Westgate, Baseball, Fountain Hills, Art, and the Mountains

It's Easter Sunday and all is well. Another Holiday spent on the road. Starbucks is open, and quiet. I've set up my "office" to get caught up on a few things.

I attended the Fountain Hills Art and Wine Affaire yesterday. Fountain Hills is a few minutes from Scottsdale as you go east toward the mountains. Fountain Hills is actually on the eastern slope of McDowell Mountain. After the festival I drove further east and north to see the McDowell Regional Park. I took a hike (doing what people usually tell me to do when I'm at Starbucks--"...take a hike, buddy,...I want your table."). The camp was full of RVs and tents for Easter weekend, so I was unable to stay the night.

I made a video and posted it on YouTube, below, of my trip there.

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On Friday, I went back to the site of the Super Bowl in Glendale: Westgate City Center. What a great place to hang out. I had lunch on the patio at the Fox Sports Grill. (See my video clip here.)

Notice the "Before" and "After" photos below. I took the first photo during a Super Bowl party when the plaza was packed with football fans.

"Before" during the Super Bowl:

"After" when I was there Friday:

Westgate City Center, the lower level plaza.

The photo below was taken by a L.A. Angels fan at the Rangers game Friday night.

Fountain Hills Art and Wine Affaire, Fountain Hills, Arizona

McDowell Mountain Regional Park, north of Fountain Hills

Day 221 on the road.

The Starbucks I’m at this morning is in the Casa Paloma Shopping Center in Chandler, just east of Interstate 10. For the second morning in a row I’ve walked the few blocks across the shopping center to the AJ’s Fine Foods grocery store, an upscale and chic “Whole Foods-like” place that features an outdoor patio, deli, and some of the freshest fruits and vegetables I’ve seen.

The deli at AJ’s was busy with soccer moms, bike riders, and young professionals wearing golf gear on their way to the local country club. I had to take a number and wait my turn. It’s one of the rare deli’s I’ve seen that had one of those numbering machines like you see at the Department of Transportation. I impatiently waited for my number to be flashed on the neon sign above the espresso machine so I could buy a muffin.

I counted ten people hanging around the counter area. A very attractive soccer mom was wheeling around a Gucci-designed baby carriage with sleeping child oblivious to the commotion she was causing by bumping and grinding her way to the front of the counter to view the selection of donuts, rolls, croissants, and other delicacies. When my number was called—I had number seven--she lied about her number and cut me off by telling the lady behind the counter, “I’m number six!.”

As I was contemplating this behavior, an elderly woman pushed her shopping cart past me and ran over my foot. Finally I was able to limp my way to the counter and purchase my pumpkin nut muffin. I survived the onslaught at AJ’s deli and returned to Starbucks and had breakfast in peace.

I’m on my way in a few a minutes to Fountain Hills, on the slope of the McDowell Mountains, to attend an art festival. Then I’ll do some writing later this afternoon and post some photos from my trip yesterday to the Westgate City Center. I also watched the Texas Rangers beat the Los Angeles Angels last night in Surprise. By tomorrow I’ll have some new photos and video posted, so check back.

Day 220 on the road.

It's getting warmer, today's high to reach the mid-80s. On Easter Sunday the forecast is 89 degrees, sunshine.

I made it to Starbucks this morning and decided to walk to the grocery store for some breakfast food. I was thinking how great the weather was and saw numerous people walking their dogs and enjoying the cool morning. In a few weeks as the heat arrives, these cool days will be gone. I've been told, however, the nights and mornings are still cool during the summer months...even though the afternoon heat will top 100 degrees.

I'll be attending another Rangers game today. It's one of the few night games, so I expect it to be cool...if not downright cold. I'm going to revisit downtown Glendale and the Westgate City Center on my way to Surprise. My first visit to these hotspots was during Super Bowl weekend when thousands of football fans from all over the country were in town. I'm going back today for a quieter and less crowded visit.

I read in this mornings Arizona Republic newspaper about a local business owner from Tempe who donated a few professionally built poker tables to the troops in Iraq. The man owns a company that sells poker and gambling supplies and was approached by the military about donating some new tables. The troops like to play poker to keep their minds active while off duty and enjoy playing poker tournaments during their downtime (poker has always been a popular game among the troops, even during the Civil War when poker was just starting to make the rounds up and down the Mississippi River). Of course, when I play poker, I sometimes feel as if I'm in a battle, fighting my way through a mindfield. Go figure. I guess it's all a matter of perspective.

