Sunday-- Back to Miller Park

After our brief mountain respite, it was back to the heat and the familiar surroundings of Miller Park in Winston-Salem. Walt and Stefanie had a little free time and made the trip down the mountain to join us as well. And our friends Ron & Doreen, from Maryland, came with us as too, along with Danny (Sue had to remain behind to help with her mom).

Josh, Michel, and Philippe also played; so, we had a nice crowd. The games were as competitive as always. Walt thought his shooting game was off just a little at times, which gave the rest of us a chance! We played from about 12:30 to 6:30, so there was plenty of time for everyone to find himself on a winning team.

We had a couple of people walk up and express interest, so we handed out a few cards and promised to play at Miller Park again on Sunday, August 17. Hope to see you there!

Saturday-- Heritage Park in Newland, NC

Saturday was another beautiful mountain day. At least ten degrees cooler than down in the "flatlands." The six of us (Ron&Doreen, Danny&Sue, and Gary&Shirley) set out to try yet another place to play. Danny knew of a park/fairground near Newland which was less than ten miles from the Crossnore home of Danny&Sue where we were all staying.

We saw some signs around town that promised a horse show at the fairgrounds on Saturday evening, but thought we might be able to play on Saturday morning somewhere in the park. As it turned out, there was a semi-abandoned baseball field in the park that was perfect for our purposes. Or at least it didn't appear to have been used in a considerable amount of time. We chose to ignore the scattered weeds and played on the surface as we found it.

It was just fine. Hard packed clay lay just beneath a very thin top dressing of what appeared to be extremely fine gravel. It was fast- but not too fast. Very good. We'll rake, pull weeds, and police the area some in the future. The field was located some ways distant from the horse arena, so it looked as though we would have been able to play even if something else had been going on.

We've made up our minds to check it out again the next time we're in the mountains. It was the most promising spot we've found so far. We wouldn't have to worry about conflicts with baseball or softball games and there didn't seem to be anyone around that our group's play would disturb. Danny is going to talk with someone in the Parks&Recreation group and get official blessing for us to play there on occasion.

Friday-- Lees McRae College

http://lmc.edu/

We decided to play at a different location on Friday in order to experience the variety that playing on different surfaces with different views provides. Walt, Ron, Doreen, Wayne, Danny, Sue, Shirley, and myself tried the softball field at Lees McRae college in Banner Elk. The surface was typical of a baseball field-- nice and flat with a little drag provided by the loose dust. But the views were spectacular! The mountains in the background were difficult to ignore.

The teams were pretty evenly matched and we had some good games. We had made the assumption that we could play since the college walking track and similar facilities are open to the public. The girls' softball coach came out and told us that we needed to make reservations, but Shirley went up and talked with the athletic director who told us we could finish our play. Just wanted any potential players to know you should check first. It's a beautiful place and we would not want to cause any problems should the college have something scheduled for the field.

By the way, the large picture of Shirley was taken on the hiking trail near the Linn Cove Viaduct Welcome Center. Go if you enjoy mountain hiking.

Thursday-- Banner Elk, NC, in the park

We played in the park on some dense gravel in a picnic area. The boules would hit and stop with practically zero roll. Good practice for trying to hit a certain spot, but very difficult for pointers who usually roll in for quite a distance. There were seven players, but Walt's friend, Stefanie, had some studying to do and did not join in until Shirley dropped out to take the photos you see here.

Shirley and I had just arrived at the mountain home of Danny and Sue on Thursday morning and the four of us went directly to the park to meet up with Walt, Stefanie, and Walt's mom, Maggie. We already knew how well Walt plays, and were not really surprised to find that Maggie and Stefanie both play very well also. Maggie's background was mostly lawn boules, but she seemed to be equally at home on the petanque terrain.

As you see, the park was very beautiful. We had a few people walk up and watch. One of them was from Lexington! I gave him a card and hope to hear from him in the future. Another, Phyllis, watched for a while. It turned out she was in charge of the park. She indicated that she thought there might be room to fit in a real terrain in the future. She had a few questions about the game. So of course she got a CarolinaPetanque card as well and a promise that we would do anything we could to advise or help if she decides to pursue construction.

The outing was a very nice start to a four day petanque weekend. More to come.

Saturday in Lexington

We had an even dozen players for Saturday afternoon and evening at the Joneses' home in Lexington. The play was on Saturday instead of Sunday this week because Michel's girlfriend, Sarah, was visiting from Michigan for the weekend, but she had a plane to catch on Sunday.

The gang started arriving around 1:00 PM and play began on Court 1. As more players showed up, we expanded to our newly created Courts 2 & 3. The fact that they were no more than a recently refurbished driveway space did not diminish our fun in the least. The addition of nine tons of new gravel screenings along with a little top dressing (salvaged aquarium rock from a local industry that produces small bags of colored stone for fish bowls and tanks!) made the driveways/courts very playable. A little string, a little paint on the lines, and the use of some of Philippe's Petanque America court signage gave the area a somewhat more finished look.

The usual afternoon storm gave us just enough time for a cookout supper of burgers, dogs, baked beans, chips, etc. before we resumed play for the evening session. Since play went on until nearly ten o'clock, it appears everyone was happy with the event.

We signed up another new member Saturday. Dean Johnson, from Charlotte, (above, last photo) makes our roster of paid members an even two dozen. Good progress since we started with just nine.

For those of you who weren't able to make it Saturday, there's always next time!

CarolinaPetanque in Lincolnton, NC

Gary and Shirley played host to a few friends at their Lincolnton, NC, court on Saturday. Tom, Carol, Wesley, Danny, and newcomers Dean & Judy were there for the afternoon. There were several good games played, some conversation and getting to know each other a little better, and a cookout supper of burgers and hot dogs.

It was particularly good to have Dean Johnson and Judy Bamping join our group for the first time. They live in the Charlotte area and are contemplating a court installation at home. They're still in the planning stages and just floating some ideas about what they want to do. We, of course, hope they will join us for play on as regular a basis as their schedules permit. And look forward to helping them christen their new court some time in the future!

Danny drove over from Rockwell and played. Unfortunately, Sue was unable to make it due to some caregiving responsibilities she has with her mom. Maybe next time. Danny's really doing well with his newly adopted style of shooting more often.

Tom, Carol, and Wesley live only a few miles from the Lincolnton venue, so it's hoped they will be regulars for the future.

Sorry everyone couldn't be there this time, but look forward to doing it again real soon.

Birthday at Miller Park

There were thirteen of us at Miller Park yesterday for Sunday play and an impromptu celebration of Shirley's birthday. The play was fun and the festivities were not dampened by the Carolina summer storm that passed through briefly.

Special thanks to Danny & Sue and Terry & Sue as each couple brought a surprise birthday cake for Shirley. Two cakes! Getting a little older is not so bad, I guess. ( As someone once said, "Consider the alternative!").

Bob is heading north again to visit family and plans to be gone about six weeks this time, so we'll miss him for a while. Tentative plans for the rest of us for next weekend are to play at 2:00 PM Sunday (Miller Park), so put it on your schedule. Some of you who haven't been in a while should think about coming out again. We're having nice crowds and good games.