My First DUPR Teams Event
Posted on December 19, 2022 by Ching under Pickleball, Travel.
iPickle Nation started piloting team events using the MLPLay format (the same rules that Major League Pickleball follows). One of the organizers, Michael Cobb, reached out to me last month about putting together a team but it was too short notice so we missed the first event. I did commit to putting together a team with enough notice. He told me about the December event and I recruited my favorite people to be part of our team. Ramon Lozano (Hays, KS), Tanner Rice (Oklahoma City, OK), and Katie Merrill (Tulsa, OK) were all equally eager to participate and together we formed DUPR Troopers.
I found us a fabulous Cozy in KC house within five minutes of both the Kansas City Chicken N Pickle (aka OG CNP) and Northland Racquet Club (the tournament venue). We were all set to go with our awesome team shirts (we actually have several matching ones now) until, two weeks before the tournament, Tanner gets injured at another team event. We scrambled to find a replacement and, as luck would have it, were able to land Kyle Rinck (Independence, KS).
This actually worked out for us because we were originally going to have four people in a three bedroom house so one of us would have had to sleep on the couch. Ramon and I talked at Smash and agreed that the youngest person should have the couch. Except the youngest person is Tanner and the couch is not a pullout. Out of all of us, I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who could have fit in it and I wasn’t going to give up a bedroom. LOL. Brian and I joked that we should make Ramon be the one without a bedroom to force him to bunk with Katie. I have been desperately trying to bring the two of them together because I think they’d make a cute couple. Anyway, in the end, the three of us agreed that the baby of the group gets to be without a room but because we love Tanner we would hook him up with an air mattress to at least make him more comfortable. I didn’t know that Katie already borrowed one from our friend Deana and so I actually ordered an air mattress and a sleeping bag from Amazon.
We ended up not needing any of these because Tanner had to pull out of the event due to his injury but I didn’t bother returning my stuff. Brian and I figured, at some point in the coming months, I’ll probably have to crash at a friend’s house and, instead of sleeping on the floor, I’ll at least have an air mattress and a sleeping bag to make my stay more comfortable.
We didn’t have to house our fourth team member, Kyle, because he lives just 30 minutes away (unlike the rest of us who had to drive 3-5 hours). Not only did we find a great substitute with Kyle, but he also solved our housing situation.
Anyway, since we were all arriving on Friday night, Ramon had the brilliant idea to have us play in the Friday night Super DUPR at NRC. It was perfect because (a) then we got to see the venue (and play there) before the event the next day, and (b) I’ve been wanting to check out DUPR events everywhere to learn how different groups are running their events so I kind of treated it as field research. Additionally, our friends Michelle Dreiling, Sharon Steimel, Tyson Steele, Nicole Mathis, and Megan White were able to play that night too which made it even more fun. It’s really nice to save several familiar faces, specially when playing somewhere for the first time.
The Friday night event had an awesome turnout. They broke us out into three groups: 2.00 to 3.19, 3.20 to 3.89, and 3.90 and above. We all ended up in the last group but were split up in different pools (except Ramon and I ended up in the same one). The way iPN does their Friday night Super DUPR is similar to their iPN round robin events. After the round robin, you get paired with someone and then you play in a single elimination bracket. It was interesting how after the round robin was tallied, Tyson and I got teamed up; Katie and Nicole got teamed up; and Ramon and Sharon got teamed up.
There were things that I liked about it but there were also things that I didn’t like. For instance, I’m not a fan of the Wilson ball but I do understand that they need something more durable because they run these events all the time. The balls they use pretty much last forever and don’t have to be replaced as frequently as Duras or Franklins. Not even close. Also, I’m not a fan of splitting the top players between the different pools instead of putting them all together. I’m sure there’s a reason behind this because you get paired up for bracket play but I think the games with be far more competitive if they grouped players by DUPR. Personally, I really like how Ryan and Caroline Luelf run theirs in Tulsa. It is similar to how Tanner does his DUPRs but he recently made a change so that his DUPR are now by team instead of individual sign ups. I’ll have to make another field trip to OKC to check out this new method of doing things.
Anyway, we met up with Tyson and Nicole at the OG CNP before heading to Northland for the DUPR thing but, after that playing for almost 4 hours, Katie and Ramon decided they were hungry again and we ended up getting some Hawaiian Bros to go. It’s one of Ramon’s most favorite places to eat in KC.
Tyson and I weren’t that hungry so we both just got some Spam musubi.
We played Poetry by Neanderthals (NSFW version) until amost midnight while Katie and Ramon had their dinner. I have to say, the guys absolutely sucked at this game while Katie was amazing at it. LOL.