Tommy Lasorda, a Blind Man, and Hulu

Day 219 on the road.

It's sunny outside and I'm having my morning coffee and reading the New York Times wondering if Hillary has a chance to overtake Obama. I watched Obama's speech on race relations and admired his attempt to save himself from the quagmire created by his former pastor. I'm sure Hillary was licking her significantly large chops over the whole thing.

But as a conservative, and a reluctant supporter of John McCain, I'm just enjoying the theater of it all. I must give Obama the credit for being an outstanding speaker. But I must not let the elegance of his oratory pontification overshadow the ugliness of his liberal and radical beliefs.

Enough politics.
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I’m not sure what I’ll do today. I’m thinking about just working on my web site and doing some reading, writing, and hanging out without having to drive anywhere too far…give my car and gas tank a day off. I’ll be here through next week, so there’s no need to be in any hurry to see other things in the area. I’d like to check out WestWorld in Scottsdale. And the McDowell Sonoran Preserve is another area I’d like to see. I’d also like to drive east to Apache Junction.

Tomorrow’s Rangers game is at 6 p.m., so I’ll have the day to kill. I will probably wash clothes at the Laundromat in Scottsdale I’ve used before, then slowly head to Surprise Stadium. I've only got three games left before Spring Training comes to an end next week.
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Tommy Lasorda and the Dodgers Moving Spring Training Here Next Year

The Los Angeles Dodgers are establishing a new “Dodgerstown” in Phoenix this week, making plans to permanently move their Spring Training camp to Glendale next year. The team has spent the past 60 years in Vero Beach, Florida. Sighting family concerns, the Dodgers are moving to Arizona. They feel the team’s families and friends will have an easier commute to Arizona than Florida. According to Charles Steinberg, the Dodgers chief marketing officer, “It was so difficult for families to make the trip from Los Angeles (to Florida).” A flight from L.A. is much cheaper to Phoenix, and the drive isn’t that bad, either.

So Glendale, a suburb to the northwest of downtown Phoenix, has another reason to celebrate. They are building a new baseball complex to provide a home for the Dodgers, and it will be completed by next year. They hosted the Super Bowl this year and have already begun to submit an application to get the Super Bowl again the next year it’s available. The city has agreed to spend $500,000 to assure the Super Bowl returns. Glendale is becoming a sports venue powerhouse. Just a few years ago, it was a small town with very little to brag about.

With the popular Dodgers coming to the valley, the Phoenix/Tucson area has more professional baseball training camps than any other place in the country.
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I'm attending an arts festival this weekend: the Fountain Hills Fine Art and Wine Affaire, Avenue of the Fountains, in Fountain Hills. Fountain Hills is located northeast of Scottsdale on the eastern slope of the McDowell Mountains.
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Inspiring Story of the Week: Blind Man Climbs Camelback Mountain

Jeremy Schmidt hiked up Echo Canyon leading to the top of Camelback Mountain last week, and the 27-year old area resident is blind. In less than a month, he went from having 20/20 vision to not being able to spot an eye chart in a doctor’s office. A genetic disease damaged his optic nerves, cutting off the signal from his eyes to his brain.

After two months of trying to deal with the loss of his sight, Jeremy decided he couldn’t just sit around and let his life slip away. Having been an outdoorsman his whole life, he went back to doing those things he enjoyed: horseback riding, hiking, mountain climbing. Last week, his 1.2 mile hike up Echo Canyon along with his father was one step in returning to a normal life.

“I didn’t think my whole life was over,” he said. “Not by far. It just meant it was going be one heck of a challenge.”
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Hulu.com is now up, and it looks great. The site arrives courtesy of NBC and Fox, and it will offer free episodes of shows like Arrested Development and movies like The Jerk. It’s a sign of things to come: television and movies will one day be watched primarily online…or will they? What’s going to happen to the cable companies once the Internet becomes the main portal for delivering entertainment? Will your cable modem one day be obsolete like the 8-track tape and cassette?

