I have found my working office. It's the Starbucks at the Kierland Commons mixed-use development on North Scottsdale Rd. at Greenway Pkwy. This Sbux is much larger than your average one, lots of room to spread out. The huge tables with laptop hookups are exactly what I need.

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Since I've been on the road, one of the first things I do when I visit a new city is find a local Starbucks to use as an office. In Tucson, I had two Starbucks I really liked: one on Speedway and the one near the UA campus on University Dr. So far, this is my favorite Sbux in Scottsdale. I'm sure I'll find other locations just as nice. Since I spend two or three hours minimum when I'm at a Sbux, it must be a nice one. I also stop daily at the Starbucks on Indian Bend Road near the Casino Arizona. It's handy, but small.

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Starbucks does have some serious competition, however, from a large Coffee Plantation cafe at the Biltmore Fashion Park in Phoenix. I love the Coffee Plantation. It has glass walls overlooking a manicured patio, plus free online access (at Starbucks I have to use T-Mobile). It is definitely upscale, being located next door to a Ralph Lauren retail store. I first stumbled upon the place after leaving the Border's Bookstore located across the parking lot.

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I mention these coffee shop locations because I spend so much time in them. I have always used Starbucks for work, even when I was brokering real estate back in Texas.

Rangers Lose...but Nolan Ryan Makes a Visit

I began the morning with good intentions: I wanted to find a Scottsdale fitness club to use for the month. I'm losing some pounds, but I need to get some exercise and I thought some free-weight training might firm up the mid-section (I'm old and flabby, you know).

I found a LA Fitnesss facility not far from the Casino Arizona (my home port), so I went inside and met John. John gave me a tour of the place and it was just right for my needs. However, the only rate plan available for a traveler like me was way too expensive.

"Why do they charge so much for guy who just wants to use the place a couple of times a week for a month?" I asked John.

"Uh...I don't know." He looked a little disappointed that I wasn't going to pay a registration fee plus an enormous weekly amount to work on my chest and flabby waist.

So I left and drove toward Surprise for my date with the Texas Rangers and the Arizona Diamondbacks. On my way I stopped by an RV showroom and looked at a travel trailer. I found one just the right size for $13,995. I told Dan, the salesman, "Well, let me go see the Rangers play some ball, and I'll think about it." He looked a little disappointed, too.

I made a stop by Walmart to buy some snacks and water before heading for the stadium. Suggestion: take food and water with you when you go to the ballpark. Otherwise, you'll have to take out a second mortgage and sell your bedroom furniture to buy a hamburger and coke at the stadium. The stadium rules for these games at Surprise Stadium: you can bring in food, unopened bottled water (no soft drinks), and your bag must fit under your seat.

Today's photo album is below. By the way, for you photographers who might read my blog (Linda, Jay, etc.), I use a Nikon Coolpix 5200 with 7.1 Megapixels, 2.5 inch LCD screen, ISO up to 1000, and a 3x Zoom. The camera is the size of a credit card, less than one-half inch thick, and easily fits in my pocket. I paid around $200 for it last Fall. The quality of the photos are not that bad for such a small and inexpensive camera.

Banners are hung around the major roadways leading to the stadium.

My seat location is much better today, and I'll have this seat for the remainder of my games. Next year I have made plans to return to this seat...and hopefully see a World Series pennant hanging on the dugout. (Well, we can dream can't we?) I'm on the first row, just behind the Rangers dugout. I can spit on Michael Young if he strikes out. (Notice I'm wearing a Dallas Mavericks shirt along with my Rangers cap. My sweats are red and they have an Arizona University Wildcat logo on them. I looked like a sports dork.)

The view of the dugout from my seat.

Michael Young about to hit a home run. He knocked the approaching pitch into far right center field for a 2-run homer. The Rangers were behind 5-0 at the time. After the next inning, Young and a few other starters left the field. He only played three innings today.

Josh Hamilton on first base. Josh is a fan favorite this spring. Most fans want the former drug addict to make it back and be successful this time around. He says with "God's help, all things are possible."

Former Ranger great and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan was at the game. He was recently hired as President of the ball club, and he hopes to see success here before he retires from baseball for good. He signed a two-year contract. A long line of fans were waiting for him to sign autographs. I asked him to give me his jacket. It's very cool. He told me to get lost.

Here is Nolan biting his tongue before he says the Rangers sucked last year. Maybe this year will be different.

