Pickleball The States

May 19 2022 - How far would we go to play pickleball in North Dakota? If we took the direct route, it would have been 750 miles and 11 hours behind the wheel. However, this trip involved stops in three other states to play pickleball. The itinerary we chose consisted of 1,700 miles and 26 hours of driving. We had been monitoring the What's App communication for play at Brunsdale, Tintes and Rustad for weeks. Our preference for play is outside when the weather cooperates. You can't always count on Mother Nature to grant your wishes, so when we plan we like to have an outdoor and indoor option. The weather for this Thursday was questionable and Rustad Recreation Center had open play 10:00-1:00, which worked well since our day was starting in Sioux Falls SD located 3.5 hours away. When we arrived at Rustad, there were 4 players banging away on one of the courts and it seemed like their court was going to be the same foursome for the remainder of the morning. There were a couple of

  May 18 2022 - Honest, we had a great time playing at Peterson Park in Lincoln NE. We're sure Abraham Lincoln would have enjoyed a game of pickleball here as well.  Although we were one day ahead in our schedule, things started looking grim as we left our hotel in Percival IA for the hour drive to Peterson Park in Lincoln NE. Our left rear tire had an unusually low psi warning on the dash (grateful for auto computer systems which monitor this!), low enough that we knew something was wrong. We made it to Nebraska City NE where we found out that the tire was damaged on the inside wall and needed to be replaced. Thankfully it didn't take long and we were on our way. When we arrived, we quickly encountered Cherri and Miriam who were gracious enough to play with us. They gave us some good play and it helped take our minds off our earlier problems. It was enjoyable playing with them and look forward to meeting them again on the court someday. As we found out later, both had played t

  May 17 2022 - Chicken N Pickle in Overland Park KS. For many pickleball players, a visit to a Chicken N Pickle is on their list of places to visit. It was for us as well. Our plan was to play in Topeka KS, but we decided to check out Chicken N Pickle in Overland Park first.  We had heard that there was no open play at Chicken N Pickle. Unfortunately it was just the two of us. We didn't have two others to play with, but we arrived at noon and surveyed the facility. They had indoor and outdoor courts. We noticed there were a couple of young men playing on one of the outdoor courts, so we asked if they wanted a foursome. They were up for a few games with us. Ryan S and Ryan M, pastors at Reach Church in De Soto KS, were there taking a break from work and honing their skills on the court. Ryan S had been playing for awhile. You could tell he was a good player with his choice of a Paddletek paddle. Ryan M was fairly new to the game, but was playing well. We played three games with the

  May 16 2022 Harvard Ave Christian Church has a vibrant group of skilled players. With a group of 16+ on three indoor courts, they use rally scoring to 15 to move the games along and get players rotated into play. We are used to traditional scoring and playing to 11, so we got a quick refresher on rally scoring.  There is no tolerance for mistakes in rally scoring because it advances the opponents score. Once you are down, it is harder to get back up. All the Harvard players were skilled and gave us some really good play. As a couple, we enjoy playing other couples. We had an enjoyable time playing with Greg and Kim even though we lost both games we played with them.  One of the three courts at Harvard Ave Christian Church is a challenge court, and that is where Greg spent the majority of his time. Greg and Kim played well together and we would love another chance to play them. Not only are they great players, they are friendly and welcoming. It is likely that their faith plays a hu