Milestone Birthday Pickleball

St. Lucia

Earlier this month my husband joined me in crossing into a new decade of life. As I thought about how I would like to celebrate him on this occasion, I began to look at pickleball vacations. We have done several of these in the past, so I was looking for something that would be different from the other experiences. I came across one that was headed to St. Lucia, and I was immediately interested in it. At this point in our lives we are trying to go to destinations where we haven't traveled before, and St. Lucia fit the bill. The fact that it was being held at a Sandals with ten dedicated pickleball courts had me looking further into the details.

Elite Pickleball Retreats was offering three plus days of pickleball, with the instruction being done by three professional coaches. Their curriculum was combining skill training with drills, coached game play, film review, yoga, instruction on mastering your mindset, tips from a senior pro pickleball player, and game strategy. It was the most comprehensive pickleball training series that I have come across.

When I registered the two of us to attend, I made it clear that this was a surprise for my husband's birthday. I requested that all correspondence come only to me, and I was assured that would be the case. Jim only knew that he was going on a trip that would require his passport, and to pack for warm weather. I knew once we got to the airport he would see that we were going to St. Lucia, but he wouldn't know we were going to a Sandals or that a pickleball event was involved. Since I knew the resort had pickleball courts, I would have told him to pack his pickleball gear.

Well, a week before the event an email from the organizer went to Jim, and not to me. So much for my surprise! I guess he was surprised, just earlier than I anticipated. As it ends up, he has followed the YouTube channel of one of the coaches for several years, so he was excited to get to meet him in person.

When I booked the trip in January there was no shortage of TSA agents. Nor was there a war going on that involved the United States. So we weren't quite sure what to expect as we traveled outside the U.S. Our flight out was at 6:15 in the morning. We had an Uber pick us up at 4:00 and we were at the airport and through TSA by 4:25. Everything went smoothly at both the Charlotte airport as well as the one in Miami, where we had a connecting flight to St. Lucia. We were the only flight in at that time, so going through customs there was a breeze. We had a short wait in the Sandals lounge before taking their shuttle to the resort. Our shuttle contained only people who would be in our pickleball group, which was fun.

view from our room

There are actually three Sandals Resorts on St. Lucia, and we stayed at the Regency La Toc. It took a little over an hour to get from the airport to this resort. The roads were okay, but there was traffic to be dealt with by the driver. Once there, check in took a little longer than expected, but our room was ready. We were on the 7th floor of a seven story building, and had a wonderful ocean view. The room was huge, airy, and most importantly did not smell like mildew. The air conditioner worked very well.

The first night we all got together for a welcome dinner, and it was nice to get to know some of the participants before we began with the clinic the next morning. As it turned out, all of the other participants were from New Jersey, where the coaches have pickleball facilities. We were the only ones who learned of the retreat online. That was a little off-putting at first, but we were able to work around it. I would say most of the attendees were in their 30s-40s. There were maybe 3 couples in their 50s-60s, but Jim and I were definitely the only ones who were 70. But we didn't let that slow us down!

We learned a lot over three full days of the retreat. I tried to write down as many of the drills and tips that I could remember. But pickleball, like many things in life, is something that you have to do over and over again to commit it to your muscle memory. I hope I can put at least a few of the things I learned into practice.

I added two extra nights to our trip so that we would have some time to actually experience the resort. On Sunday we took a shuttle bus to one of the other Sandals resorts, the Grande. It is situated on a narrow strand of land that has the Caribbean Sea on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other, which makes it quite unique. We enjoyed being able to see what that resort has to offer.

Monday we stayed at our resort and finally were able to lounge by the pool and also walked the beach and stuck our feet into the ocean for the first time. It was chilly! We had dinner at the Italian restaurant, which is at the top of a hill and offers beautiful sunset views. It was a fantastic way to spend our last night on St. Lucia.

Tuesday morning we had breakfast before putting our luggage out at 9:00. We had to be out of our room by 10:00, and got the airport shuttle at 10:30. Getting through customs and security at the airport was easy, and our flight to Miami went off without a hitch. The Miami airport was quite busy, and there was no TSA pre-check lane due to the shortage of TSA agents right now. That ate up quite a bit of our 1 1/2 hour layover, but we had just enough time to grab a quick bite in the American lounge before boarding our flight back to Charlotte. We got back to our house around 11:30 p.m. It was another long day of travel, and a reminder to try and take vacations where we can get a direct flight out of Charlotte.

