Something I've been wanting to do for a long time:
to map the 7 odd thousand locations where we have shipped boules over the past 10 years.
The maps are not yet complete due to some old address formats, erroneous ZIP codes, and my allergy to software tutorials. About 10% is missing. Also, they are based on addresses, not the volume of shipments. One push pin may represent 3 or 30 boules. But they do give an overall picture.
No surprises: California, Florida and the Northeast remain the foremost pétanque are(n)as.
Oregon, Washington State and Michigan have grown a lot.
And there are interesting new "pockets" where there are more boules than you'd expect from the average population density.
In some places one can see several addresses in the same neighborhood, even street. We often know the "culprit" - the passionate aficionado who has convinced his or her neighbors and friends to play.
These are a few examples, like Madison WI, Kansas City MO, Tucson AZ, Santa Fe / Albuquerque NM and El Paso TX. (click to enlarge)
A message from Donna, in the Grant Park area:
From Jeffrey - now in Ashtabula, soon in Akron:
Michael recently moved from Karlsruhe, Germany to Bloomington (with his boules) and is looking for other players.
From Ric in Cape Cod:
Margaret in Salem, OR would like to find other folks interested in playing pétanque.
Ken, who was actively involved in the Detroit pétanque scene, recently moved to Huntsville AL and would love to meet other players.
Something I've been wanting to do for a long time:
Of course we never have and never will give out names and addresses unless requested, but if you live in one of these - or other - cities we will try to hook you up.
Wade & Gail in Casa Grande, Arizona are looking for other players.
Michael Kronenberg is looking for other players in the Salt Lake City, Utah area.
