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 tournaments and placed within the top three of their categories.
Jim and Brad were our next challenge. They certainly showed us how pickleball was played at Peterson Park. They were a couple of jokers as well. They were able to trick Harold into believing they were part of the witness protection program and couldn't have their photos posted on social media.
Our third game was a mixed doubles with Miriam and Brad. We were fairly well matched in that game. The game went to 12-10.
Jim and Dave were our fourth match up. No easy points in this game either. We felt right at home with the skill level of the players at Peterson Park.
Leading up to our visit in Lincoln, we had been in frequent communication with Bill Roehrs, our contact for play in Lincoln. He was extremely helpful. Bill was busy this particular morning teaching individuals new to the game at other parks in the area, but had hoped to be able to get over to Peterson Park and play with us before we left. We are glad he was able to make that work. He and Stan gave us a couple of real good games. It was nice to be able to meet the individual behind the voice that that was so helpful. A number of pickleball courts in Lincoln use PlaytimeScheduler.com to indicate when and where individuals are playing. Peterson is one of those parks where you can always count on players being there, so it's not used so much for these courts. Getting players to use a tool like PlaytimeScheduler can be a challenge initially. Often Facebook, text messaging, Team Reach and What's App are being used since that may have been the tool available at the time. PlaytimeScheduler is pickleball specific and can be used by anyone, particularly new players to the area to find where play is occurring.
After play, we picked up a bite to eat at a regional fast food place called Runza. A Runza is a bread pocket sandwich. It was an interesting sandwich. We are glad we tried it.
Our next pickleball play was in Fargo ND, seven hours away. We decided to drive 3.5 hours and spend the night in Sioux Falls SD and then drive the remaining 3.5 hours the next morning to Fargo.
We arrived in Sioux Falls with enough time to do some cycling. We went to beautiful Falls Park and rode along the Big Sioux River. An enjoyable bike ride even with a few sprinkles at the beginning.
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