Monday at the Wiens

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Labor Day found us at the Wiens on High Rock Lake in Lexington (NC).  We had about ten players and nice weather, unlike Sunday's washout in Winston-Salem.  Joseph and James drove down from Winston-Salem, along with Joseph's unofficial godson, John.  It was John's first time to play petanque, but he was soon in the spirit of things and cheering on his teammates with the best of them.

Khalid joined us from Concord and Randy, Leesa, Terry, Sue, Shirley and I rounded out the field.  It was particularly good to see Randy and Leesa out on the courts and doing well after an extended absence from the group.

Terry and Sue hosted the event in their usual over-the-top way, doing much more than was necessary to make everyone at home and well-attended.  We started play before lunchtime and stopped for a sandwich lunch around 1:00.  Play continued throughout the afternoon and we found ourselves still there at supper time, so Terry fired up the grill for a traditional holiday meal of burgers and hotdogs.

Good people, good fun, good times!

Stormy Sunday

Lee and Bill

Travis (Lee looks on)

Heather takes the shot

We had a delightful family of walk-up players join us for a game at Miller park on Sunday.  Three generations from Winston-Salem, Atlanta, and Denver (CO) were making a stroll through the park when Shirley grabbed them and made them play (well, not literally-- but almost).  Lee and Travis did well, but Gramps (Bill) was particularly good!

They were probably lucky that they only had time for one game.  After they left. the storms set in for the rest of the afternoon.  We waited through the first wave and even resumed play for a little while.  Then the next wave came and shortened our day.  Oh well, stuff happens!

Beach Music

Too Much Sylvia

The Catalinas

 There's really no petanque connection to these snapshots, other than the fact that our Labor Day weekend guests (Bobby and Peggy, Danny and Sue), along with Terry and Sue and us, spent the Saturday after our Friday night petanque play watching some Carolina beach bands at the Rowan County Fairgrounds.

We saw "The Catalinas,"  "The Tim Clark Band," and "Too Much Sylvia" perform and enjoyed every one of them-- but, especially "Too Much Sylvia."  They do a great show and play a little rock along with their beach music.  For instance:  check out their "ZZ Top" takeoff in the last photo!

Our Lexington Home

We had Bobby, Peggy, Danny, and Sue for houseguests on Friday and Saturday night before Labor Day.  Here are a few snaps of Friday night play.  Our Lexington friends, Terry and Sue, also joined us.

Lexington, NC

Shirley and I spent a little time on Thursday afternoon playing with and teaching the kids at the Robbins Recreation Center in Lexington.  Adults are also welcome.  We'll be there again this Thursday around 4:30.

Charlotte, NC

Khalid, Shirley, and I had another Nevin Park practice session on Thursday morning.  The park has five, seldom-used bocce/petanque courts and is near enough to Khalid's Charlotte (Concord area) home to be convenient.  Get in touch with us via e-mail at CarolinaPetanque@yahoo.com if you'd like to join us next time.

Boone, NC

Last Wednesday night, Shirley and I decided to make the drive up from where we were visiting in Lincolnton, NC, to Boone, NC, in order to play with Kristi, Cruz, and friends.  Cruz built a backyard court a short while back, and he and Kristi invited us to come up and play some Wednesday evening.

Since the drive from Lincolnton was only a little over an hour, we decided to surprise them by taking them up on their invitation.  They've been hosting on a regular basis on Wednesday nights, and this particular Wednesday found a large and enthusiastic group of players attending.  Cruz had chicken and hotdogs on the grill of a beautiful, outdoor fireplace and Kristi warmed the crowd with homemade salsa-- the heat coming from peppers they grew themselves in a backyard garden.

Besides the players who live relatively close to Boone (Kirk, Bo, and Parker; Uijin,, Lauren, and Sophia;  Angela), Augustin, Marc, and Juan had made the drive up from Hickory.

Kristi and Cruz have a nice place only a few hundred yards from downtown Boone, but one might think he was in a much more rural area once inside their fenced-in backyard.  They have a greenhouse, large garden area, small pond feature, heck, even a few chickens (!), as well as exotic foliage like banana plants in their backyard area.

With all this, plus a grassy play area and a cement basketball area for the kids, they were still able to squeeze in a well-lighted petanque court.  Actually, they have two courts, because a short practice area abuts their brick patio and can be used  for gameplay by playing from the patio pavers when the crowd warrants.

If you ever expect to be in the Boone area on a Wednesday evening when the gang might be playing, get in touch with us at CarolinaPetanque@yahoo.com and we'll check it out for you.