The vacation was great, and Jim was very appreciative of his "surprise" present, but it is really wonderful to be home!

Cheers to Seventy Years

pickleball party

Today was a new dawn and a new decade as I turned 70. I began my celebration yesterday when the gals at my pickleball facility threw a little party for me after our clinic. Can't think of a better way to kick things off than pickleball and good friends!

There's always something special about leaving one decade and entering another. I can't say that I really feel any different. Having just completed my annual Medicare Wellness Exam, they obviously look at things a little differently. The cholesterol level that was considered mildly elevated last year now is considered a little more menacing now that my age has a 7 in it instead of a 6. Even though the blood work did not show it to have raised much at all.

The doctor has recommended that I undergo a CT Cardiac Calcium Test, which is a noninvasive test that looks for calcium deposits in the heart arteries. Because it is considered a screening test, my insurance will not cover it. I spoke with the radiology booking people today, and they advised that the CT would cost me $125. As I think the information will be beneficial, I went ahead and scheduled the test for next month.

My doctor also has been after me to get a bone density test done. I have never had one, and I tried for the past two years to get one scheduled. My prior insurance carrier would not cover that test either because they said I don't have any underlying conditions to warrant it. Hello, old person here! Surprisingly, my new carrier will cover this test. I was lucky enough to be able to schedule both of them back to back so I only have to make one trip to the radiology center.

My bloodwork also indicated elevated thyroid hormone levels. This led the doctor to suggest thyroid medication. As I don't have any of the signs of hyperthyroidism, I am reluctant to jump on the medication bandwagon. It occurred to me to question whether the flu shot or Covid shot could impact the thyroid levels in a blood test. Guess what? They BOTH can, and as I had taken one of each in the two weeks prior to the blood work, that makes me wonder if the results were reliable. The doctor agreed with me, and suggested that I have my blood test redone in four weeks. That seems very reasonable to me. Here's hoping that the level will be back in the normal range by then. I do not take any prescription medications, and I sure would like to keep it that way.

The Gateway City

St. Louis Arch

Following our Kentucky and Indiana stops, we drove the remaining three hours to St. Louis. Even after all these years, it remains a thrill to catch sight of the Arch as you cross the Mississippi River into Missouri.

The main purpose of our trip was to attend the 30th Anniversary celebration of SWT Design, the company Jim founded with Ted Spaid and Susan Trautman in 1995. What an accomplishment!

But the trip also gave us an opportunity to catch up with friends and family while we were in the area. We were able to see my sister's family, which was great, and Jim got in a bit of motorcycle riding with his friend.

While he was off the first day, I met a girlfriend at the Sophia Sach's Butterfly House. It was a pretty hot day so neither one of us wanted to go on a long walk outside. While the butterfly house is on the warm side, at least you are in the shade. It was great to sit and chat while the butterflies flitted around us. We grabbed lunch after that. 

Butterfly House

The next day while Jim rode, I picked up another friend and she and I went to the Missouri Botanical Garden. I have been to many gardens in my travels around the world, but I have yet to find one that is as wonderful as the one in St. Louis. It is easy to navigate while offering a different visual and sensory experience around every corner. As this particular friend is also a photographer, we were in perfect sync stopping to photograph the flowers and insects around us. When we were finished, we went to the Trainwreck Saloon for lunch. This restaurant is owned by a gal that I worked with at the American Cancer Society from 1980-1982. In all the times I have eaten there, she has never been around. But that Wednesday was my lucky day as Chris was in! We had the best time catching up, and since my lunch friend graduated from the same high school as Chris, they had things to talk about as well.

Missouri Botanical Garden

On Thursday Jim and I spent the day together since the party was later that afternoon. We first went to the St. Louis Zoo. Again, I've gone to a lot of zoos in my lifetime, and none of them compare to this zoo. And it is FREE to get in! SWT Design has done a bit of work in the zoo, so in addition to enjoying the animals it was fun to check up on the progress/maturation of some of their work. The nice, hot day necessitated a stop at Ted Drewes for some frozen custard - always a highlight of a visit to St. Louis.

