Archive for "Things to Do"
New Pickleball Courts at WSU
Posted on March 15, 2022 by Ching under Pickleball, Things to Do.
I finally had a chance to check out the beautiful pickleball courts at Wichita State University. There are four lighted pickleball courts on campus, nestled between the Heskett Center and the softball stadium. I had no idea how amazing these courts are until I had the opportunity to check them out for myself a couple of weeks ago. I love how much space there is around each court.
Huge thanks to Ryan Kellenbarger and the ladies — MariAnn Heeren, Greta Siemens, Karen Fox, Lesli Toubassi, and Kimberly Howe — for going with me that night so I wouldn’t have to check out the pickleball courts by myself.
I’m going to try to go back there again tomorrow night with some gals for women’s doubles. I’ll keep you posted. Until then, GNG.
No Comments
Chicks that Click
Posted on December 13, 2021 by Ching under Community, Events, Things to Do.
I love the Snowbound pop-up bar concept at Chicken N Pickle so much that I welcome any excuse to go. When Kim Blackman and Lisa Orf invited me to the Chicks that Click event at Snowbound and told me I could bring some friends, I was all over it. I was already going to be playing at Chicken N Pickle that day anyway for the CNP ICT Major League Pickleball team tournament so I figured it was perfect because then I could just come out an hour early.
Sarah is the best bartender/mixologist/bar manager ever! She made an amazing “mocktail” for my friend Lesli Toubassi (below). I liked it so she made me an “adult” version spiked with rum, which was just as tasty.
Deana Holman, Karen Taylor, and Jenny Cole listening attentively to Abby and Kim. Deana and Karen are a couple of pickleball players from Oklahoma who were playing in MLP that weekend. They stayed at Jenny’s house.
We listened to Abby (brains behind the Snowbound pop-up bar concept) talk about how they did Snowbound at the Kansas City location (original/first ever CNP) last year and it was a huge success so they decided to bring it to the other locations this year. I’m not sure how it’s doing at the other locations but it is super popular with my circle of picklers so from that perspective I think it’s doing really well.
Missina Sharp (another out of towner), Krista Crawford, and Rachel McMahon.
The same ladies with Karen Fox. At first Karen said she couldn’t make it but she was able to come out after all.
Deana, Karen (Taylor), Jenny, and Michelle Pease with their fun drinks.
Group photo with most of the girls who attended. Lesli couldn’t stay.
I had to get a gondola pic with my friend Krista who I had ran into at Costco earlier that same day. Then we did again with all the other girls because everything is better when you do it with a group, specially a fun one like these ladies.
Jody Vinson was surprise when she arrived at open play because there weren’t many people there and when she found out we were still all drinking at Snowbound, she came to get us. LOL.
The pre-pickleball drinks made open play quite interesting but I did get a few good practice games in before heading over to Nahola for our more pickleball with Debbie’s group. Anyway, this was the day that we took my car in for an oil change and I didn’t realize they turned off my headlights which are normally set to auto so I don’t ever mess with them. Anyway, I didn’t realize I was driving around without headlights until I was on my way home. Ooops!
I highly recommend checking out Snowbound. I do not recommend driving around without your headlights on. I knew I should have checked but it was daylight when I went to CNP and, even though I didn’t have that much to drink, I completely spaced the checking my headlights because I never really ever have to mess with them. I will be extra careful in the future. Until then. GNG.
No Comments
Illuminations with Mom and Dad
Posted on December 8, 2021 by Ching under Things to Do.
Brian and I were sick with COVID around this time last year so we missed Illuminations. I’m so grateful that we have both been vaccinated and have managed to avoid getting COVID (again) so we were able to go to Illuminations this year. Each year they do something slightly different so it’s always worth going. Plus, when you go, you’re supporting Botanica and helping them stay open for our community to enjoy throughout the year.
This year we shared the experience with mom and dad.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from that night.
Mom and I rode the carousel (twice). Dad and Brian didn’t really care to do it. They just watched us and took pictures.
I really like how they did the one-way flow for the walking path. It made the process so much smoother and more organized. Despite being somewhat scaled back from previous years (I suspect because they were offering a walk through and drive through option), Illuminations is still a really cool experience and I highly recommend it as a “must do” for the holidays. The display will be available through January 1 and you can get tickets here.
That’s all I have for now. Until the next post. GNG.
No Comments
Snowbound Trip #3
Posted on December 5, 2021 by Ching under Things to Do.
Last Friday’s trip to the Snowbound Ski Lodge is seriously the most fun I’ve had in a long, long time. We had so much fun on our last trip that Debbie Fanning arranged for us to go back after Friday night pickleball at Nahola. Kimberly Howe got Ryan Kellenbarger to sub for Eric that night so I told Ryan about our plans and encouraged him to get a table for four and go with us.
So we were all set, sort of. I started a group message with Ryan along with Parrish Gumeringer (his long-time mixed doubles partner and usual plus one) and also Brandi and Ty Richardson to help Ryan fill his table. I messaged the four of them because they usually hang out together. By Thanksgiving Day, people were still on the fence so, even though Debbie’s group of ten was confirmed, Ryan’s foursome was still somewhat uncertain.
So I’m relaxing at home on Thanksgiving night and I decide to send a “Happy Thanksgiving” text to Patrick Smith and also, since I figured Ryan would have room at his table that is largely still vacant, I invited him to join us. I didn’t think he would actually say yes but, much to my surprise, he said he would come.
