Amarillo TX #45 - Blown Away

 

April 25 2023 - According to The Weather Station Experts, Amarillo TX is the windiest city in the USA. That could explain why we were unable to find players at the Amarillo Tennis Center for some outdoor play. The staff there was friendly but it didn't look like any players were going to show up. We had already struck out at the Warford Activity Center. Fortunately we had been able to play a game of pickleball in Denton TX, but we were not wanting to add TX to the list of states we had played pickleball in with just the bare minimum of one game. While at the Amarillo Tennis Center, we called  Amarillo Netplex. There was open play going on so we headed that way.  Just as we arrived, play was winding down and they were ready to call it a day. The staff walked back to the courts with Barb where she shared our story with four lovely ladies that were gracious enough to stay for a few more games. The staff was very friendly and also interested in our adventure. We were blown away with the friendliness we encountered. We are grateful to Cathy, Sabra, Jay and Dolores for playing a few games with us. Their skill level matched well with ours. Over the last few years, we have noticed that the skill level of players has increased. I'm sure that the consistent play that these ladies have had was a huge contributor to their skill level. 

Our first game was with Sabra and Jay. We like playing outside, so we had a slight adjustment to make playing on the gym floor with an indoor ball. Amarillo Netplex is generous and provides pickleballs for the players. If the balls go off to the other end of the gym though, you have a ways to go to chase them down.

Our second game was with Cathy and Dolores. Playing with all these ladies put a smile on our faces. We are so glad we were able to play with them and are grateful to them for staying a while longer. That likely gave us an unfair advantage of being fresh while they had been playing a couple of hours.

Jay and Sabra had fun trying out some of the Paddletek demo paddles we had with us. I think they were impressed. Well, at least that's what we think since we are brand ambassadors for Paddletek. Did we mention that if you purchase online from Paddletek, you can get 10% off by using the code RODGERS10?

It was Doug and Lucille who secured our TX play in Denton. They were drilling for an upcoming tournament but had compassion on us and agreed to play a quick game. The weather was excellent and so was their play. We were grateful to at least be able to score a couple of points against them. We hope the tournament went well. 

Thanks Doug & Lucille.

Texas is a huge state. We would drive for miles and miles at 75 mph with the barren countryside and occasional herd of cattle. The trip from Shreveport LA to Denton TX to Amarillo TX was long enough that we wanted an overnight stop along the way. Wichita Falls TX seemed to be a midway point, and they had a bike trail. After checking into our hotel, we quickly headed to nearby Lucy Park and rode  the Wichita Falls Trail. It's a beautiful trail that follows the Wichita River. When it begins to follow Holiday Creek, the trail is nice, but not as picturesque. By the time we returned to Lucy Park, it was dark enough we had to use our lights.