Doubles duel

Since Miller Park was still too wet for play and more rain was in the forecast for Sunday, we decided to play in Lexington on Saturday the 23rd. Bob and Josh made the trip down but, for various reasons (and maybe the fact that the weather lately had been so darn cold and damp!), no one else was able to play.

We began play around 1:30 PM in nice sunshine (for a change!), and played into the night (and the cold!). Bob/Josh were diligent in reminding us that they had not played in "a long time" whereas we had just returned from a Texas trip where we were playing three to four days a week for about five hours each session. I guess they must have been onto something, because their pre-game analysis turned out to be right. We were unusually successful against them.

Better luck next time, guys.

Rainy Day in North Carolina

We made the thirty mile drive to Winston on Sunday morning hoping for the best but expecting the worst from the weather. The temperatures were around the 50degree mark, but the sky was overcast with a little mist from time-to-time. When we got there, the courts looked okay as we drove by. There was little or no standing water on the courts proper.

As soon as we walked out on them, however, it was obvious that there would be no petanque in Winston on this dreary Sunday. The courts were so saturated that just walking across them left fairly deep footprint impressions. We finally decided on the driest court and decided to make at least an effort to see if the boules would roll. No luck. A dull "plop" when the boule landed and absolutely no roll confirmed our initial assessment. Too wet.

So, reluctantly, we went to an early lunch and soon made our return trip to Lexington. Shirley suggested that we could try a few practice games on our backyard court. Our oyster-shell-topped court had held up much better during Saturday nights drenching rains than the fine-gravel-only courts we had just left in Winston.

We got in three games of head-to-head (singles). And Shirley even let me win a couple of them, so the day wasn't a complete washout! Until next week,

Gary

Back in North Carolina

We arrived in NC on Thursday, January 7, 2010, at the Crossnore home of our friends Danny and Sue. Here are pics of what we found. Petanque anyone?

Final Texas Play this Trip

Jeanne and Drew had a great turnout for play at their Spicewood, Texas, home on January 3, 2010. Shirley and I joined about fifteen more players for some fun play. The weather was a little cold, as you can probably tell from some of the headwear, but everyone had a great time anyway. We had to say our goodbyes at the end of the day and start thinking about leaving for North Carolina soon. Until next time!

Lakeway, Texas, on Saturday, Jan 2, 2010

We had another nice day at Lakeway yesterday despite weather that was a little on the cool side (high 40s and low 50s, but with a cold wind). We were happy to get the chance to meet and play with several people that we had not met previously. Scott, Cynthia, Pierre, and Lynne were all experienced players with whom we had never before crossed paths. Then there was Rick, Geo, Amine, and Amine's son, Zayd, Shirley, and myself.

In talking with Pierre and Lynne, Shirley (can you imagine Shirley striking up a conversation with new acquaintances as though we were old friends?) soon discovered one bit of information that we wanted to share. They own a resort in Canyon Lake, Texas, that offers petanque as one of the amenities. http://www.canyonlakecabinscottagestexas.com/ We definitely have it on our list of places to visit one of the next times we're in Texas.

One of the stars of Saturday's play was Zayd, the five-year-old son of Amine! He pointed in for the point on several occasions and was never very far off the mark. If you wonder how good players (like Amine) get that way, many of them have one thing in common: they start young! Of course, none of us will ever be any younger than we are right now, so "time's a wasting!".