Old Town Scottsdale

I visited the Fine Arts Expo for a couple of hours this morning, then decided to have lunch at the Red Robin at the 101 Shopping Center. Since I ate too much, some exercise was next on my agenda.

I drove to Old Town Scottsdale to take a walk. Old Town Scottsdale has become a tourist attraction with various retail stores and fine art galleries. A new development was created on the "waterfront", overlooking what is supposed to be either a river, stream, creek, or manmade drainage ditch. I'm not sure exactly what the "waterfront" is, but I'll let you know.

In any case, Old Town Scottsdale is a cool place for an afternoon walk. The art galleries are primarily along 5th Street. I strolled past a couple of nice patio bars and more than one cafe with seating outside. If you want to ride around the neighborhood, Scottsdale offers a free trolley ride. It runs a 20-minute circuit around the Old Town area.

An Art Walk is scheduled for the first Monday of each month, and the sidewalks are painted to show you the way. (See photos below.)

One of the restaurants near 5th Street that offers patio seating. The weather today was a little cool, but still excellent for an outdoor snack. The heart of Old Town is the "fountain of horses", or at least that is what I call it.

She looked so sad, I had to take her picture. She was stuck inside a display case in front of a gift shop hawking various party treats for St. Patrick's Day. I'm sure she'd rather be riding the free trolley around town.

The Seat from Hell

I walked into the Surprise Stadium for an afternoon of baseball with my beloved Texas Rangers but soon found my seat was in Hell. I didn't realize Hell was a part of baseball, but then I remembered Roger Clemens' remarks before Congress a few days ago. His seat was in Hell, too.

I ordered my package of tickets online and had a fuzzy idea about my seat location. But I was soon disappointed. I found myself sitting next to Lucifer and his partner, Old Cranky Man. My tickets were inprinted with "Section 105, Row V, Seat 3." When I saw the seat, I almost cried. Lucifer and Old Cranky Man were on my right eating hotdogs in seats 1 and 2. On my left, of course, was the brick wall that stretched 20 feet into the air providing support for the floor above.

Was I destined to watch the Texas Rangers from a seat between a brick wall and two of Hell's biggest baseball fans?

I suppose I should explain the reason for referring to the two older gentlemen as Lucifer and Old Cranky Man. When I first pointed out my seat to them, they both looked at me with a "You can go to hell" expression on their faces. They were not Rangers fans, but were from Kansas City. They loved the Royals. Kansas City is Hell, so you can understand my monikers for these men.

But all was not hopeless. I met Kendra in the Box Office (Heaven) and she happily exchanged my tickets and found me better seats. Kendra saved me from the depths of Hell and showed me the Light. My new seats are located five rows back of the Rangers dugout, on the aisle.

Hallelujah.

Current Location: Scottsdale

I'm still on the road, of course. Traveling around the Southwest has been great. I'm seeing places I've never seen, meeting people along the way who are having an impact on my life in ways I would have not considered possible.

Traveling will do this to you. You begin to feel your life taking on new dimensions, new shapes, a new form. One's experiences define life, serve as a way to discover who you are. I suppose that's why I love being on the road. It's an American romantic and mythical pursuit, reflected in our literature and culture. Most recently I saw this fundamental characteristic of our American ethos in the film by Sean Penn, Into the Wild. There is something uniquely American about being on the road and traveling west, seeking one's personal "manifest destiny".

I've been writing a lot, just not here. I hope that will change. My blog at 2Vegas.blgospot.com has been taking up most of time. I'm also writing each day in a personal journal, and working on a rough outline for a novel based in the Southwest.

As I travel and discover more about myself, I'm also discovering my life as a writer, artist, photographer, and poker player. I love playing cards, so I write about my experiences in various poker rooms at www.7seat.com. I'm passionate about art and photography and will be developing a website for those interests in the coming days. My travel blog will continue to grow as I stay on the road, too. Each day I find myself learning to draw with pen and ink, visiting art festivals and museums, writing about various things, playing cards in a local casino, taking photos, traveling about, meeting people and just experiencing life.

I've had to admit to myself that these are the things that define my life.

