Pictures from New Mexico- Saturday

Hey, I don't take the pictures, Shirley does!

Krystal and John

Sandy and Richard

 

Portland (OR) team, Philippe and Pierre Agnesse

Bruce and Carol from Los Angeles

19th hole in golf.  Petanque equivalent?  14th point?
 

Kirk and Bo finished the qualifying rounds at W2-L2.  One of the teams they played went on to win the tournament!  Shirley and I had a little bit easier draw, though a couple of teams gave us a real challenge, and wound up at W4-L0.

The big win of the day was when Juan Garcia and Pascal Corchia were able to pull off what must be considered an upset, beating Marco Foyot and Bernard Martin 13-12!

Pictures from New Mexico- Friday

Court preparation

(R) Ed Porto, FPUSA president., pitching in

Marco's training session in downtown Albuquerque

Petanque's most famous player?

Rick and Mark

Christophe and Arsene

Home with a view!

Ken, Linda, Carolyn

Hostess and host- Carolyn and Ken Thompson

Friday morning in Rio Rancho, midday in Albuquerque, afternoon in Rio Rancho, and evening into the night back in Albuquerque.  (Thank goodness it was only about a 15 mile trip each way!)

Huge thanks to Ken and Carolyn for opening their home and piste to us out-of-towners.  We played on into the night and had a wonderful time.  Got to meet and play against Ziggy of the USA national team!

Pictures from New Mexico- Thursday

Thursday on the Turquoise Trail, in Santa Fe, and in Rio Rancho.

Large Turnout at Miller Park

Superstar in the making?  Parker shoots.

John was a walk-up.

Uijin drove down from Boone.

Ronnie and Faye

Marc and Augustin

Bob, Kevin, Pablin, Gary

Juan

Doing a little recruiting?  Chris and Melissa look on.

We had one of the best turnouts-- probably THE best turnout if you exclude tournament play-- of the year at Miller Park on Sunday.  Maybe two dozen people?  Weather was near perfect, and people are starting to realize that the Lexington Barbecue Festival tournament is coming soon.  To be followed by the Petanque America Open in November.  Practice!!!

Saturday in the rain

Saturday afternoon play with Danny and Sue in Lincolnton, NC.  The rain was steady.

Miller Park on Sunday

Gail, Fred, Terry, Sue Wien, Bob Moyer, James, Rom, Barb, Ronnie, Faye, Ed, Bertie, Bob Pelc, Pam, Joseph, Shirley, and I enjoyed a pleasant, late-summer Carolina afternoon at Miller Park in Winston-Salem on Sunday.  Temperatures are still warm, but the sun is beginning to be less intense as autumn nears.

We were particularly glad to have Bob and Pam surprise us by rejoining the club for the first time in months.  They have now made their permanent residence in the southern part of Texas and only occasionally get back to the Carolinas.  They may be around for a couple of months on this trip to finalize the sale of their North Carolina residence and many of their possessions as they downsize for their new location.

Sue Wien continued to play well left-handed but is looking forward to resuming play as a natural right-hander in about two more weeks.

Faye Rierson played very well for one who rarely plays.  Her usual inclination is to join the group for the social aspects, but  she often leaves the playing up to Ronnie.  We "twisted her arm" and got her to round out a team on Sunday.  We hope she will do that again from time to time.  By the way, Ronnie and Faye had recently talked with Carol who, along with Tom, is still in France until around the middle of November.  Things are going well there and they routinely play with some of the French locals.  We look forward to their return.