St. Louis Zoo

That afternoon was the SWT celebration garden party. While it was hot, it was wonderful to catch up with staff members and clients. I don't think Jim and Ted ever anticipated what their dream would one day become. It's a huge milestone to make 30 years in the design field, and to know that their projects have made and are making a lasting impression not only in St. Louis but throughout the country.

Friday was our last day and we began it by playing pickleball in a nearby park with Jim's riding buddy, who has been playing even longer than me. Then the three of us had a late breakfast, and the guys dropped me off at the hotel so they could go pick up the motorcycle trailer. For a few months Jim's motorcycle has been garaged in St. Louis. But it is time for the annual inspection and licensing, so we needed to get it back to Charlotte. It seemed easiest to trailer it back so Jim wouldn't have to make that long bike trip on his own.

Saturday morning we left St. Louis as the sun was rising and made the thirteen hour drive back home. The trailer added time to the trip as we had to stop more often for gas, and be a little more cautious when driving through the mountains. So we saw the sun rise and the sun set, but made it safely back here.

sunrise, sunset

 

North Myrtle Beach Part 3

The last part of our North Myrtle Beach vacation was just the two of us. We played quite a bit of pickleball, finding the people and level of play to be quite good at Central Park. The four courts are located on an old ice skating rink, which was interesting. It brought back memories of early days in Webster Groves when our outdoor courts were also on the old ice/roller hockey rink. It was a little tight, but doable.

One day we took a drive to Conway, SC as I had read there was a pretty walk along the Waccamaw River there. The drive wasn't too bad until we got near Conway, and then the traffic crawled along. We never did see what the issue was. We did have a nice hike there, and the boardwalk was lovely.

Conway, SC

Probably our favorite part of the whole trip was going to see Brookgreen Gardens. The sculpture park, preserve and low country zoo are located on 9,100 acres. It took us about 45 minutes to get there, and we arrived just as the gates opened at 9:30. The day was pretty hot, which was unfortunate, but we so enjoyed exploring the gardens, seeing all the phenomenal sculptures, and visiting the zoo (which was comprised of animals native to the area who are being rehabilitated). We miss the Missouri Botanical Gardens so much, and these gardens brought a little bit of home back to us.

Brookgreen Gardens

We wrapped up the rest of time in North Myrtle Beach by visiting another preserve, going to the Cherry Grove Pier and taking in one last concert the night before we were heading back to Charlotte. Overall the trip was great, but I would avoid going back there during the summer due to the crowds and the heat.

North Myrtle Beach scenes 

 

Welcome June

It is so hard to believe that it is the first of June! Sometimes it seems like the months drag, and others they just fly by. That seems to be the case with May. The weather has been quite nice, though we have had periods of heavy rain. That is okay, though, as we are trying to recover from drought conditions. Hopefully all this moisture will alleviate the forest fires we have been experiencing.

The birds have been very active out back. For the first time since we have lived here, we actually had two ducks under our bird feeder. That's unusual since we are about 100 feet above the lake. I guess they like good birdseed, too. 

backyard birds

This week will be quite busy with pickleball, making lanterns for the Mount Holly Lantern Parade, a followup visit with my podiatrist, and company coming for the weekend. I am hoping this will be the last appointment with the foot doctor, though I am not 100% pain-free yet. I'm optimistic that he will say things are still healing and that is why I still have some pain. Fingers crossed!

Foot Followup

Wednesday I saw the podiatrist for a followup on my foot issue. When he asked how things are going, I told him that honestly I don't see much improvement in the pain despite the toe splint, orthotics, or Voltaren and ice treatments twice a day. He pressed his fingers underneath the second toe a bit, which was not pleasant. 

But surprisingly he said he could tell that my ligament has begun to heal itself. He said the pain is to be expected and is a good thing as it will keep me from doing things I should not be doing yet. I am to continue as before for the next four weeks. Then for the next four weeks he only wants me to wear the toe splint when I am going to be excessively active, such as walking for a long period of time or hiking. I presume that includes pickleball, thought I forgot to specifically ask that. I'll wear it then just to be on the safe side. I return to see him at the end of the eight weeks.

When I last saw him he asked me to bring my pickleball shoes in so he could take a look at them. I had told him that I wear Skechers, and he seemed surprised that they made a court shoe. I explained they are dedicated pickleball shoes. The problem is that I cannot wear the toe splint and the orthotic as there is not enough room in the shoe for both. I have been wearing my Acacias instead, as they can accommodate the inserts and the splint. So I brought in one of the Acacias and one of the Skechers to show him.

