Pickleball The States

 January 2023 With the permacloud covering northern Indiana, it was an expedient time to flee south for some sun, blue skies, palm trees and pickleball. For years we have desired to visit the Florida Keys but have never made the trip even though we had been to southern FL numerous times. With friends now living in Big Pine Key and one of them unofficially "The Mayor of Pickleball" in Big Pine we pulled together plans to visit the Keys. Our first play was in Big Pine Key, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity to play also in Key West, the Southernmost pickleball court in the continental US. As we hung our pickleball bag on the fence in Key West and placed our paddle in the rotation rack, we were observing play and noticed that the three courts on the south side were more skilled than most of those on the north. This was not a coincidence. We soon found out that the south courts were 'challenge courts.' The two players winning a game stayed on the court while

 January 14 2023 Escaping to the Florida Keys in the middle of a northern Indiana winter is not a difficult decision to make. Blue skies, beaches and warmer climates are all good choices. Well, two out of three isn't bad. We happened to arrive when the temperatures were in the 40s and 60s, but still better than back home. Having friends Ed and Dar living on Big Pine Key made it an easy choice where we would spend some of our time catching up. With Ed having the popularity of being "The Mayor of Pickleball" on Big Pine was an added bonus. The three dedicated courts at Blue Heron Community Park were located inland and protected from much of the wind that was occurring during our stay. The players were friendly and challenging with most at or above 3.5.  They have a nice set up for their rotation system using a paddle holder and indicator of which group is next. Many locations use a paddle grouping system, but few look as good or are as sturdy as this system. Another aspec