Without pickleball everyday and golf a couple times a week, and with almost daily winds in excess of 15 mph and cooler than usual temperatures, we’re finding it hard to keep busy doing things we like. Photography has definitely suffered! We still enjoy the Arkansas happy hour potlucks on Monday afternoons, Wednesday bridge lessons with the Seitz’s, and Friday pickleball with the Arkansas group. And, Kay plays golf every Sunday afternoon and pickleball with the neighborhood ladies most Monday evenings. Oh, and Kay also plays pickleball almost every Tuesday and volunteers a couple times a week checking people in at the pickleball desk. So, she stays busy—not unusual.

I played pickleball on Wednesday, February 8, and again with the Arkansas folks on Friday, February 10. While there was no aches nor pains while playing, the right shoulder really hurt afterward. Consequently, I decided to not play again as the pain doesn’t seem to go away, and see an orthopedic specialist when we return to Hot Springs Village—a real bummer for this pickleball addict! And, this is probably the last word on the injury.

We did an interesting road trip on Tuesday, Valentine’s Day, driving north and east to Globe, Arizona, trying to find the Salt River Canyon Scenic Drive. Though we didn’t find the scenic drive, we did drive up into the mountains to snow level at about 5,000 feet. In fact, there was enough snow on the roads that we turned around. Regrettably, the rain, snow, overcast, and mist did not provide for great photos.

The annual Palm Creek Pickleball Club dinner and dance was Thursday, February 16. We shared a table with the Seitz’s. The theme was “The Roaring Twenties.” The food (a pasta bar) was good and the band was great, maybe the best dance band we’ve experienced at Palm Creek. A good time was had by all.

On Saturday, February 18, we traveled to Bell Bank Park in Mesa to watch the Professional Pickleball Association tournament. Having watched a lot of the players live and on You Tube, it seems as if they are neighbors. The game among the pros (all very young, athletic, and mostly tall) is becoming so fast and physically challenging, that amateurs are emulating their play. The game is evolving so quickly that future play among us minions will appear to be in slow motion and have to be broken down by age group.

Kay played golf with the Arkansas group on Sunday afternoon, and afterwards Ron and Bev Graham hosted a root beer float party at their place. Following root beer float party, the pickleball club hosted “Paddle Day” for trying out most, if not all, the most popular brands of paddles on the market. Neither of us bought a new one!

PS: The blog updates are running behind—mainly because of the lack of photos! If the weather will ever cooperate, then some photo ops should become available!