Archive for "Things to Do"
Anniversary Weekend
Posted on August 12, 2020 by Ching under Relationship, Things to Do.
It was an interesting anniversary weekend. We didn’t really have any major plans because flying anywhere is out of the question right now. And then I had already committed to meeting up with Teresa and Ross for manis and pedis (we’ve had to reschedule our couples manis and pedis at least twice so we were all eager for this to happen) so we really couldn’t go on a road trip. We kept our anniversary weekend this year simple and low key.
We started by having some drinks at Bigs before our group appointment at Nails and Beyond. My friend Debbie had mentioned Bigs to me before because they would sometimes go there after Friday night pickleball at Nahola. This was before the pandemic hit. Anyway, I’d heard others mention the place but I’d never been there. Saturday was my first time. It was interesting.
Brian and I got there first and his first impression was, “Wow! We are the youngest people here by 20 years!” LOL. It’s definitely an older crowd. The drinks are strong and cheap, though, so I can see why people (including my friend Debbie) go there.
After a couple of drinks at Bigs, we were off to Nails and Beyond just down the street. We would normally have to wear masks but we were the only ones there during our appointment so they didn’t make us.
Teresa and Ross are so fun. I just love ’em!
After our manis and pedis, Teresa and Ross went back to Bigs. Brian and I went to the Belmont, this new restaurant at Happiness Plaza on Douglas, hoping to try it out but they had an hour and a half long wait.
We decided to go to Carrabba’s, which is our “go to” place. We’re never disappointed with the food or service, and Joe is always so nice to us. We still had to wait but it was shorter – only 30 minutes.
We ate way too much that night. We had our favorite small plate/appetizer, the meatballs and ricotta. We both had Caesar salads and ate way too much bread before our entrees even came. Then, we usually share a Chicken Bryan but I was starving that day for some reason so I decided to order my own meal.
I got the salmon topped with crab. On the plus side, I got broccoli with it, instead of pasta so it could have been worse. I ate every bit of it, though.
Here’s a picture of the Chicken Bryan.
We got two things of dessert to go because we are ridiculous. One was a giant slide of rich chocolate cake that Joe just gave to us. He is so nice!
The other is the “cannoli cake for two” which we still have some of in the fridge.
Our anniversary weekend this year wasn’t too exciting but we had some new experiences and a ton of fun as always. We have another adventure planned on Sunday but, other than that, we are happy to celebrate another wonderful year of marriage and look forward to many more to come.
Until next time. GNG.
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Sunday Mixed at the Park
Posted on July 17, 2020 by Ching under Community, Hobbies, Things to Do.
Seneca Park is hands down my most favorite public park. I’m not really much of a park goer. Except, twenty years ago visiting Sedgwick County Parks to have a nice picnic and feed the ducks was one of our favorite cheap date activities. I can honestly say, I haven’t been to Sedgwick County Park in forever. For one, we have ducks out back that I can feed any time I get the hankering for it. Secondly, it’s clear out West.
Seneca Park is probably the only park (besides Edgemoor Park) that I visit regularly (and mostly only because of pickleball). I like playing at both public parks (primarily because it doesn’t cost a dime to play) but Seneca Park is my ultimate favorite because of the shade provided by the trees and street access. You can basically park right next to the pickleball courts. Also, it’s easy to do a quick drive-by, see who is playing, and decided whether or not you want to stay and play.
At Edgemoor Park, there’s a little skate park between the pickleball courts and the parking lot. There are also windscreens that prevent you from seeing who is playing. You can’t tell who’s playing just by driving by. You actually have to get out of your car and walk over to the courts. LOL.
Of course, it’s a lot easier to figure out who’s playing when people post their play times on Playtime Scheduler, but people don’t always do that. Sometimes people just want to play privately with their own crew. When you post on Playtime Scheduler (or on the Wichita Pickleball Facebook group, for that matter), it’s an open invitation for everyone to come and play.
I don’t really do open plays as much anymore because I’m always already playing with specific people. My favorite thing right now is Jimmy’s mixed doubles events on Sunday. Our start time is so early but totally worth it. At first we started with only 9 mixed teams and now we are up to a solid 12 teams on our roster.
The first weekend that I played, I played with my friend Michael Cheung and we revived our Cobra Kai team shirts. The following weekend, I played with my friend Tom Pham (one of my favorite leftys). The funny thing about this is I actually asked my friend Chris Wilson first (also a lefty) but Kim Knotts had already asked him to play and they usually play together because the have an upcoming tournaments so he had already said yes to her. So anyway, I told him I found another lefty to play with. He immediately thought I was referring to Cody Courter, another lefty who is super amazing and well-known in our circle. I didn’t reply to his text because I just wanted him to mull it over because Cody is probably the best lefty pickleball player in all of Wichita. LOL.
The other hilarious thing is when Jimmy sends a group text to the ladies to tell him who their partners will be, and all of these texts come in, I’m usually texting some random made up thing like “Ching and Chris Heck” or “Ching and Patrick Smith” just to see people’s reactions. They know I’m totally joking because those guys wouldn’t play in our little Sunday thing, but I think it’s the funniest thing ever.
