Hello Phoenix. Goodbye Phoenix. That's pretty much how I feel about this place. I think I forgot about how oppressively hot it is out here. Gives the Iranian gov't a run for it's money. Zing!
But really, there are only two reasons that I'm here. One is to check out Chase field and the other is to visit with my buddy Nick from my days in the Geology dept. Thankfully, it was worth putting up with 110 degree weather for both.
As soon as I arrived in Phoenix I made a beeline for the ballpark. I knew that I had about 40 minutes before the first pitch and I wanted to catch the entirety of the game. Thankfully parking was a breeze, and I grabbed a pretty sweet ticket to an outfield seat. Once inside, I got to enjoy my first experience inside a domed stadium. A domed stadium with AC, fantastic! Granted it wasn't cool by any stretch of the imagination. I'd guess that it was in the high 90's in my seats, but it was a hell of a lot better than the hell that was outside the stadium.
The stadium itself was nice. Very modern looking n the inside with a nice wide concourse that allowed access all around the field. They had a wide variety of concessions stands, with short quick lines and friendly attendants. I ended up eating a southern bbq pulled pork sandwich and it was delicious. The ushers were equally pleasant, maybe a little too much. I ended up receiving a Dback nightlight at the entrance despite the fact that the giveaway day was only supposed to be for children. I wonder who the lucky person will be to get that souvenir?
The game itself was fun too, the Angels ended up winning 12-8 due to a series of useless dbacks relievers and atrocious defense. I think the angels scored all of those runs on 10 or 11 hits. The Boo-birds eventually came out in the 6th or 7th inning, after the 3rd error in a row, but you could hardly blame them. The dbacks were playing like a single A minor league team. It didn't help that Gary Matthews stole home (WHAT A PLAY!!!) and that Mathis and Izturis hit homers, their 2nd of the year.
After the game I met up with my buddy Nick, his girlfriend and her sister at In-and-Out for an early dinner. While hanging out he offered up a place to stay at his house in Phoenix, and we also decided to catch Transformers 2 on the way over there, so it ended up being a pretty fun evening. I know Nick from my days as a Geology undergrad at Cal State LA, and haven't seen much of him for about 8 years. I think this bodes well for the future of my trip.
Next stop, New Mexico. I really want to see the Carlsbad caverns, but it is a bit of a haul to get there tonight. I might stop in Las Cruces first and head to the caverns first thing in the morning on Tuesday. We'll see what happens.
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