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Our pickleball odyssey began in Costa Rica back in 2020. The owner of our hotel in Tamarindo invited Michael to play pickleball. Soon enough, we found ourselves on a court back in the United States with paddles in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We learned the ropes of playing as a family in Atlanta, GA. We fell in love with the sport’s unique blend of tennis, badminton, and ping pong. Little did we know that this would be the start of an incredible adventure. The United States provides a lot of pickleball action. Michael’s sister loves pickleball, so we play a lot when we visit her in Arizona. She even built a pickleball court in her backyard! We have played pickleball in Arizona, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and North Carolina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We built our skills and ignited a passion for pickleball when we spent a month in Cuenca, Ecuador playing six days a week. Playing pickleball at higher altitudes was both challenging and exhilarating. Playing alongside locals and fellow expats was fun and memorable. Lucas and Henry were the only kids, but they held their own. Henry often played with a 90-year-old named Geranamo. They were great at smack-talking. We realized pickleball could bridge cultural gaps and bring people from all walks of life together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Argentina brought a new dimension to our pickleball journey as we played a higher-caliber opponent. We found time between sightseeing and tango lessons to play a couple of times a week. We cherished the connections we made with the welcoming locals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our taste buds tingled with excitement in Thailand, but so did our itch to play pickleball. We found pickleball in Bangkok, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai. We bonded with locals over fiery curry and sweet mango sticky rice, forging connections that transcended language barriers. Lucas and Michael played in a pickleball tournament in Bangkok, and they won!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We continued our pickleball journey in Vietnam, where we found pickleball in Hoi An and Hanoi. The hospitality of the Vietnamese people touched our hearts, and we left with new friends and a profound love for this beautiful country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our family’s pickleball journey teaches us that this sport is more than just a game; it’s a universal language that connects people from all corners of the globe. From our home in the United States to the far reaches of Southeast Asia, pickleball has been and will continue to be our passport to adventure and cultural immersion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remember, whether you’re in your hometown or halfway across the world, pickleball is waiting to connect you with new friends and unforgettable experiences. So, grab your paddle and join us in celebrating the incredible journey that is life on and off the pickleball court. Cheers to adventure!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We travel the world with carry-on luggage and backpacks, but we have room for pickleball paddles. Our travels have taken us to five continents, and on that journey, we have had a whirlwind pickleball adventure. Our pickleball odyssey began in Costa Rica back in 2020. The owner of our hotel in Tamarindo invited Michael to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5247,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[197,119,120,121],"tags":[16,252,15],"class_list":["post-7633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia","category-central-america","category-south-america","category-united-states","tag-family-travel","tag-pickelball-2","tag-worldschooling"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7633"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7633\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7706,"href":"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7633\/revisions\/7706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/gowatkinsgo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG_3579.jpg\")
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