Arizona Fall League

[jayfurr]

I'm in Phoenix, Arizona. Been here since Sunday, and I fly home Saturday. I'm onsite at a customer, of course.

I have relatives on carolefurr's side in the area but I haven't called them up yet. I'm generally too mentally fatigued at the end of each day to want to socialize, but I guess I probably should before the end of the week.

Last night I went to a game between two minor league baseball teams in the Arizona Fall League, a special six-team league that plays in spring training stadiums here in the Phoenix area. Each team draws players from five major league teams and the players play in the uniforms of their parent ballclub but with tasteful black caps with their AFL team's logo. The game I attended last night was played in Peoria (insert quip here) at the spring training home of the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres, pitting the Peoria Javelinas versus the Peoria Saguaros. I bought a Saguaros cap because it looked kind of cool and all, but I actually rooted for the Javelinas because one of the five MLB teams they draw their players from is the Atlanta Braves.

There were only 200-250 people in attendance at a ballpark that seats 8000, so it was an intimate experience, to say the least. They don't play the AFL games to draw crowds; they play them to get the players more experience, closer to home as opposed to sending them off to play winter ball in the Caribbean or Venezuela.

Most people present were Arizona retirees -- a bunch of old guys in shorts and polo shirts, all calling out to their acquaintances as they drifted in at the start of the game. I got the impression that it's what they do to get out of the house in the evening in the fall to avoid driving their wives crazy. That being said, a few wives did come along and most of them seemed to pay more attention to the action on the field than their husbands did; the husbands mostly joked with one another in a sittin'-on-the-front-porch way.

Me, I was actually kind of bored, but I'd driven 45 minutes in rush hour traffic to get to the stadium, blown $6 on a ticket and more than I care to admit on the souvenir cap, so I was determined to stick it out. The final result? Javelinas 3, Saguaros, 2.

Comments

[zakmckracken.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you still had some fun. :) (Possibly) better than sitting in a hotel room. We just missed each other.. I was down in Arizona last week (near Tucson) visiting family. It's nice down there right now.

I didn't have too bad of a time. Finally had a chance to check out Kartchner Caverns. Pretty amazing. It's 2 hours out of your way, and you'd have to reserve tickets online, but if you're into that sort of thing (and have time) it's worth checking out. Both tours are great, but the Big Room tour is open right now. Think I liked that one a bit more. And if you're down there, you could always hit Tombstone.. though, most of the time I was there I felt like I was in a real-life TV commercial for the Old West.

The Arizona retirees always make me laugh. They have the same fashion sense, are all part of RV clubs, and talk a lot about the weather. Can't say that won't be me in 40 years, so I guess I should be nice.

[shanoyu.livejournal.com]

You should check out Alice Cooperstown. It's worth seeing once, well, only once, but once surely.

[jayfurr.livejournal.com]

I'd love to see Kartchner, but unfortunately, this trip didn't involve a Saturday trip out here and a Sunday to tour around. I generally don't do my Saturday-to-be-there-on-Monday trips at this time of year because the days are so short anyway. If I was due to be here in July I'd definitely have 'given up' a Saturday and flown and then had a whole Sunday to go do something fun.

I've been to most of the major US cavern attractions and a lot of the minor ones (Mammoth, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, Carlsbad, Oregon Caves, Dixie Caverns, Luray Caverns, etc., etc.) but there are a few I haven't hit. Howe and Kartchner and, of course, Lechuguilla, which I'll probably never be allowed in because they're sensibly trying to avoid turning into another Carlsbad.

[jayfurr.livejournal.com]

I've never even heard of it. I guess I've got some Googling to do.

[zakmckracken.livejournal.com]

Wow! You have me beat. I've only done Lake Shasta Caverns, Kartchner Caverns, Colossal Cave, a couple in Oregon that I can't remember, and a bunch of lava tubes in Washington and Hawaii. I think my parents took me to Carlsbad when I was really little, too, but that doesn't count. :) I'd love to go back there.. even if it has been tainted by tourism. I'm just getting back into caving, though, so I hope to see more in the near future. Lechuguilla looks amazing. At least we can take a virtual tour, even if it's not quite the same as being there.

Well.. at least do something fun.. make popcorn and watch a good movie on TV.. or jump up and down on the bed.. or go out for some good Mexican food.. or something. :)

[shanoyu.livejournal.com]

Well, Alice Cooper likes sports, and he likes people to embarass themselves, so basically it's like a sports bar where everyone wears makeup like him and the food is okay. If you want a 3 foot long hot dog then the bit unit is, well, it's a three freaking foot long hot dog. They pull a fire alarm when someone orders it too. Personally though I would go with something that isn't a gigantic hot dog.

[jayfurr.livejournal.com]

Oh, right -- now that you mention it, I've also done lava tubes. We did quite a few of them in Lava Beds National Monument right at the California border with Oregon. Very cool.

Of all the caves I've been to, though, I'd have to say that Jewel Cave in South Dakota was my favorite. Mammoth Cave was impressive, but since I was there with my family as a teenager I didn't really get to get into the back of beyond in that cave. We just did the uber-big room.

[jayfurr.livejournal.com]

Eef.

Makes me want to go. I could easily eat a three foot hot dog. Not sure what that says about me.

[zakmckracken.livejournal.com]

We should go caving sometime. :) I don't know when or where, but keep me in mind for future adventures. I'm slowly reconnecting with the underground social network, so I'll let you know if any interesting opportunities arise. Sadly, I doubt that will ever include Lechuguilla, but there are lots of amazing caves.

Funny.. you told me about Lechuguilla, and during the 4th episode of Planet Earth (now on DVD), they had a segment on the cave. It's beautifully filmed. If you haven't seen it, it's worth checking out.

[zakmckracken.livejournal.com]

That last paragraph was a little confusing - I meant to include that I've been watching the show on DVD, and watched the 4th episode last night (hours after you mentioned Lechuguilla). I'm at work, so I'm scattered, and I'm still waking up. :)