The next day, we played in the DUPR Teams event. There were 4 teams in DUPR 18 (our division) and 6 teams in DUPR 16. I totally think they could have held both on the same day because there was enough room at the venue but they opted to run DUPR 18 on Saturday and DUPR 16 on Sunday. Anyway, here are some pictures of our team in our awesome shirts.
I originally ordered Medium shirts for myself which were a tad big so, when we got Kyle to replace Tanner, I decided to give Kyle the Medium shirts and order Small shirts for myself. Except my new shirts didn’t arrive in time so I had to use the white shirt so I could be in uniform. Ramon hates white anyway so he has a white shirt but I doubt he’ll ever wear it. LOL. The guys wore the gray shirts and the girls wore white so we still kinda sorta coordinated, even though we weren’t perfectly matching. I guess I’ll just have three of these shirts when my Small shirts finally arrive (hopefully, someday soon).
I would have liked to have gotten first place but there were some really good teams/players in our division. Overall I’m happy with how we performed.
You can watch most of our matches in the above video. I couldn’t film the championship though, because my phone ran out of battery.
The MLP format is so fun. Our team had to go to a Dreambreaker with All 4 One (Devon Fuller’s team) twice. He had Josh Hardy, Suzanne Gehrke, and Nikhila Suraneni on his team. However, we had Kyle who really helped us in the singles round. I’m not sure we could have won those Dreambreakers without him.
I’m really glad that I was able to participate in this team event. Not only was it a ton of fun, but I also got some ideas for the “One Last Dink” team tournament we are hosting at the Pickle Club at the end of the month. I can’t wait to tell you all about it in a couple of weeks. Until then, GNG.
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Holiday Gatherings with My Favorite Ladies
Posted on December 19, 2022 by Ching under Events.
I love this time of year because it’s the one time that I can get together with friends who I normally wouldn’t be able to catch up with throughout the year because of our busy lives. Some ladies I see at league or in our other play groups but others are on different schedules and so we don’t get to see much of one another throughout the year. I wholeheartedly appreciate these gatherings that bring everyone together to celebrate our friendship.
Holiday celebrations began two weeks ago with our “Second Annual Happy Hollitini Social,” organized by Debbie Fanning. Last year we had it at Todd Brian’s. This year Debbie picked Rain. I think because the girls love to karaoke and it’s just a super fun place to be. I enjoy the food there so I was all for it. Thankfully, I was able to get my Aqua Zumba class covered so I could join the celebration. Here’s a video I put together from that super fun night.
Here’s a fun group pic from that night:
These ladies fill my heart with so much joy!
The next night, a bunch of us were at Cindy Egan’s for some holiday fun and games. Here’s a group photo from that night:
Our fabulous host, Cindy, made some delicious, festive treats for everyone to enjoy.
Celebrations continued this past weekend when I met my Kansas City besties for lunch at Ocean Prime. I met Molly Brave (then Williams), Joy Jackson, and Mary Ann Steinlicht while on a work project a few years ago and we’ve stayed in touch ever since. The three of them have even taken one of my Zumba classes!
I feel so grateful to be able to take the day off work and join these ladies for lunch. It was totally worth the three-hour drive.
Our lunch at Ocean Prime was amazing. Brian and I haven’t made a trip to KC together in a while but I’m totally thinking it might be time for a weekend getaway so he can try this new restaurant.
I am so grateful and blessed to have all these amazing women in my life. And I am equally grateful for the opportunity to spend time with them this holiday season to celebrate our friendship. Until next time, GNG.
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Caribbean Jack’s Restaurant & Bar
Posted on December 14, 2022 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
Caribbean Jack’s was my favorite meal in Daytona. Kumar arrived at the restaurant first and had ordered nachos as a starter. These Caribbean nachos were a unique twist on nachos. They were sweet and different. And, they also had chunks of mangoes which I loved. I really enjoyed the flavor of it.
Also, the place is super cute and they even have a little gift shop of Caribbean Jack’s swag inside the restaurant. Look behind Ryan in the below pic.
These are the alligator bites which tasted like chicken. I feel like, since everything pretty much tastes like chicken, how do we even know we are eating the real thing? They could serve us chicken nuggets and call it just about any animal. LOL.
Here are pictures of the rest of the food…
Ryan and I got the same thing (seafood bake), except I got double rice instead of the broccoli (because I love rice — any kind of rice — and can’t get enough of it).
He’s a picture of our group (same group that at the Grind Gastropub the night before). Clockwise from middle: Kendra, Ryan, Ramon, Brian, me, and Kumar.
One of my favorite parts of the restaurant is the dock out back and also the live music on the dock. We went out there briefly to check it out.
They were playing really fun music and at one point were playing “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper (video linked below). Of course, the young ones in our group had no idea who she was.
While we are on the topic of Cyndi Lauper, I thought I would share my favorite song by her. I love this song and the message it conveys. The song was revived by the movie Trolls, which I also loved.