Skechers pickleball shoes

He performed a three part flexibility test on each shoe, and the Skechers passed with flying colors. The Acacias failed all three, and he said I shouldn't be wearing them. Visually we could see that the Acacias have more height in the toe box than the Skechers, which is why the added items work in the Acacias. 

My compromise for the moment is that I will wear the splint and the orthotics anytime I am not playing pickleball. For pickleball, I will wear the splint only in my Skechers as that will fit with the regular insert provided by Skechers. I may try taping my toe and not wearing the splint, which is acceptable to the doctor, and see if I can then make the orthotic work in my Skechers.

Overall, I am pleased with what the doctor had to say. I picked up a second splint from the office so I have a clean one to put on instead of always having to wait for the one to dry after washing. I also got a second orthotic so don't have to keep pulling the one set out of one pair of shoes to put in another.

A Tropickle Vacation

Turks & Caicos

That's not a typo in the headline. We just returned from a pickleball trip to Turks & Caicos put on by Travel Shark, a local travel agency. They set up Tropickle Vacations to take pickleball enthusiasts to beautiful, tropical locations. This was their first trip, and it was held at Club Med, which boasts 10 dedicated pickleball courts!

I believe there were 24 in our group, which consisted of players who are rated 3.5 and above. We had folks from Alaska, Utah, Florida, New York, Connecticut, South Carolina and North Carolina. Most of them are in their 30s and 40s, and I had suspected that we would be the grandparents in the group. That was close to being the case, but we are used to playing with the younger set so it was no big deal.

While the Club Med is showing its age, you just can't beat the location. It is a short 3 hour flight from Charlotte, and the islands are gorgeous! I had requested a balcony ocean view room, and that is what we got. We could see the sunsets from the balcony, though we usually chose to go to the beach for a broader experience. The resort is on the small side, with only one swimming pool and a restaurant, though a bar called Sharkies serves a few items a couple times a day.

beautiful sunsets

Eight of the pickleball courts were installed on two tennis courts. While they are dedicated courts, in order to get that many on they had to orient the courts east/west. This makes it miserable in the early morning and the later afternoon as the sun is in your eyes. That is really unfortunate. The other two dedicated courts are properly oriented north/south.

The weather was nice and sunny, with the high hitting 78 degrees each day (the low was always 77). But the winds! Each day they were 20 mph, with gusts up to 25-27 mph. That made play very challenging, especially with the pickleballs being so light in weight. Sometimes you just had to laugh as you anticipated the ball being in one place and the wind would blow it to another. Generally the pros will not play if the wind exceeds 15 mph.

Tropickle players

We had some time to snorkel, which we always enjoy. They had a big party for the Super Bowl, and while I didn't necessarily care who won the game, it was fun to watch the game on the three big screens with a lot of other people.

Overall, it was a relaxing and fun trip. While I would definitely go back to Turks & Caicos, I would probably look for a different place to stay. Club Med was built in the 1980s and has only been updated once since then and it shows.

High School Memories

Charlotte to Des Moines

My high school class recently had it's 50th reunion, and we flew to Des Moines for the festivities. I can remember when my mother-in-law told me she was going to her 50th and I thought, "Man, you are old!" And somehow here I am...

The flight to Des Moines was blissfully uneventful. It wasn't until we got to the Budget Rental Car counter that we encountered a snafu. I had requested a small SUV, which usually means a Rav 4 or the like. The lady told me that she had a Jeep Wrangler for me. I informed her that no, she did not because I requested a "small" SUV. She said my options were the Jeep, a minivan (are you kidding me???) or a pickup truck (seriously? I'm 5'3" on a good day.) 

I chose the Jeep, but as it ended up it was a Jeep Wrangler Sahara - one they hadn't even bothered to wash for us. It is definitely a vehicle better suited for off-roading than driving around town or on the interstate. It has a terrible ride, uncomfortable seats, and is noisy as heck on the road. While it was supposed to be a hybrid, the gas mileage we got was 19 miles to the gallon. The best I can say is thank goodness it had a grab handle so I could hoist myself up into the driver's seat. And it was cooler to show up at the reunion in that as opposed to a minivan!