Rangers "Breeze" to an 8-7 Victory

After leaving the Pro Shop at Surprise Stadium with my new Rangers ball cap, the little old lady behind the counter said, "Don't lose your new hat. It's windy outside." Then I walked outside and was handing the old gentleman at the gate my ticket, and he said, "Don't lose your hat. The wind is pretty strong today."
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No kidding. The day was perfect except for winds blowing everything asunder. I've lived through worse, growing up in north Texas. The spring winds in Wichita Falls can be severe, too. I remember spring baseball games while I was in high school, winds blowing so bad you couldn't wear a hat, much less lose it.
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The Texas Rangers played anyway, and posted a walk-off victory in the 9th inning after a base hit drove in the winning run. The 8-7 win over the Royals was before an estimated crowd of 5,256 fans. The Rangers were ahead most of the game, but the Royals came back and were ahead in the 9th inning 7-5. The Rangers scored two runs on a homer, then drove in the winning run with one out in the 9th to win the game.
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The only SNAFU I experienced was over my seat. I purchased an 8-game packet over the internet a few weeks ago, and therefore I had to hope my seat was going to be a good one. I had a general idea by looking at the small ridiculous stadium drawing they give you online, and I thought I was seated just behind the Royals dugout. However, when I actually saw where my seat was located, I was not happy.
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My seat was on the top row of the lower level (which isn't bad), the inside seat of a 3-seat row (bad), and next to a humungous brick pilar/wall that stretched upward to the floor above (very bad). To make it worse, the other two seats were occupied by two elderly and snotty Royals fans who were not happy to see me wearing a Rangers ball cap. So I was faced with the possibility of sitting between a brick wall and two crabby old Royals fans for the next month.
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This is not going to work, I told myself. Luckily there were plenty of unoccupied seats further down the aisle, so I sat elsewhere for today's game. During the 7th inning stretch I went to the Box Office and spoke to Kendra (very cute). She was happy to exchange my tickets for other seating (very helpful). Thanks, Kendra. I now have a seat on the aisle about five rows back of the Rangers dugout to watch the seven games I have left.
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Here are some photos from today's game.

The First Base Entrance to Suprise Stadium. Parking was just across the street and very close. The last Rangers game I saw at the Ballpark in Arlington, Texas (home field for the Rangers during the regular season) I had to walk 6 miles to find my seat.

My first view of the stadium. The crowd was just beginning to arrive. The stadium as voted "Best Sports Venue" or something by some Phoenix organization, according to the announcer.

A picture from my seat at today's game. For the next seven games I'll be on the other side behind the Ranger's dugout and much closer to the field.

Spring ball with the Rangers may become an annual event for me. I'm already making plans to be back next year. I told Kendra what seat I want reserved for next Spring. "Don't stick me next to a brick wall," I told her.

No Surprise...Surprise is Wonderful.

I'm enjoying my usual SCDL at the Starbucks in Surprise Town Center, about a mile from the stadium where I'll be watching the Texas Rangers play.

I drove from Scottsdale to Surprise this morning and took my time. Instead of taking Loop 101 around the north side of Phoenix, I took Bell Road from North Scottsdale Blvd. Bell Road is a major artery on the north side connecting Scottsdale in the east to western communities like Glendale, Sun City, and Surprise. It took about 40 minutes to make the drive.

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As I drove through Glendale on Bell Road I noticed leftovers from when the Super Bowl was in town almost a month ago. Banners were still hanging from lamp posts and a couple of retail stores were still open trying to unload leftover jerseys. Glendale has become a mecca for upscale retail shopping and tourism since the Arizona Cardinals moved to town.

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After you drive through Glendale, you arrive in Sun City, a development by the construction mogul Del Webb. According to their web site, Sun City has "seven recreation centers, 8 golf courses, 3 country clubs, 2 bowling centers, Sun Bowl, and Viewpoint Lake constituting the largest concentration of year round recreational facilities in the United States." Surprise is just west of Sun City.

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Once in Surprise I continued west on Bell Road until I found North Bullard. Surprise Stadium, home of the Texas Ranger's spring training camp, is on Bullard. However, you can actually see the stadium to the south once you get to the Surprise Towne Center at the corner of Grant and Bell. I wanted to find the stadium before stopping for my coffee. I knew a Starbucks would be nearby, and sure enough, there it was nestled among other retail shops in the Surprise Towne Center.

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As you can tell by the photo, there were a dozen motorcycles parked out front. It's not unusual to see a motorcycle group gather at a Starbucks before hitting the road for a day trip.

In an hour or so I'll make my way to the stadium. The weather forecast: 72 degrees, clear, and sunny.

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I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon. The Rangers play the Kansas City Royals, and many of the regular season starters are scheduled to play. It's also "bring your dog to the ballpark" day, so I'd better watch where I step.