Weekend's Play

Saturday in Lincolnton

Michael and Gary

Sue

Anne, Ed, Michael, and Sue

Tom, Augustin, Danny, and Marc

Sunday-  at Miller Park: Gail and Fred

Gail

Fred

Gary

We played on Saturday in Lincolnton and had twelve players.  We were particularly glad to have Danny & Sue, Ed & Anne, and Michael & Nora back for the first time in quite a while.  We managed to keep two courts going for most of the afternoon.  The diehards (Augustin, Marc, Bill, Shirley, and myself played until dark at around 8:30.

Then, on Sunday, Shirley and I traveled back to Winston-Salem to play with Fred and Gail.  Gail and I did okay, but Shirley and Fred prevailed by a one game margin.

From the Coast

CarolinaPetanque members (Kirk, Bo, Uijin, and Lauren) were vacationing in Topsail Island, NC, last week with their friends Max and Khalinda Oliver from Atlanta, GA, and found a nice spot to play a few games up at Soundside Park in Surf City, NC, about 5 minutes away. According to Kirk, it was a pretty rough terrain but manageable once one figured it out that there was about 1” of gravel over a very hard-packed surface. They found a nice shady spot near the water with restrooms and a playground for the little ones.  Check it out and get a game going if you're ever in the area.

Happy Anniversary!

44 Years!

 

Shirley and I spent most of our 44th wedding anniversary-- where else?-- on the petanque court.  Eight of us played in Lincolnton on Saturday.  Sunday's play in Winston-Salem was rained out.

Sunday Play

My zero-gravity chair helped some

And Shirley brought along some pain relief

Gail returned this week

I thought I might have to resort to being a spectator on Sunday.  I had lower back pain on Friday and Saturday that continued into Sunday and made it uncomfortable for me to sit and difficult for me to get up once seated.  I don't know if I've just pulled something or perhaps have a kidney stone that's causing the pain.  I tried pointing very tentatively to determine if the motion of tossing the boule was going to make my situation worse.  Actually, I was surprised to find it did not.  Later in the games I even tried shooting with no real problem.

We played for about five hours and got in some good practice.  Gail is making good progress in becoming more consistent with her pointing and seems to be enjoying herself.  We're glad to have her in the group.

(By the way, I felt okay on Monday after testing my back on Sunday.   It's still painful when I'm trying to find a comfortable sitting or reclining position, but it's no worse when I'm standing or walking.  I hope a few more days of relative rest will do the trick.  I'll put off a doctor's visit for at least a while.)

Visitors from Texas

David, Gary, Earl, and Khalid

Congratulations!

Khalid points as Earl and Fred look on

Earl Lovell from (near) Austin, Texas

That's Pam Lovell on the right

We were lucky enough to have Earl Lovell, his wife Pam, and Pam's brother David Porter visit and spend three nights with us here in Lexington this week.  Earl is an accomplished player from the Heart of Texas Petanque Club in Austin, Texas.  He and his son Trevor finished as Runners Up in the 2011 Heart of Texas Open to Pascal Corchia and Juan Garcia, both of whom are members of the 2012 USA World Team.

Trevor is beginning studies at the University of Virginia Law School in the fall.  Earl, Pam, and David were on the east coast helping Trevor get settled.  We encouraged them to make a side trip through Lexington on their return to Texas.  Earl and Pam are giving some thought to the possibility of relocating to the east coast and wanted to see a little of the Carolinas.

We were happy to have them and hope they'll come back soon.

Sunday-- Miller Park

Bob Pelc and Miller Park Circle resident, Gail

Gail, Fred, and Tom

Gary, Tom, and Bob

We had a small crowd on Sunday at Miller Park.  Tom, Bob, Gail, Fred, Shirley, and I played.  Gail was a new player who had seen us playing at the park before and decided to come join us.  She promised to come back soon.

August 2, 2012

Khalid had a day off from work on Thursday, so we decided to host play at our Lincolnton, NC, terrain for those others lucky enough to be able to play on a weekday morning.  We started play around 10:00 AM and finally called it a day around 8:30 PM!

Khalid, Bobby, Peggy, Bill, Tom, Sam, Augustin, Shirley, and I were playing in a nice shade during the morning hours which gave way to typical August sun and heat as the day wore on.  About all we could do was try to keep hydrated and try to play from the shade of an umbrella whenever possible.  ( Since we were playing during the period of Ramadan, Khalid wasn't even able to drink anything throughout the day.  He did resort to wet cloths around the neck and crushed ice rubbed across his forehead.  )

Tom and Augustin beat Shirley and me 3 of 4 at day's end!

Sam, Bill, and Peggy

Still a little shade here

Finally shade again late afternoon

Peggy and daughter Sandy

Recently in Mebane, NC

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

CarolinaPetanque member Francois Deprez, owner of the  Inn at Bingham School in Mebane, NC, sent a few photos of petanque play on the two beautiful courts at the Inn.  The night shots are of friends who were visiting from Tennessee.  The daytime shots are of a group of folks from nearby Saxapahaw who play most weekends.

Wonderland by night

Francois is on the right

Beautiful setting

Family fun

Shade and filtered sunlight

Next generation players

Caution:  kids at play