We decided to stay at the reunion hotel in West Des Moines, as did our good friends Kathy and Paul. The four of us had dinner the first night with some other Des Moines friends. The next morning we were joined at breakfast by my friend Mary Ann. She and her family lived right across the street from me in Des Moines, and I often baby-sat their three kids. It was great to catch up with her.

We were excited to see that Smash Park - an indoor/outdoor pickleball and games facility - was located right across the parking lot from us. We checked it out, and even got some games in Friday afternoon before getting ready for the informal event at Felix and Oscar's Restaurant that night.

Smash Park

Felix and Oscar's was packed, which meant a good turnout from our class and their guests. But it was very difficult to hear and talk to people. I did get to spend a little time with my speech teacher, Bill Springer. We found a quieter back room at the restaurant, and shared a table with a few of my classmates and their spouses.

Saturday morning we did a tour of my high school and wow, what a lot of changes! My class had 439 students that graduated in the spring of 1974. Another 30 or so had graduated early. The school had 1,200 students in grades 10-12. Today the school only has 900 students in grades 9-12. We had perhaps 3 Black students in the whole school when I was there, and that was the extent of our diversity. Today over 40 languages are spoken at Hoover, so English as Second Language classes are a huge deal. It was fun to walk the hallways again to relive memories and see all the improvements. 

Hoover High School

After the tour we went directly to Merle Hay Mall as the class had organized some play at Dink's Pickleball. Dink's is actually located in an old Kohl's store, and what a great reuse of empty retail space. Sixteen of us came out to play pickleball, and we had a lot of fun!

Dink's Pickleball

Jim and I broke off after pickleball while he sought out some billiards with Paul, and I drove to my old neighborhood. It's always interesting to go back to the house where I lived for 17 years. It stills looks really good, as does the whole area. We met back at the hotel to get ready for the evening program, dinner and music. That night it was much easier to have conversations with classmates. We had a great time, and I'm very glad that we went. We have already lost so many from our class, so it really points out how we never know if or when we will see each other again.

50th reunion

The next morning we went to another friend's house for breakfast. Steve and Michele lived down the street from us in Webster Groves for awhile before they moved away. Coincidentally, they also graduated from Iowa State University, and we have remained friends for nearly 40 years. They are one of those couples where even when you don't see them or talk to them for years, you can pick right back up where you left off. 

From there we headed up to Charles City to see Jim's sister and her family. We stopped first at the High Trestle Bridge, which I had read about but never seen. It is part of the Iowa trails system. It was very cool, and definitely worth the detour.

High Trestle Bridge

We had not been to Charles City since Jim's mom died. It was hard to go knowing that neither Lorraine or Jerry would be there to greet us as they both died within months of each other in 2020. But it was good to see family and friends in the area and catch up with all of them. A couple of cousins even drove down from Minnesota to see us, which was fantastic. We also drove around town to see all the beautiful murals that have been installed since we were last there.

Charles City Murals

The visits to Des Moines and Charles City prove that you can go home again. It just might look a little different from the last time you were there.

Escape to the Beech

Our friends purchased a condo in Beech Mountain, North Carolina recently. They invited us up for a visit last weekend. We have stayed in the complex where their unit is located in the past. It has nice views of the mountains and ski lift, and has an indoor pool and tennis/pickleball courts. It is walking distance to a playground, dog park, small grocery store and several restaurants.

We watched as our friend played pickleball in a tournament on Friday at the Beech Mountain Club, which is a really great facility. We have played there before with some other friends who have a membership. The rest of the weekend we hiked, played Mexican Train and just enjoyed the company of a really fun couple. While it did rain a bit, the temperature was nearly 15 degrees cooler than what we left behind, so that was a welcome relief in August for sure. What a great natural area less than 3 hours away from us!

Beech Mountain, NC

The weather has broken a little bit here. Today the high only hit 82 degrees, but what I love most is the fact that it gets into the 60s at night. It's wonderful to sit in the screened porch in the morning and drink my hot tea while catching up on the news. 

Last night was a Super Blue Moon. The moon is called "super" when it is closest to the earth and thus appears larger. Typically a season only has three full moons, but summer 2024 has four of them - thus the "blue moon". Our cloud cover parted in time for me to snap a picture of it. Gorgeous!

