Spring Training, Animals and Ghosts, Oh My.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am the biggest Oakland A's fan on this earth. So when Autumn suggested we could actually go to spring training for the team in Arizona, how could I say no?

No whirlwind this time. We left March 10 and arrived in the state at about 10:30 p.m. When we left Sacramento it had been cold and rainy. In Arizona, we were greeted with 84 degrees and clear.When we landed in AZ, we grabbed a bite to eat and like like everyone else from our flight, we marched, with luggage in hand to the rental car part of the airport and then stood in line for nearly an hour to rent a car as there was but one person working the desk when we arrived. After waiting for about 20 minutes another person stepped up and the line moved slowly.

Finally we got the OK for our rental and the man at the desk rapid fired our instructions. the only thing we caught was go around to the right, take the escalator down and give the papers to a man at the gate. Huh? so we followed other travelers down and they all disappeared into the dark recesses of the parking garage. Not knowing the procedure, we went back upstairs and got our instructions clarified. then it was back on the escalator for the ride down into the garage. from there we found our car, a Nissan Vista-cute little station wagon. Like everyone else, we put our luggage in the trunk and followed the exit signs. Lo and behold, there was a gate and a man at the gate..we hand off our paperwork and I pull over to get my Tom Tom out and set it for our hotel destination.

We pull out and make a left turn and then the Tom Tom starts going crazy. First it had the directions, then it didn't. We tried in vain to follow but ended up going in circles. I finally called the hotel and I could barely hear and understand the woman who gave me directions. was I to take I10 north? or I17 North?

I drove around some more and finally Autumn said to just get on the freeway and see what happens. We did and the Tom Tom kicked right in. Unfortunately we were headed in the wrong direction but with the Tom Tom, we corrected and arrived at our hotel at about midnight.Naturally there was no one in the office so we had to call a number to get someone over to us. When I called, I was put on hold...LOL. I called on my cell phone and finally got through 15 minutes later. We entered our rooms well after 1:30 a.m.

I'd like to say that for me, the night was over, but it wasn't. I ended staying up until 4:30 a.m. working on some freelance stories that were due on Friday. I finally shut my eyes at 5 a..m.

Three and a half hours later, my alarm went off and after a quick shower and change of clothes, we were off to our next hotel and arrived there without incident. Unfortunately, we were too early to check in so we decided to head to the ballpark.

After about a 20 minute drive, we pulled into the parking lot of Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Wow! What a place! The area around the stadium definitely looks like one would think Arizona should look like. Off to south is industrial buildings while to the north are large rocks, cactus and palm trees.The stadium itself is small, reminiscent of a college stadium where you can see everything fairly close. After buying hot dogs, nachos and water, we found our seats in the 8th row near home plate...very nice. So for the next few hours we baked in the Arizona sun, ate snow cones, and watched great baseball.

The entrance to the stadium.

Gio on the mound

After the game, we returned to our hotel and awaited a visit from my cousins who I haven't seen in almost 20 years. they arrived and we had a nice Mexican dinner before heading back to the hotel and getting some much needed sleep.

An Athletic crossing home plate.

On Saturday, we decided to meet my good friend Psychic Nancy Matz just outside of Tuscon where she lives and then head to Tombstone where the historical shooting at the OK Coral took place. Bring a ghost hunter, the town not only held historical significance but also has a history of being really haunted so I wanted to see it first hand.

With the Tom Tom powered up, we made our way to Tuscon stopping only to have breakfast and then at a Target store to buy Autumn a long-sleeved shirt because her skin was really red after having been in the sun during Friday's baseball game.

Good friend Psychic Nancy Matz

 We finally met up with Nancy at about 11:30 a.m. and then headed to Tombstone in her car. On the way, we all stopped and had lunch and  checked out a gas station where Native American Items were sold. Neat stuff! The dolls were gorgeous and the wood carvings were interesting to look at.

Autumn and I in front of a wooden Native American carving.

 After taking some pictures, we were on our way again enjoying the desert as we made our way to Tombstone.

Wow is all I have to say. Being able to walk the street where something so famous unfolded was incredible.

Tombstone Main Street.

Although there were a bunch of tourists in town, we still managed to walk around and check out all the sites. Nancy even took us to a metaphysical shop selling herbs, pendulums and other neat stuff. In one saloon, Nancy took us downstairs to a gift shop where a mine shaft began in one corner. in that mine shaft, Nancy saw the spirit of a man standing near a bed. She also said another man was in the gift shop with us. Interesting. I took some photos of the mine shaft and being the ghost hunter that I am, I turned on my digital voice recorder and asked some questions hoping to catch an EVP.

The haunted mine shaft.

We then weaved our way in and out of buildings and watched as the prelude to the gunfight played out in the street. We made our way to the Bird Cage Theatre which is notoriously haunted and I went inside to take some pictures and check it out.

The Birdcage

In the Jailhouse

Autumn is actually a good shot.

Wandering off for a bit, Autumn and I headed to El Dorado, a sort of mock town with games and stuff. Of course I had to see how it felt to sit in a jail cell and Autumn tried her hand at the shooting gallery.

Before too long, the clock was ticking towards 5 p.m. and Nancy took us to a great dinner in a local saloon. Autumn actually had her fist Sarsaparilla and liked it.

Autumn enjoying her drink.

 

 

 

Tombstone sunset

 Then it was back to Tuscon where we said goodbye to Nancy and then drove back to Phoenix where we pulled off the freeway for some gas in a not so great area. Perhaps I should have turned around when I noticed the barbed wire fence that surrounded the gas station but we were low so I really had no choice. Luckily everything worked out and we arrived back at our hotel and fell asleep.

Entrance to the zoo.

Sunday morning we were up again bright and early. We checked out of our hotel room and then headed for the zoo which coincidentally is right next to the ballpark.

How cool! I never expected there to be a small  lake with turtles and ducks. It was neat to see. We spent the morning there going from diorama to diorama...I think the monkey cage was cool. The animals are within arm's length. An employee stands nearby to make sure there is no physical interaction with the animals and just in case, the monkey's get out of hand, there is a spray bottle of water nearby.

Too soon it was once again time for baseball and we were off to the ballpark for our last day of Spring Training. It was the A's versus the Colorado Rockies and what a great game.

Trevor Cahill on the mound

Trevor Cahill was the starting pitcher and the A's whopped butt. The game ended at 4p.m. and we headed to the airport to drop off the rental car and check in for our flight. Before too long we found ourselves back in Sacramento and headed for home.