Week 226-227 - One More Game - 12-19-2010

Just One More Game and Merry Christmas!

When Willie Nelson wrote these lyrics:

"Maybe I didn't treat you
Quite as good as I should have
Maybe I didn't love you
Quite as often as I could have
Little things I should have said and done
I just never took the time
You were always on my mind
You were always on my mind."

...we bet he wasn't thinking about Pickleball as we are!

We left the Tucson Voyager Pickleball Tournament and headed to Catalina Spa RV Resort in Desert Hot Springs, California. We could have gone straight there, but then we would have missed the chance to play in Yuma, Arizona.

1) Ellen knocks the ball around with our friends Eddie and Jim whom we met at the Huntsman World Games in St. George, Utah. 2) The Salton Sea is beautiful and any other year we would have stopped but . . .

1) ... we gotta get to Catalina Spa RV Resort for another tournament! 2) Chris hands over a special award given to Jesse. Jesse, who is 79 has been playing Pickleball for over 20 years and has trained hundreds of players and organized Pickleball clubs in numerous locations. And she is a real sweetheart; we really enjoyed our time with her.

1) Linda and Rob (on the left) are an unassuming 5.0 (highest) rated skill level couple. Pickleball games are to 11 points. We played five practice games with them and scored six points. Six points over five games. Can we say they are good? 2) Gene, Jack, Ruth and others relax during what is a very hectic schedule to run a tournament. As usual, everyone is soooooooo nice!

1) The games started at 8:00 am and for three days went into the night. 2) Ellen and Peggy are smiling as they just won the Gold Medals in Women's Doubles Skill Level 3.5. Aren't their matching paddles cute?

1) Another gorgeous Desert Hot Springs evening. 2) After Ellen played 12 games to win the Womens Gold, she joined Pete for a dozen more games to win Silver in the Mixed Doubles 3.5 Skill Level. Each game can take up to 20 minutes, so Ellen played about seven hours this day.

The tournament is over and we met so many new and nice players. Where shall we go tomorrow? Hmmmmm, let's think about it.

Many times we decide, where to go, the night before we leave. For the first time ever, we left the RV Park and did not even know where we were headed! So we stopped briefly and decided to head to Jojoba Hills RV Resort in Aguanga, California. It is a beautiful park where we can bike and hike and swim and relax. And oh yeah, every morning they play Pickleball.

This overlook is on highway 74 is just above and outside of the Coachella Valley (Palms Springs area). This shortcut to Aguanga is a great drive when traffic is mild.

Yes, we played Pickleball daily at Jojoba Hills with our friends there, who taught us the game in January 2008. We just couldn't seem to find any time for photos. Then we headed to Temecula to begin our trek home for Christmas. "We'll be home for Christmas, you can plan on us!"

The beauty of travel in America, never ceases to amaze us. The rest of the photos in this travelogue were taken on Highway 166, from Maricopa to Santa Maria, traveling through the Cuyama Valley.

The Mothership arrives at Paul's house in Santa Maria. 1) Pete works on a new website www.SLOEspresso.com. 2) Ellen get's the Mothership decked out for Christmas.

We'll be home until after the New Year and let's see, where shall we go then? Oh, we know, let's go play some Pickleball! Just one more game!

We are blessed to have you travel with us for the last five years. May Jesus, the reason for the Christmas season, be your focus as you spend time with your family and friends.

Merry Christmas and may God bless your New Year.

With much love, Pete and Ellen

Photos from Dec 2010