Tennis roadtrip

Last weekend Caleb had the opportunity to play in a pretty big tennis tournament, the state doubles championships.  Over the summer, he was approached by a fellow player about being partners for the tournament.  He's a really nice boy and a strong player. So Caleb happily agreed.  The site of the tournament was about an hour and forty-five minutes from the house, and with an early start time that Saturday, we opted to drive up in our RV, Charlie, the day before. It rained the whole drive up, which was a sign of things to come.

We grabbed something to eat since we were all itching to get outside a bit. Then we parked overnight at the Cracker Barrel, which was about 10 minutes from the tournament site.  Score!  We arrived early to the site, and upon our arrival, we saw all these white tents popping up in the park adjacent to the tennis courts.  Turns out there was a big "grill off" competition taking place.  We found a nice spot in the back of the parking lot to park Charlie and waited for the rain to stop.  It didn't.  It drizzled on and off. So we decided to get out and walk around a bit.

 The tennis facility and park were right on the intracoastal waterway, a beautiful spot indeed.

 After exploring we headed back to the RV, and the dumplings decided they wanted to scooter/bike ride.

 Yeah, we, the safety police, forgot her helmet.  We let her ride anyway.

 The rain finally let up around 11am, and the courts began to dry.  The boys started playing around noon.  

 They had match point in their first match but ended up losing in a tiebreaker.  Gosh, that was a tough loss.  Next match was too much for them.  Then their third match was pushed to a tiebreaker as well.  They played the first few points before the rain came pouring down.  It was frustrating being so close to finishing a match but having to stop and come back the next day to finish.

So, it was back to the Cracker Barrel for a second night for us.  The next day started the same way- early.  They finished up their tiebreaker and took the match easily at that point. Then they had one last match to play.

 They were down by a few breaks, and it looked like the match would be over quickly. But they clawed their way back, taking a few games in a row.   They were so close to pulling off a win, but it wasn't meant to be.  That loss was also pretty tough on Caleb.  But overall, it was a really great experience.  He played well and showed some mental toughness.  He really enjoyed playing doubles and can't wait to play in another doubles tournament.  Let's hope that the USTA will make some changes to accommodate that desire.

Well, it should come as no surprise but we are headed to another tournament this weekend.  This one is close to my sister and BIL's house.  And since my BIL will be playing an EP Release Show for Elevators, and we'll be staying the night, we will be cruising over in Charlie the RV.  Oh, and the weather doesn't look too promising either.  So it looks like a weekend of tennis, music, rain, and fun for us.