Anyway, I guess that’s all for now. Until next time, GNG.
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Java Junction Helped Brian Function
Posted on December 13, 2022 by Ching under Travel.
I rhymed! LOL. Our proximity to Java Junction was the one good thing about our rental in Florida. We had to stop here every morning because – Brian. He cannot function without coffee.
Our original rental was only a six minute walk to Pictona but would have been a drive to the coffee shop. It ended up getting damaged during the last hurricane that came through the area so we had to scramble and find another place. We ended up staying at this rental, further away from the tournament venue (about 15-20 minutes walk) but much closer to the coffee shop (about 8 minutes). In the long run, it worked out better for us because then it kept Brian from being in a murderous rage in the mornings.
Kendra and I had an 8 AM start on the first day so the guys just dropped us off and then went to the coffee shop on their own and then came back after so I didn’t get to see the place until the next day when all of us went before going to the tournament venue. That’s when I took all these photos, including the one below.
On the third day, we dropped Ramon off at the tournament. It was men’s doubles day and he was playing in 4.5 35+ division with our friend Jason Doll. After dropping Ramon off, we went to grab breakfast and coffee at Brian’s favorite place before dropping Kendra and Ryan off at the airport to pick up their rental car. They were spending the day at Disney in Orlando.
Ramon also took off for Orlando later that day because he was flying home the next morning. That meant, Brian and I didn’t have anyone to hitch a ride from anymore so we were back to our Ubering ways. Luckily, the coffee place is super close and an easy walk from our rental. I actually did a timelapse video of our walk that morning.
The coffee shop is in the opposite direction of the venue but I didn’t have to play until 2 PM that day so it actually worked great. We went for breakfast and then came back to the house to chill for a bit before going to the tournament in the afternoon. The walk to the tournament was about 15-20 minutes but the weather was beautiful and it kind of worked as a nice warmup for me. Our plan to just Uber back at the end of the day, when I was all pooped from playing singles.
That Sunday turned out to be weird. Ryan and Kendra missed their flight home and, after being on standby at the airport most of the day, the airport attendant finally told them they weren’t getting out and put them on a flight the next morning so they ended up coming back and hanging out at the tournament with us. My singles event lasted until almost 7 PM. I felt bad that they missed their flight but it was nice to have friends their to watch and cheer as I played (Brian isn’t really as enthused and is not a good cheerer; but he was super awesome get filming all my matches this time, though) and we ended up having a ride back to the house instead of having to Uber or walk. Kendra and Ryan crashed with us (our rental had a second bedroom which was convenient) that night and left early the next morning.
Someone at the tournament made a comment that it was super nice of our friends to stay and watch me play, like it was by choice. Had they not missed their flight, they wouldn’t have been there. LOL.
The two of them left super early the next morning because they didn’t want to risk missing their flight again. They flew out of Orlando so it’s a much busier airport. Brian and I slept in a little on Monday because we were flying out of Daytona Beach, a much smaller regional airport, and our flight wasn’t until after noon. We actually went to Java Junction one last time on departure day. Brian was literally there every single day of our stay. No joke!
I am grateful that the coffee shop was there and so close to our place too because Brian liked their coffee and he would not have survived the week otherwise. LOL. Until next time, GNG.
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Grind Gastropub & Kona Tiki Bar
Posted on December 13, 2022 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
We ended up going to Grind Gastropub & Kona Tiki Bar at the recommendation of our server the previous night at Hull’s Seafood. Also, it had a fun name so I figured it must be good.
The restaurant is located off Granada in Ormond Beach, which is pretty much where all the good restaurants are located. Per our first Uber driver, there’s absolutely nothing good in Holly Hill (or Holy Hell as the locals call it).
The restaurant has a hip interior and cool vibe. Except I found the music too loud for my liking. I could barely hear the people across the table from me.
Kumar Krishnan joined us for dinner so it was (clockwise from left) Kumar, Ramon, Ryan, Kendra, me, and Brian at dinner that night.
Here are some pictures of our food, which was actually pretty good.
Brian and I split chicken skewers and a sandwich for our meal.
Kumar ordered the bread pudding to share (thus, all the spoons in this pic). It was really good. I feel like there are two kinds of people in this world — those who like bread pudding and those who hate moist bread and don’t like it. I am definitely #teambreadpudding. LOL.
Ramon had not had bread pudding before so we opened up his world to a whole new area of culinary delight. Kumar spoke of this place in Bartlesville that has great bread pudding. Ramon has never played in the Bartlesville tournament before so I think we might finally have him convinced. Play in the tournament and then enjoy some delicious bread pudding to celebrate your success after. We are hatching us a plan. Until next time, GNG!
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