Note on the pictures: we didn't realize it at the time, but the lens on the digital camera had a smudge on it, which is noticeable in some pictures in the upper right quadrant. It didn't show up on the camera's LCD display, which is why we didn't notice it until later. Nothing I can do about it now.

Outside the condo, a small artificial stream flows through a rocky bed

Grassy areas are interspersed with natural desert landscaping.

Desert flowers and shrubs adorn the pathways.

Footpaths run adjacent to streambeds.

You can see the opening for our patio on the right, next to the tall bush.

All in all, it was a very pretty place to stay.

Scott arrived about 10:30 in a bright red Dodge Ram pickup (appropriate for a fireman), with his daughter Shannon and her friend Stephanie. We headed down the loop towards "town" (downtown Phoenix), Scott pointing out landmarks along the way and I reminiscing about how much the area had changed, or possibly how much my memory of it had been affected by time. (Probably both.)

It didn't take long to get to downtown, which surprised me. When I lived here, there were only two freeways: I-10 ran east-west (more or less), and I-17 ran north-south. Residents didn't use the freeways to get around; those were only for people passing through or heading off to another city like Tucson or Flagstaff.

I was amazed at the difference in the downtown area. As with Houston's east side, Phoenix' south end of downtown has been revitalized by the new ballpark, sports arena and convention center. Also, renovation in Phoenix tends to include southwestern art motifs: intricate sand and stone bas-reliefs in natural colors along the freeway banks; buildings in stucco and stone in earth tones which lean toward coral and pink without completely falling over. In essence, Phoenix is prettier than I remember it.

I let Scott pick a place for lunch. Near the ballpark is a restaurant called Cooperstown, which you'd immediately assume was named for its proximity to BOB (Bank One Ballpark), but that's not the case (although it certainly benefits by the association). It's named for rock star Alice Cooper and is decorated with paraphernalia from the music biz. But it's also about the sports and entertainment industries. (An autographed Styx electric guitar adorns the wall near a LIFE magazine cover of Joe DiMaggio.)

In front of Cooperstown, a restaurant chain owned by Alice Cooper.

The eponymous menu selections follow the theme: I had the "Ricky Ricardo" (a Cuban sandwich); Scott had the "Ryne Sandburger." Other items were named for rock bands (Megadeath Meatloaf, anyone? Or Metallica Blackened Chicken?) or song titles. The only order that rang the fire bell, however, was the Big Unit, a 2-foot-long hot dog named for former Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson. Our timing was good. We arrived when the restaurant was nearly empty, but when we left, approximately an hour before game time, it had a waiting line outside.

We strolled the 3 or 4 blocks to the ballpark, which is a big, blockish structure with a slightly convex roof. From a distance, it looks like a blimp hangar. Up close it is a mix of material and color (red stone, black steel, beige concrete).

Approaching BankOne Ballpark, or BOB. (Thanks to a merger, it's now known as Chase Field, or some such.)

It's definitely a new-generation stadium: retractable roof, spacious concourses, a large variety of food available, plenty of electronic color screens. We stopped at the "shrine" at the main entrance to view the World Series trophy and the World Series ring awarded to the fans. Eventually we found our way to the upper deck--I keep forgetting that Phoenicians, unlike Houstonians, actually go outside during the summer. The escalators and ramps to the upper levels were outside the air-conditioned spaces. BOB is a bit steeper than MMP on the upper levels, and the seats were a touch smaller, the aisles a bit narrower. So, it felt a tad cramped compared with home. And, even though it was an afternoon game, they opened the "shutters," large rectangles between the windows along the outfield wall that let in the outside air. Even though the openings faced north, and were therefore in the shade, the temperature inside the ballpark remained warm throughout the game.

The view of the outfield from our seats in the upper deck behind third. Note the open "shutters" on either side of the scoreboard display.

The game itself was a near copy of the Astros-Reds game that we'd been to two weeks before. In the Houston outing, the two teams entered the 9th inning very close after a tight game. Then the Astros' bullpen self-destructed, allowing many runs to score, and the game ended in a blowout. In the Arizona game vs. Kansas City, the score was tied 1-1 after 9 innings. The game stayed tight for the next 2 innings, with each team scoring a point in the 10th and 11th. So we entered the 12th inning at 3-3, and then things got weird. As with the Houston game, a sorrowful string of pitchers gave up a large number of runs, but the game had its strange moments: a balk that brought in a runner from 3rd to score; runners called out for straying outside the baseline; and a perfect throw from catcher to second base to pick off a steal that found neither the second baseman nor the shortstop anywhere near the base. D'oh!

A shot of one pitch during the game. Looks like that one may have been a strike.

The first nine innings had been quick, so the extra 3 innings--including the neverending top of the twelfth--pushed the elapsed time only 45 minutes past the 3-hour mark. We stayed for the whole game, as I wasn't driving and had no specific plans for the late afternoon or evening. The Diamondbacks did score their 1 run in the bottom of the twelfth to make the final 9-4.

Scott had an errand to run at his mother-in-law's house after the game, so we headed over to the west side of town. But not before taking a tour of the 'hood,' the neighborhood we used to live in plus our old "stomping grounds." I recognized very few places. After we'd picked up a few things from his mominlaw, we continued the tour, driving down streets on the east side that I'd traversed hundreds of time, and me, as before, remembering a few things but not many. The corner of Camelback and 24th St., which should have been very familiar, had changed the most since I left. Highrises replaced the French bakery, the movie theater, and the school. Oddly enough, the apartment building I used to live in was virtually unchanged. We continued east to Scottsdale, Scott pointing out what was old and what was new. We wound our way eventually to Hayden and were soon back at the resort. By this time the sun was setting. We were too tired to go searching for food, so we made a quick dinner of Lauri's leftovers and the other snack items we'd picked up at the store. We were also too tired to change into swimwear, so we wrapped up the evening by playing one game of cribbage. Lauri won.