Yesterday, while my better half went galivanting to San Francisco, I gathered my spying devices and drove to Sonoma to gather intelligence on the Valley of the Moon gang’s suspicious activities.
I arrived there incognito around 10:30 am and immediately blended with the crowd. Thirty-two (32) double teams had signed up for the tournament and were already going at it. The first thing that I noticed though, was the mild springlike weather; it got much hotter in the afternoon, but the morning was ideal.
Besides the players, there were quite a few onlookers who probably came to cheer up their favorites or simply to rub elbows and share gossip with their friends. I recognized a bunch of people from La Pétanque Marinière and greeted them all with a friendly fist bump.
The Lofaro clan was there in full force, including their dog. I have a weak spot for those critters, and I am always glad to see one and shake its paw.
The nice thing about a sporting event is that you don’t have to participate to have fun. Usually, everybody is in a festive mood, and it is highly contagious; catchier than Covid.
There were great players on the field, and I witnessed plenty of “carreaux”. Upon my arrival, I noticed Janice Bissonnette’s partner who looked slightly familiar but whose name I could not recall. It turned out to be Bekah Howe and she was truly impressive. Not only was she very accurate, but she also displayed a perfect form that is highly photogenic. Just love photographing her and people exhibiting the same style.
Three timed games were played before lunch and elimination games in the afternoon. Since I was not playing, I had the luxury to come late and leave early. After gathering a few hundred shots, and with the temperature rising, I opted to go home without waiting to find out who were the winners and who were the losers. Sorting and editing all those shots is very time-consuming.
I am relying on my contacts to share the final results with me, and in turn, share them with you. The minute I get the names of the winners I will add them to my report.
In the meantime, I will share my pictures with you and I hope that you will like some of them.
Alain
PS: to screen the pictures, click on the link labeled “My photos” and watch them on “full screen” on your computer for the best effect.