Rangers, Cubs, and Athletics

Day 218 on the road.

I'm now in Scottsdale for a couple of weeks, having said good-bye to Tucson. I love Scottsdale...I've never seen so many shopping malls, restaurants, art galleries, and of course, tourists. This is Tourist Mecca del Sol from January through May, and I can see why. Just a gorgeous place to have fun in the sun.

This morning I made my last visit to the Fine Arts Expo and talked with two artists, one a wood sculptor and the other a local man from Phoenix who paints in oil, watercolor and pastels... and also draws in pencil, pen and ink, and charcoal. "I see you do everything," I said. He even does some sculpture, though is booth was mainly full of watercolors, oils, and a few pencil drawings. This is the last week of the Expo until next year. Many of the artists were present today, working on various projects, and hoping to make that one last big sale before folding their tents.

Yesterday I watched the Texas Rangers hammer the Athletics with blazing bats. It was a fun game.


I took this self-portrait outside the Starbucks on Bell Road, just a few blocks from Surprise Stadium. The weather was a little cool, but not bad at all. Earlier in the week, rain and cold weather had blown through here before slamming the mid-west and Texas over the last few days. Today the high is expected to reach 80 degrees. The Rangers play another home game on Friday night, and I expect it will be downright cold during the game.

Yesterday I was the Rangers play the Athletics, but earlier in the week I saw the Rangers and the Chicago Cubs go at it. So, I've actually got photos and comments from two games.

First, from my day with the Rangers and the Cubs:

The first person I saw when I entered the stadium was Hall of Fame star Fergie Jenkins, sitting at a booth selling autographed memorabilia for his foundation. As a former pitcher for both the Cubs and the Rangers, it was fitting he be there for the game. Fergie won the Cy Young award in 1971, has the ninth highest strikeout total in history, including over 2,000 strikeouts with the Cubs (the most in Cubs history), and was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 1991.

When I entered the ticket gate, the ticket-taker looked at my Rangers hat and said, "You're out numbered today, buddy, the Cubs are here." He was right, of course. Cub fans outnumbered Rangers fans that day two to one.

Alfonso Soriano takes a swing, hoping to show why he's worth $14 million this year.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella and bench coach Alan Trammell. Piniella looks like he swallowed a basketball.

The following photos are from yesterday, Rangers vs. the Athletics:

Mike "Stringy Arm" Young. Actually, my cheap digital camera doesn't do a very good job of freezing action.

The Honor Guard was present for the game. Military jets also flew over a couple of times during the game. Jason Ellison (#37, an "invitee" not on the 40-man roster) and Josh Hamilton (#32) watch as the national anthem is being sung acapella by a hot babe (very good looking with a great voice but I don't recall her name).

It was another beautiful day for baseball, and the crowd numbered over 8,300. So far, the Cubs and the Athletics have drawn the largest crowds.

My cheap digital camera has a "movie" function, so I tested it out yesterday at the game. I posted the video on YouTube. So, here you go. Click below and be amazed by the camera work and quality.

Leaving Tucson...but I'll Be Back

Day 215 on the road.

I came back to Tucson for a couple of days to check on my mail and say goodbye to some friends. I've enjoyed my stay here through the Winter, and I can't think of a better spot to wait for Spring while most of the country suffers from bitterly cold temperatures and snow.

I'm leaving Tucson on Tuesday morning and won't be back for a few months. My plan is return in October to once again spend the Winter here. I love the area, and I especially like Scottsdale and the Phoenician valley. Tucson lacks the shopping and sophistication of Scottsdale, but I still enjoy being here. If I had a choice, Scottsdale wins hands down. But Tucson is smaller, has less traffic headaches (except for the construction woes), and seems to be a bit more intimate. It's cheaper to live in Tucson, I think, based on gas prices and motel rates I experienced in both places.

On Tuesday I'll make it to Surprise for a Rangers game and will remain in the area until the end of March. Then I'll be driving north to Prescott. From there, my plan is to spend some days in the Grand Canyon area. I'm not sure what April weather is like along the Colorado River in northern Arizona. It still may be a little cool. So my plans depend a lot on the weather--I don't want to run into any April snows at the higher elevations.