Hickory, NC

That's Augustin on the left (with Terry Wien)

Susanne with Bob and Pam

Michael,Carol, Tom, Khalid, and Sue

Kirk, Bo, Uijin

Bo, the birthday girl!

Sharing with Shirley and Carol

Special bottle!

Sunday afternoon at the Quilici's.  We had a good crowd for the Hickory, NC, play.  Augustin and Susanne hosted three courts of play, a nice supper spread, and a lovely venue.  The brief showers didn't stop many from playing until about 9:00 in the evening.


There was a birthday cake (one day late) for Bo Edwards to top things off!

Johns Family Visit

Lucy and Ruby

The Johns family at the pool

Gary with Sue Wien

Bo stalking the point

View from below court level

Looking it over

Fred points

Justin Bo Johns, his wife Mollie,and daughters Lucy and Ruby stopped by on Saturday on their way from Ohio to a family vacation in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  We had invited them to break up their trip by spending one night with us in Lexington.  Khalid, Terry, Sue, and Fred came over to play a little Carolina-style petanque with our out-of-state visitor.

Recently at the Inn

A recent guest at the Inn at Bingham School

The local Saxapahaw community plays regularly at the Inn

Shaded courts make for pleasant mornings

More of the Saxapahaw gang

Francois's Fathers' Day play

Check out that form!

Happy Fathers' Day for Francois  (They let him win!)

http://chapel-hill-inn.com/

Check out the link above if you'd like to make contact with CarolinaPetanque member Francois Deprez who owns a beautiful bed-and-breakfast in the Chapel Hill area of North Carolina.  As you can see from the pics, there is an active petanque scene at the Inn.  Contact Francois or drop me an eMail at carolinapetanque@yahoo.com  for more info.

Rock Hill, SC

Steve Hackenberg

Robert, Henry, Gary Kenny, Steve, and Scott

Henry and Gary

Russel and Trey

Gary, Scott, and Kenny

Six courts!!!

We traveled down to Rock Hill, SC, to play at the Boyd Hill Recreation Center http://visityorkcounty.com/partner/92665/3135/boyd-hill-recreation-center/ on Wednesday afternoon.  Our CarolinaPetanque members, SteveHackenberg and Trey Johnson, are starting to get a little play going-- soon we hope to be on a regular basis-- and invited us to join them.  The play area has been converted from unused tennis courts to bocce/petanque.  There has been bocce play on a regular basis and petanque on a sporadic basis.  


It's a good location with plenty of room to spread out.  They could easily handle six more courts beyond the six they already have if demand grew to that level.  We had eight players yesterday.  Not bad for a first attempt!


By the way, though half of yesterday's players had played little or no petanque, it surprised me how well they played.  Steve suggested that most of the people in the group played either bocce or disc golf on a regular basis and that the skills required for those games made for quick learners of our game.

Monday Night at the Wiens

Shirley, her brother Bill, and I went out for pizza with Terry and Sue on Monday evening and then back to their place for a couple of games.  They've got Court#1 looking and playing just wonderful.  They have good lighting for night play too.

Terry's current project is to finish the Rec Room driveway area to allow for two more courts when they entertain.  We'll keep you posted.

Fathers' Day 2012

The gang (Shirley not pictured)

The cake

Ladies team

Shirley...Marc

Made in the shade

Ronnie R.

Fred visiting with Tom's Mom and Dad (Bonnie & Robert)

Fathers' Day saw a big turnout at Miller Park.  I guess on the one day that the guys get to decide what to do, petanque attendance rises!

Charlotte, NC

Walkway down to the terrain

A petanque oasis in the woods

Filtered sunlight

Michael points the way

Maxime plays as Anne looks on

Sighting the target

Picnic time

Our gracious hosts

Time to say goodbye

We recently received an invitation from Dr. Ed Shoaf and his wife, Anne, to join them for Saturday play on a new terrain at their home in Charlotte, NC.  The terrain is less than a month old and absolutely beautifully done.

First, there's the location.  Ed and Anne live in the lovely, long-established South Park area of Charlotte.  They have a corner lot with towering old oak and hickory trees.  They have created a terrain that plays almost entirely in the shade and should be pleasant even on the long, hot days of a Carolina summer.

Then, there's the terrain itself.  It's very professionally constructed of six-by-six timbers surrounding a surface of crush-and-run gravel topped by fine gravel screenings.  It's about 4 meters by 13 meters and plays perfectly level.  I wouldn't change a thing.

Joining us were Michael Wall and Nora from Monroe, Charles Cassar from Charlotte by way of Nimes, France, and Charles's friend, Maxime, visiting from France.  We played the morning away until such time as Anne announced that a picnic lunch was ready for the group.  Then, back to the terrain for afternoon play.

Great food, wonderful hosts, and pleasant companions-- add in petanque and what could be better?