Playing in the snow-- almost

 Though you may not have noticed it, look again at the pictures above and you'll see that most of the areas surrounding The Old Court (also known as The Sunshine Court) at Miller Park were still covered in snow on Sunday afternoon. We, however, had no trouble playing on the one terrain that gets plenty of sunshine. It was a little soft, just as Charlotte's Nevin Park had been on Saturday, but actually played quite well. We had thought, on our drive up to Winston-Salem, that there was a good possibility we would not be able to play at all. The light dusting of gravel we put on the terrain in 2017 seemed to really help. That, and the additional holes in the surround timbers that have helped some with the drainage.

Kirk and Bo made the long drive down from Spruce Pine to get in an afternoon's play before Kirk gets wrapped up in the demands of his job. Many of you are aware that he has to work most weekends between now and the end of tax season in mid-April. Makes me remember my working days and our summer budget season of 16 hour days and three weeks without a day-off. Wow, I miss those days--NOT!

If it's 3rd Saturday...

 After the recent snows, it seems that Carolina Petanque's players were only too eager to get back out onto the terrain. Since Saturday was 3rd Saturday, play was at Nevin Park (6000 Statesville Rd) in Charlotte. We had 23 turn out.

The courts were still soft, damp, and even slower than usual with a little residual snow along the edges in the shadows. Still, we were determined to play-- and play we did. It was after 5:00 with shadows and cooler evening air beginning to set in when we finally called an end to a fun afternoon. Shirley and I were happy to be back in the Carolinas after about six weeks in Texas visiting the family.

Several of our Saturday crowd announced that it was their first time to play in the New Year. Glad they came out. One noteworthy absence-- Denyse showed up without Frank whi was still recovering from a bout with the flu. Get well soon, Frank!

A few more

St. Augustine, FL

Celo Community (driveway petanque)

Spruce Pine

Lexington

Here are a few more photos I uncovered of recent play and/or venues. The first two are from St. Augustine, FL. Kirk, Bo, Parker, Rusty, and Marcia went out to play with Ellen and the rest of the Boules de Leon crowd at Lighthouse Park. The one from Celo Community (Yancey County in the Western NC mountains) was from a Facebook re-post by Kirk of a Richard Kennedy post. The last two are current conditions in two of our North Carolina play areas.

NO PETANQUE TODAY!


P.S.: Here's one more-- found on Facebook on a Manasota Petanque Club post (Sarasota, FL)

Coming soon!

The new courts at 184 New Haw Creek Rd, Asheville, NC. They'll be ready as soon as the weather allows.

Buda, Texas

Another Texas play date with Earl, Pam, David, and Dorothy. This time, near there homes in Buda. We found a nice walking trail at Stagecoach Park.

David and Dorothy are planning to construct a petanque terrain on their own property in the coming months. Maybe we'll have a new place to play on our next trip!

David, Dorothy, and Pam all decided to carry Carolina Petanque memberships for 2018. Of course, Earl has been a member for a couple of years now.

David Hall

Dorothy Hall

Pam Lovell