Super Blue Moon

Battle of the Oldies but Goodies

Cresswind versus Imagery

Last Saturday the pickleball club at Imagery participated in a tournament at Cresswind, another 55+ active adult community in the Charlotte area. This is the second time we have played there, and it always such a fun time. They have four permanent pickleball courts, but their tennis courts are striped for pickleball which gives them eight additional courts. We have never hosted them because we just have two permanent pickleball courts. We can only add an additional four pickleball courts by taping out the two tennis courts here. 

The weather was perfect with blue skies, light winds and temperatures in the mid-70s. The clubs were broken down by sex and skill level. We played the same team two times, for a total of six games. It was competitive and fun, and my partner and I won four of our six games. Our two losses were to the same team, and they went on to win our division, so we felt pretty good about our performance.

At the end of the day, we all just love the game of pickleball. We are blessed at this stage of our lives to be able to participate in the sport, have fun, and make new friends. Pickle on!

A (not so) Total Eclipse of the Sun

83% eclipse of the sun

Yesterday a solar eclipse traveled across America. We were headed back from visiting our son and his family in Virginia, and did not think we would have an opportunity to see any of the eclipse. Charlotte was to get only a little over 83% totality at any rate. Surprisingly traffic was light on the interstates we traveled on. I guess everyone was clogging up the highways on their way to total eclipse sites, so the east coast was in the clear.

The moon eclipsed the sun around 3:11, and we were home in plenty of time to see what 83% gets you. Our next door neighbor was in her back yard with out of town guests, and they had extra glasses for us to borrow. Someone even had the protective cover for the phone lens, but I was quite unsuccessful in capturing any photos with my iPhone. It was fun to watch the moon in progress, but while the light dimmed a bit, it was still quite bright out.

In 2017 we had totality where we lived in Missouri, and that was an amazing experience and quite different from what occurred yesterday. Then it got completely dark out, the birds stopped chirping, the night insects began making noise, and the streetlights came on. I guess because we were able to take part in the one seven years ago, I was not in a rush to drive many hours to see the one this year.

St. Paddy's Day Pickling

sunrise on Mountain Island Lake

Our community pickleball club held a St. Patrick's Day round robin yesterday. The day began with a beautiful sunrise, as shown above. But right after the volunteers got the two tennis courts striped with painters tape so that we could have a total of six courts for the day, it began to rain. The luck of the Irish was with us, though, as the storm quickly passed. We ended up with sunny, blue skies for the day.

Around 70 of our club members participated in the games, so with the limited number of courts each person only got to play 3 or 4 games in the scheduled time period. But some matches ended early, so I did get in an extra game at the end before it was time to go eat.

Some of the guys grilled up hamburgers and hot dogs, and there was a selection of chips, candy and cookies to go along with those. It was nice to be able to sit around the pool deck, which overlooks the lake, and catch up with friends. My pickleball companions who don't live here were a bit green with envy 💚💚💚

St. Paddy's Day social

Village Life

We just returned from a week in The Villages. This 55+ community has its own zip code as it is home to over 145,000 people. Located outside of Orlando, Florida, The Villages has more than 71,000 homes, and that number grows daily with no signs of slowing down. They have their own fire and police departments, post offices, hospitals, and parks and recreation department. You can pretty much find any service you need within the community.

We have heard a lot about The Villages, and some friends of ours from St. Louis purchased a home there several years ago. I actually met them through pickleball, so this seemed like an opportunity to see them and play on some of the 100 pickleball courts located there.

We were the first guests at a newly listed AirBNB. The owners just purchased the property a month ago, though they live only 10 minutes away. The rental came with a golf cart, which was important as we flew in and didn't want to rent a car. You don't even need a car as golf cart paths connect you to stores, restaurants, recreation centers and the various town centers. As a bonus, our home had a swimming pool, hot tub, fire pit and small game room, so we had a lot to entertain ourselves with if we didn't feel like going out.

There are over 1,000 clubs, so if you are bored that is totally on you. It's like summer camp on steroids. Many people buy in there due to all the golf courses, which are free or very low cost to play on. We are not golfers, but we saw tons of people on the pickleball courts, tennis courts and softball fields. We did not see a lot of walkers, and one thing that surprised me was the lack of sidewalks. You have to walk on the golf cart paths, which also carry bicyclists. That seems a little dangerous, and maybe that is why not too many people were walking.

