August and early September were chock-full of trips and bustle as we squeezed every last drop of playtime out of summer 2022 (though let’s be honest – traveling anywhere with a baby is equal parts work and play, if you’re lucky). Our bonanza started small, with a weekend on Bainbridge Island to watch Shane and the Rusts compete in another pickle ball tournament. I mean, since Shane was playing both mixed doubles and mens doubles and since pickle ball was founded on Bainbridge, and since I found the sweetest little AirBnB on an idyllic farm, I felt like the kids and I should tag along and make a getaway out of it.
Isaac and Juliette liked watching the ferry pull away from the dock, but the real excitement came when Juliette realized Nancy was on the same boat as us.
It was a quick float to Southworth and an hour drive to Bainbridge and then we drove along the prettiest little lane to land at what would be our front yard for the weekend.
We explored the grounds and met the animals and had a picnic dinner on the grass.
This place felt too good to be true when Shane discovered a pickle ball net in the garage to go with the striping that was on the parking pad out front. He and Nance were able to get a little practice in, though having to maneuver around Casey, the resident dog, complicated the game a bit.
Saturday was game day for mixed doubles; the kids and I joined the gaggle of West Seattle ballers to cheer on Shane and Nance. There were a couple of handy wins, a couple of defeats, and a couple of hard-fought victories. They unfortunately landed just a couple of points shy of the medal round, but I was impressed by how much improvement I saw in their game since I last watched them play in June.
Isaac was mosly just impressed by the adjacent playground.
Until he wasn’t impressed at all.
I spent the afternoon back at the AirBnB with the kids while Shane and Nancy cheered on some of their buddies at the tournament. Isaac and I both took a much-needed nap (true to form, he took vacation as a cue to party / fuss all night), and then after waking we played a rousing game of How long can we keep Issac in bed?
Not long…
We bopped around the farm before grabbing pizza and ice cream in Winslow.
The owners of the AirBnb were super-friendly and gave Juliette a bunch of carrots to feed the horses. She loved how popular she immediately became!
But she didn’t love the horse drool.
I had Isaac bathed and jammied by 6 pm, but he was still pretty bright-eyed, so we took another stroll around the farm. He loved watching the chickens strut around their coop and once he got past the initial surprise of the rooster’s high-pitched crow, he smiled wide at each cock-a-doodle-doo.
Juliette came out to join us and snuggled up with Dusty, the resident cat. We played a few lawn games and turned in early, while Shane played pickle ball out front with the owners. He’s insatiable.
Shane got an early start on Sunday to meet up with Jason at the courts for mixed doubles while I took my time getting going with the kids. Isaac had another hum-dinger of a night, but didn’t seem too sorry about it.
Sleepless nights aside, I was reluctant to leave this place. The dahlias! The farm-fresh eggs in our fridge! The animals…we loved those animals. Juliette spent a good 20 minutes saying goodbye to the horses, stroking Rose and Willow on their noses while murmuring, “You’re such a sweet girl…â€. No, Juliette – YOU’RE such a sweet girl.
She tried very hard to make sure each horse got equal amounts of love.
Meanwhile, Isaac really liked those chickens…
We arrived at the courts mid-morning to find Shane and J on a roll. They won a handful of games, were immediately humbled when a couple of 60-something guys clobbered them, but ultimately made it to the medal round.
Silver! Congrats, guys.
Once the medal pics were snapped, we were ready to jet home. That much pickle ball is exhausting, partly for Shane, who was on the courts for all those hours, but also for me, who ran point on crowd control / baby patrol – Isaac has yet to learn the true art of spectating. Still, though, so worth the trip, to see Shane play a game he loves with people we love. And…horses! Juliette and I are still thinking about those horses.