In shuffleboard as in life, go big or go home — so on Friday night we went to the World’s Largest Shuffleboard Club. Now I know you’re thinking that with all its retirees the world’s largest shuffleboard club would of course be in Florida. But no, there were people of all ages and I may have been the only retiree there.
Laura found that we could shuffle for free on Fridays, and even bring our own snacks and refreshments and make a party of it. Years ago we each used to play impromptu games on vacant courts of the many small motels that used to line the Treasure Island beachwalk. But the small motels and their shuffleboard courts are mostly gone now, so the Mirror Lake Club filled the gap for us. I’d driven by the club for years when it was an abandoned lawn bowling club, wishing it would reopen for lawn bowling.
But shuffleboard is sorta like lawn bowling with sticks and disks that don’t roll or curve. And it’s well maintained — the courts were freshly waxed.
The first to score 72 points wins. But after I’d won it was announced that they’d close in 15 minutes and Laura said “Let’s keep playing.” She outscored me in the last 15 minutes, making me possibly the only one ever to win in regulation and lose in overtime.
Annual club membership is $35, which allows you to play anytime with 3 guests. I think we’ll join. The website is stpeteshuffle.com, the address is 559 Mirror Lake Drive North, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, and the phone number is 727-822-2083.
Editor’s Note – Paradise NEWS is pleased to welcome our new blogger, Ken Ohlrogge. Ken has talked us into running his blog on our website and occasionally one in the magazine. We ran a bit he wrote last month on Zombies at Fergs. In the meantime, Ken has been on a Carnival cruise.
Christmas in Tampa and Sanding Ovations. We will soon be posting these stories and more on our website, paradisenewsfl.com so keep an eye out. Ken can be reached at kohlrogge@comcast.net