Overall we had a very nice time, and met some great people on the pickleball courts. We played at four of the different recreation centers. We also visited two of the town centers and enjoyed listening to live music, which happens every night at all the town centers. It was nice that we could get to the grocery store and multiple restaurants in less than 10 minutes in the golf cart.

While I would not personally want to live there full-time because it is so huge and lacks the sense of community that we have here, I definitely would consider going back especially if another couple joined us.

The Villages

It's the Holiday Season

Christmas festivities have begun around here. We had the two holiday walks here in the neighborhood the first week of December. Different parts of the community hosted on two separate nights, and you walk from area to area to eat, drink and be entertained by the Singing Elves of Imagery. It's a great way to meet new neighbors and kick off the season.

one of the Elves hopped into our photo

Last Sunday we went to the Singing Christmas Tree performance, which was held at a local community college. One of my pickleball friends is in the chorale group, so seven of us from our pickleball group went to see the show. There were multiple singing groups (including a children's choir) and dancers performing. It was wonderful!

The Singing Christmas Tree

Thursday our Imagery ladies pickleball group held a fun round robin event, where we dressed in festive attire. Following our play we had a luncheon. About 36 women showed up for food and games. The Imagery Elves even came and sang for us.

Pickleball Party

Today we pick up our daughter at the airport. She will be with us for several weeks as she can work remotely. Then Friday our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter will join us for a few days. To say we are looking forward to this Christmas is a gross understatement.

Wishing all who celebrate a very Merry Christmas, and all the blessings a New Year can bring!

Visiting the Sunshine State

Last week we traveled to Florida to visit some friends from the neighborhood who purchased a condo in Port Charlotte last year. Originally this trip was supposed to take place in January of 2023, but they got sick and we had to cancel our trip.

At their suggestion we had purchased tickets on Allegiant Air, which flies out of the Concord-Padgett Airport (as opposed to Charlotte Douglas) directly to Punta Gorda, Florida. It is a discount airline, which I have always tried to avoid. But the pricing was quite decent on it, despite bucking up for checking a bag, picking a seat and Priority Boarding. The package deal also gave us cancellation insurance, which we ended up needing in January.

What they don't tell you about the insurance is that all taxes and fees are non-refundable, and the price of the insurance is deducted from the credit that goes onto your account. So needless to say, you are not made whole on the deal. But at least we were able to rebook the tickets.

We were dropped off at the airport on October 23rd, and were very grateful that we had Priority status. The regular line was quite long, but we only had a couple of people ahead of us so we got through quickly. I was amused by the fact that if you needed to charge any devices at the Concord airport, there was a fee for that as well.

On the plane we found the seats to be fairly spacious, if not the most padded in the industry. There are no frills, however. No snacks or drinks are provided, though they were offered for sale. As the flight was less than an hour and a half long, it was no big deal to us.

Being picked up at the Punta Gorda Airport was a breeze, and we were quickly off to begin our Sunshine State adventure with our good friends. We played a LOT of pickleball, both in their community as well as the Pickleplex in Punta Gorda, which has 24 courts. Wow! 

We also visited their community pool, went out to dinner with their friends, and played some rousing games of Mexican Train. But the thing I enjoyed the most this trip was going to the Peace River Gardens. It was a beautiful day to walk through the botanical gardens and see not only the plant material but also the wonderful sculptures they had on site. 

Peace River Gardens

We flew home on Friday the 27th, and were again thankful that our status enabled us to skip the long, general check-in line. It is certainly the only way I would consider flying this airline again.

It was another fun trip, but I am happy that we don't have any others planned for 2023. It's time to stay home for a bit and enjoy life here.

Birthday Pickleball

Joola Scorpeus

Saturday was my birthday, and what beautiful weather we had for it! Jim got me the Collin Johns version of the Joola Scorpeus pickleball paddle as my gift. I feel a connection to Collin since he stayed with us several days a couple years ago while in town for a tournament. But also I love the way he plays, handling the right-hand side of the court while his brother Ben dominates the left-hand side. Collin has such a nice touch at the net, and I feel that is my strength in the game as well. Not that I am anywhere close to his caliber of play, of course. So far the paddle is working well for me.