I told the gang that Patrick “might” come but I wasn’t really holding my breath because people say they will do things all the time and don’t come through. I checked with him on Friday and he was pretty nonchalant. I talked to Ryan on Friday and the only confirmed guest he had was Bryan Nguyen. Ty and Brandi didn’t really want to come out because they said our reservation time of 9:45 pm was “so late” and they had a busy Saturday planned. The thing is, we all play pickleball on the West side of Wichita from 7-9 o’clock so 9:45 pm was perfect for our group. It would give us all enough time to get from Nahola to Chicken N Pickle on the East side.
I’m thinking Ryan still had two empty seats so I asked Dan Kautz who plays with us at Nahola for open play if he would like to go. I figured Dan plus Patrick would complete Ryan’s group. But, when Ryan arrived for 7 pm pickleball, I found out that he managed to convince Ty to commit to going over beers at Twin Peaks that afternoon. I guess once you get enough drinks in someone, you can pretty much get them to do anything. Since Brandi and Ty are now in, I told Dan all the seats are taken so he is, unfortunately, out. I didn’t worry about Pat because I wasn’t really sure if he would show up and, if he did, I’m sure the Chicken N Pickle people wouldn’t care because he is a handsome pickleball celebrity who could probably do whatever he wants.
We finished playing pickleball and all head to Snowbound. Once we get there, Ryan tells me that Bryan backed out so now he has a vacancy again. I asked Dan to come and luckily he was able to make it.
Debbie’s group consisted of Debbie, her husband Dave, Tiffany and Donnie Lesperance, Karen Fox, Melissa Burgess, Greta Siemens, Kimberly Howe, Brian and me. Ryan’s table consisted of him, Dan, Brandi and Ty. We went up first because Ryan was still waiting for the rest of his party to arrive. Luckily, there was an open table for four next to our area so we asked the staff to make sure that Ryan’s group got seated there. Our group of twelve pretty much had the entire back of the room. It was perfect.
Here are some pictures from that fun night with the pickleball crew (put Pat and Jamie) at the Chicken N Pickle Snowbound Ski Lodge.
Brandi Richardson and Kimberly Howe.
Patrick Smith and Karen Fox.
This is Pat trying to keep Karen from molesting him. LOL.
Dan Kautz enjoying the Fogged Goggles peppermint martini.
Got some fun pics while goofing around with Pat. Love the look on Brian’s face.
Tiffany and Donnie Lesperance and Debbie and Dave Fanning.
We had such a great time at Snowbound that night.
Kimberly Howe and Melissa Burgess.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch shot ski.
Ryan gives the Snowbound Ski Lodge a thumbs up!
You can’t go to Snowbound and not get a gondola pic!
Our group totally shut down the Snowbound Ski Lodge that night. But the gang wasn’t done partying. All of them went to the Stop for an after party and they shut down that place too. Brian and I went home after Snowbound and called it a night because I had an early wake up the next day for my Aqua Zumba class. Besides that, Brian was such a good sport that night. I did not want to push my luck with him. We were the only two (and Greta who left Snowbound a little early) who didn’t go to the Stop. Even Brandi and Ty who originally felt like 9:45 PM was too late, went and stayed out until at least 2 AM!
I love hanging out with my pickleball friends. They are so much fun! I can’t wait until our next outing. Until next time. GNG.
1 Comment
Snowbound Ski Lodge at CNP
Posted on November 25, 2021 by Ching under Date Ideas, Food and Drink, Things to Do.
Snowbound had only been open a week and I’ve been there twice already (will be going for a third time tomorrow). When they first unveiled it, they had a special preview for employees which Karen invited me to attend with her as her plus one. We went on a Thursday and I met her there after my Aqua Zumba class.
I gave Brian a heads up that I would be home late because I was swinging by Chicken N Pickle after class. The funniest part is, after texting him some pictures from Snowbound, he texted me back immediately with “Where are you? Thought you were going to CNP?” LOL. Their goal was to completely transform the CNP rooftop into a merry ski lodge and, given Brian’s response, I would say they completely succeeded.
If you’ve ever spent any time on the rooftop at CNP, you really won’t recognize it. They did such a great job with the ski lodge decor. I’ve never been skiing before so I guess I wouldn’t really know but, I got a total kick out of the the reaction they got from Brian. Here are some more pictures.
They have these fun ski boot shot glasses that you can get various shots in. Karen did a cinnamon toast crunch shot with the guys — Dan Leddy, Rick Nutt, and Lauren Rezac. The shots are presented on skis. It’s super cute.
I got a video of the four of them doing the shot which you can watch by clicking here. Besides the fun shots in the ski boots, they have the prettiest drinks at Snowbound. They’re also very yummy and strong.
Here are some drink pics.
The avalanche is cool because of how it is lit up and everything. The interesting part about it is sometimes it is blue and sometimes it is purple. I just depends on who makes it, I guess.
That Thursday night that I went with Karen, she got the avalanche while I got the free rider. I love my drink except I wasn’t expecting the sprinkles which I don’t really like that much (not even in cookies or cupcakes).
The next time I order the free rider, I will ask them to hold the sprinkles.
This next one is the ski ya later drink.
Then this next pic is of white out with an empty ski boot shot glass next to it. I was told you now have to take the ski boots off the ski first before taking your shot because you can’t make drinking too much fun and game-like. Seriously? Who comes up with these crazy rules?
The drinks at Snowbound are yummy but the food is equally fabulous. These are two of my favorite things to get:
This is the salmon dip. They give you a generous amount served in a jar.
This is the pork belly and brussels which is amazing.
Here’s a picture of the Snowbound menu. I seriously cannot wait to go back tomorrow and try all the other food and drinks I haven’t tried yet. I highly recommend checking out Snowbound before the season is over. You can make reservations here.
1 Comment
