast City Park in Belfast ME, so we headed there hoping some players would show up.
Belfast ME #36 became a reality. It was an enormous relief to get this checked off our list. We made it to Acadia around noon and planned to connect with friends Dan and Kristine Geans from back home. It became more of a challenge than we anticipated with a busy park and spotty phone coverage, but we made it happen and enjoyed our brief hike with them. It just so happens that Kristine created our Pickleball The States map, displayed at the end of this post, on which we track the states where we've played. The rest of the afternoon was spent biking the Carriage Roads in the park. They were simply amazing. Better than we had anticipated. A hearty bowl of Haddock Chowder was a great finish to the day before bedding down at The Sanctuary B&B which was once a nursing home in Ellsworth ME.
Tuesday-Thursday October 5-7 2021
With our pickleball play for this trip completed, we could now relax in Vermont with relatives and enjoy a little leaf peeping. The drive from Maine to Vermont was 4.5 hours, leaving enough time to bike from West Danville VT to Danville VT and back on the
Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, which will be New England's Longest Rail Trail once all sections are completed. We will want to bike more of it at another time. We went apple picking at
Burtt's Apple Orchard in Cabot VT with my cousin Kevin and his wife Cherie. While picking apples, we discovered a new favorite, Pixie Crunch. We also hiked
Owl's Head where we got a panoramic view of the colors. We had a delightful afternoon with Uncle Hamilton and Aunt Thelma. Hamilton is still making maple syrup at age 83. His sugar shack is pictured here. This year, it took 60 gallons of sap to make one gallon of Vermont Pure Maple Syrup. That is twice the normal amount of sap needed. Upon the recommendation of pickleball player Jennifer in Belfast ME, we took the ferry across Lake Champlain. Unfortunately it was a foggy morning and we couldn't be amazed by the view. We would have settled for a sighting of
Champ, Lake Champlain's version of the Loch Ness Monster, but we were not that fortunate. As an alternative to the Interstates, we took NY 8 through the Adirondacks enjoying the scenery and having a picnic lunch in Speculator NY on the shore of Lake Pleasant. It was a great tour with much more than pickleball.
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