This last Sunday however, I did get Patrick Smith’s men’s league partner Jamie Lynch to play. So I had three different partners over the last three weeks. Since Brian doesn’t play pickleball and I don’t have a “pickleball husband” (like my friend Karen does — she’s gone through two already), I’m not locked in to a specific partner. I’m kind of enjoying the flexibility that I have to play with various people. Sometimes it sucks because I don’t have someone I can count on to play with me for various events and play times but the positive side of it is if there’s a different person I want to play with for a specific thing then I don’t feel like I have to “check” with my normal partner to give them first rights of refusal.
Anyway, we first started our Sunday games at Seneca Park but quickly outgrew it. Patti has a large group that plays there on Sundays and the most we can get is usually three courts. We relocated our mixed doubles games to Edgemoor Park where we know we can get all six courts as long as we start at 6 AM. It’s worked well for us the last couple of weeks. We will be playing with a full group of 24 players again this weekend. This time were doing full-on King of Court. Normally, the mixed pairs stay together as they move up or down the court ladder. This weekend Jimmy is going to have the pairs split up. It should be interesting.
I’ll let you know how it goes this weekend. Until next time. GNG.
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Chris Wilson’s Birthday Weekend
Posted on June 12, 2020 by Ching under Hobbies, Things to Do.
Last weekend was Chris Wilson’s birthday. We had a nice little patio party after our regular Friday night pickleball. Brian come out and brought chicken for our taco bar and a chocolate cake. The others brought taco bar fixin’s and chips. Kimberly made homemade salsa. Chris’ wife nina even came out to join us.
Here’s a picture of Chris with his wife Nina.
It was the perfect night for a patio party.
We ended up staying out way too late that night but it was totally worth it. It’s always fun hanging out with the Friday night pickleball crew and it’s even more fun when we have something to celebrate.
I had the opportunity to play more pickleball with Chris that weekend because we agreed to meet up for mixed doubles with Rick and Karen. I brought a dozen birthday donuts which included a few apple fritter ones. They are Chris’ favorite.
Anyway, we were supposed to play at Seneca Park but, by the time I got there at 7:30 AM, all the courts were already full. Fortunately for us, I always have a backup plan. I had my portable net in the car so we just drove two minutes South to Aley Park where there are six lined pickleball courts. The biggest caveat about Aley Park is there are no nets so you have to bring your own. That’s pretty much why no one ever plays there. It worked out great for us because, being the only ones there, we were able to play for two hours uninterrupted.
I hope Chris had a great time celebrating his birthday weekend. I sure did!
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Eureka Lake Waterfall
Posted on June 2, 2020 by Ching under Things to Do, Travel.
Brian and I went to check out this amazing waterfall in Eureka, Kansas last week. Here are some of our photos…
I went down for a closer look…
Anyway, Brian and I were yapping in the car on the way there and we totally missed our exit. As a result we had to take the not-so-scenic route through downtown El Dorado. On the bright side, we ended up driving by a couple of notable points of interest: the new El Dorado pickleball courts and Fiesta Mexicana Cantina, the Mexican restaurant that some friends and I ate at a few months ago.
I’d been wanting to take Brian there so that’s where we decided to go for lunch on our way back. It was still a little early but the margaritas were on sale for $3 so, naturally, I had one. LOL.
Here are some pictures of our food…
Even though I had to use a creepy outhouse with no toilet paper or running water while we were at the waterfall, it was a great day overall. I’m so glad Brian agreed to go. I can’t wait to find another one. Until then. GNG.
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Mom and Dad’s First Pickleball Lesson
Posted on May 31, 2020 by Ching under Family, Things to Do.
A couple of weeks ago, mom and dad posted a video of the two of them hitting a pickleball back and forth over a dining room chair in their living room. It seemed to me that they were interested in playing so I invited them to come to the park and play with other people. However, they seemed a bit apprehensive so I booked them a lesson with my friend Chris Heck at Nahola Fitness.
They didn’t feel like they were ready to play with other people so I was hoping the lesson would give them confidence and help them to feel more comfortable with going to the park and playing with others. I watched part of their lesson with Chris last week and took some photos. I think he did a great job of teaching them the basics and making them feel more comfortable with playing. He covered a lot of information during their 90 minute session. They even had a short section on scoring that I got to participate in.
Here are a few pictures from their lesson last week.
As you know, I am completely addicted to pickleball and so I’m super excited that mom and dad have shown an interest in it. I want to encourage them and help them along their pickleball journey.
They seemed to enjoy their first lesson and wanted to do another lesson so tomorrow they’re doing a lesson with Kayla Keuter (one of owners of Nahola). Tita Esper will be joining them. I wish I was still off work so I could be a fly on the wall for this next lesson. I happened to be on vacation last week so I was able to be there for their lesson with Chris. My time off work is unfortunately over so I go back to work tomorrow. Anyway, I’m sure I will hear all about it.
I can’t wait until mom and dad are comfortable enough to come to the park and play with other people. I can’t wait to introduce them to everyone. I’ll be sure to keep you updated on their progress. Until next time. GNG.
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