Heading Out West

Hello all you dedicated readers. Sam and I are in Phoenix right now, and we just witnessed a massacre at the Arizona Diamondbacks game. Before I get to the game, let me catch you all up on the past few days. First, a dilemma: Sam's previous blog was a perfect detailed account of our days in Colorado. Should I write my normal overwhelmingly annoying blog that contains every single detail, or should I concede the details to Sam on this one. Easy choice...I don't want to steal Sam's thunder, so I'll be brief. Plus it's late, I'm tired, and I don't feel like writing.

I promise only a few thoughts on Colorado:
I WAS mad we had to stay in a hotel, but life goes on. Now the good part. As Sam said, Pueblo and Colorado Springs are absolutely gorgeous. The Garden of the Gods was one of the most amazing sites I have ever seen. Pictures will be coming soon so you all can be jealous...err I mean enjoy them. Finally, I could see myself living in Colorado Springs or Denver - I liked it that much. The only problem is this guy named John Elway and the EFFING Denver Broncos. I'm not sure the city is big enough for the two of us.

Moving on now, we had about a 12 hour drive to Phoenix today. It was the first time all the long drives actually started to be excessive. By the end I was thinking to myself, "Get me the hell out of this car." Although the drive was excruciatingly long and we were driving through the middle of nowhere, the scenery was, in a word, breath-taking. Mountains. Canyons. Deserts. Evergreens. Cacti. We saw all of the above.

As for the game, I continue to be amazed by almost every ballpark. Chase Field is a site to see. It's another stadium with a retractable roof (I guess it's really hot in Phoenix?). The place is absolutely huge too. My favorite part is that there's a pool and hot tub beyond the fence in right-center field. And wouldn't you know it, a home run was hit into the pool during the game! The other great part about the stadium was their value food at concession stands. Hot dogs, corn dogs, popcorn, peanuts, etc. all for $1.50 each. Can't beat that. Now, I said the game was a massacre because it was close until about the sixth inning when the Pirates scored four runs to make the score 6-3. Two innings later they scored three more to make it 9-3. We decided to leave after that, obviously disgusted with any Pittsburgh sports team actually winning a game. The final score was 10-3. I think I threw up in my mouth on the way out.

So we're off to Los Angeles tomorrow for the Dodgers game. There's talk of a stop at Joshua Tree National Park along the way (keeping my fingers crossed that we have time). Coming up for us in SoCal are visits to West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Venice, and San Diego. As if our lives aren't sweet enough already, it just keeps getting better. But did I mention I miss everyone back in Ohio (and elsewhere)?

Two things I learned today:
It's REALLY windy in the desert sometimes (which makes it a bitch to drive).
It DOES rain in the desert, but it only lasts about 90 seconds.

Adios Amigos,
Matthew