Sports Connection, a local pickleball facility, was offering Cosmic Pickleball this weekend, and I told Jim that is what I wanted to do for my birthday. So we rented a court and invited two other couples to join us for pickleball under the blacklights. I had always wanted to try it, and believe it is an event we could have here in our community for the pickleball club. It was a blast! And what a great way to usher in my 68th year.

Cosmic Pickleball

Life is a Beech

Grandfather Mountain

Some friends invited us to come and stay at their condo near Beech Mountain, and though it is only a couple of hours away the temperature runs about 20 degrees cooler. In the summer, that change is quite welcome. They are avid pickleball players, so we spent quite a bit of time playing on the courts at Beech Mountain Club Pickleball.

On our way home we stopped at Linville Falls to do some hiking. It was refreshingly uncrowded, unlike the last time we went. That was during the heart of Covid, when everyone was pouring into the parks to escape being stuck at home. It's a nice area with moderately challenging trails. Some of the rhododendrons were still in bloom. We miss seeing them around here, so that was a pleasant surprise for us.

Linville Falls

Now we are back home in the heat and humidity. It's time to plan another escape!

Professional Pickleball in Charlotte

The PPA North Carolina Open was held for the second year in a row in Charlotte last month. As in the previous year, Jim and I decided to volunteer at the event. Unfortunately the PPA cut out some of the benefits of volunteering this time around, such as no included lunch and no free access to the venue except on the day or days you were volunteering. We liked our volunteer positions last year, and those were only available on Saturday - the semi finals of all events, so a good time to be there. I worked in the VIP section, which was right by Championship Court. I made sure all people in the section had the correct arm bands on, and made sure they had enough to eat and drink and answered questions. It was a great group of attendees, so I was mostly able to watch the pros play.

Jim was down by the Championship Court ensuring that people who had purchased court-side seats had the appropriate arm bands and a place to sit. From last year's experience we knew that they had oversold the seats and Jim had to deal with angry folks who couldn't find a place to sit. That was corrected this year, and there were no problems.

For Sundays finals we had purchased court-side seats. We arrived very early to make sure we would get a good seat, and that ended up to be a good move. Between Saturday and Sunday we met and talked to many of the pros we watch on t.v. or YouTube, and it was quite a thrill for us. There is just something about being able to see them play in person, and the Charlotte audience is very enthusiastic and appreciative of the PPA having one of their tournaments here.

Last year we hosted two pros at our house, but neither one was coming to Charlotte this year. Though I had put it out that we were willing to host, apparently there was a problem at the tournament in Florida recently with misbehaving female pros at a host's home, so the PPA is no longer reaching out to people to arrange housing. That is too bad, because we had such a great experience and were hoping to repeat it again. Hopefully our guys will come back next year!

North Carolina Open 2023

Golden Oldies Pickleball

Sunday our pickleball club hosted another 55+ community for a fun fall social event. Our club had gone to Trilogy in June, and everyone had so much fun that we decided to have another event. Jim was in charge, and he did a wonderful job. The event ran smoothly, we had beautiful weather, and everyone seemed to have a great time. Following three hours of play, we met at our Celebration Cabin for a boxed meal and fellowship. It was nice to be on the courts with people our own age as opposed to those 10-20 years younger. Some day they will understand that we just move differently at our age. Here are a few photos from the event.

Imagery/Trilogy Social

Wednesday Jim and I got our flu shots. Honestly, it is the first time either of us has gotten this shot. We never get the flu, so it didn't make sense to get a vaccine and get sick from that. However with Baby Dub on the way, we want to make sure we are protected so we don't take any virus to her when we visit. Our daughter-in-law hasn't told anyone they need to get the shot, but she is encouraging visitors to do so. The shot itself was fairly painless, and other than a sore arm neither of us had any side effects from the vaccine. With that shot, I am 100% up-to-date on all my vaccinations. Jim still has a couple more to go, including DPT and shingles. But one has to wonder about getting all of these shots around the same time, considering all the Covid shots and boosters we have received. These are uncharted waters for sure.

Saturday night is the Mount Holly Lantern Parade, and our community has an entry for the second year in a row. Last year we took first place in the Community category with our minions. I'm not sure how we will fare this year since we up-cycled the minions, readying them for space as the theme is "It is written in the stars." I think there are about 25 of us who will be walking and carrying minions, stars and the Imagery banner. Whether we win or not, it has been a fun project to work on again. I'll post photos after the event.