Pickleball The States

Obviously, the state we live in will be the first state. Therefore Indiana becomes state #1. Living a few miles from the MI state line makes that a likely state #2. Our first pickleball experience was in the parking lot of Granger Community Church with portable nets and lines taped to the asphalt. We would chase balls forever and loose some into the sewer system. At times, the mosquitos would be unbearable.  Winter came and we had to move indoors. Ice Athletic Center was the place to play with courts taped on basketball courts and playtime during the day as well as in the evening. We were fortunate to have a township that had the interest in building four dedicated outdoor courts just a mile from where we live. This has become our outdoor place to play. The Ice Athletic Center closed and indoor play moved to the South Bend Racquet Club for us where lines were painted on the tennis courts and a championship dedicated court was built exclusively for pickleball play. Our first play in...

 In January 2019 my wife Barb and I retired. We had recently expanded our social circle by learning and loving to play pickleball.  What better endeavor in retirement than to see how many states in which we can play pickleball. We call it "Pickleball the States." Our goal is to play our last state, in the 50th state of the Union, Hawaii, as close to our 50th wedding anniversary which will happen in 2024.  This blog is a way to remember and share those experiences of playing in new places with new people.