ok, i was wrong to malign the weather, especially Phoenix weather with which i was previously completely unfamiliar. calling it stupid was insensitive and mean. i apologize.

the weather, despite my insults, cooperated nicely for our trip to Spring Training this weekend. Friday and Saturday were cloudy but could hardly be described as cold. the one or two drops of rain that actually hit my body were actually refreshing and didn't even slow down the ballgame, which was really the only reason i cared about the presence of rain anyway. Sunday was downright scorching. i even came back with a rather fetching sunburn. (pictures forthcoming, if i can get over the embarrassment of how ridiculous i look.)

lesson learned: if you live in the Bay Area and you read a forecast that says it'll be partly cloudy with a 30% chance of rain, you pack a jacket and an umbrella. when you see that forecast in Phoenix, apparently, you carry SPF 15 and flip-flops.

the unexpectedly good weather contributed nicely to a wonderful trip. we arrived in Phoenix on Friday around 4:00pm. (we were supposed to be there by 2:00 but our hour-and-a-half flight was delayed by an hour and forty-five minutes.) Hertz gave us a brand-new 2005 Mustang to drive around after suggesting that maybe we'd like a Toyota Corolla instead. (as if!) i hadn't even seen one of these before and was no fan of the last generation of Mustangs. but that car is (sigh) so wonderful. it's both modern and reminiscent of past muscle cars. the throaty vrooom! it emits when starting up easily doubled my sperm count. it turned a lot of heads, too. i've never driven a car that got anyone's attention like that.

our hotel -- the Scottsdale Resort -- was pretty and while the room was small, it was very comfortable. we were in a "casita" (little house) with four ;other rooms towards the edge of the property near the golf course (Arizona is keen on golf) and the pool. the king-sized bed took up a good part of our room and when i first walked in i thought we'd be cramped. but it turned out to be very much just right and the bed itself was luxuriously comfortable. plus, the rest of the resort was quite beautiful and inviting. we'd definitely stay there again.

it was around the time that we were settling into the room and unpacking that i discovered that i'd left all my shirts and my sportcoat -- the things i intended to wear when we weren't at the ballpark -- hanging on the back of our bedroom door at home. it was one of those moments when you think everything is right with the world and then something happens and you realize you're a complete idiot. i took a couple minutes to laugh and say "shit" a lot, and then we regrouped and realized that even out in the desert they have stores that sell clothes.

one car ride to the mall and two stores later, i had a new pair of shoes (not needed but really nice to have anyway), a great shirt and a cool brown pinstriped jacket. Corinne got herself a pair of super cool sunglasses. it was quite the guerrilla shopping trip.

the rest of the night we spent napping, convincing each other that we should leave the room, and hanging out in the hotel bar. they had really tasty food, expensive scotch, four free pool tables, lots of leather chairs, and a very eclectic jukebox. booze, pool, food and music. not a bad way to kick off a vacation.

of course, we came for baseball.

now, neither of us had ever been to Spring Training, so ;we had no idea what to expect. it was wonderful. truly, a baseball fan's dream. given that there were only 8,000 seats (plus about 3,000 lawn and standing-room tickets) and the game really didn't count, it was surprisingly intimate. the players interacted with the crowd a lot, joking around, signing autographs. Marquis Grissom gave me a head nod. (i'll never wash these eyes again...) but what was really cool was everybody was relaxed about it. a few people took pictures, a few people got autographs, but even though we could literally reach out and touch these guys, nobody crossed that boundary between fan and over-zealous fanatic.

watching the game was also very social. we chatted with our neighbors, commented on the team, cracked wise at the opposing players and umpires (who gave us jeers right back), and had a relaxed fun time. Corinne said it felt more like watching a Little League game than the frenzy we were use to at PacBell. it was as if with the competition and the meaningfulness of these games gone, we were left to appreciate the essence of the sport. it wasn't better than regular season, just good in a different way.

Saturday's game against the Padres was better than Sunday's. for starters, it was at Scottsdale Stadium, which is a great place to watch a game, and we were four rows up from first base. also, most of the starters played on Saturday, while Sunday was left to rookies and names even i hadn't heard before. then there was the score. while we lost the game on Saturday, it was close right up until the last out.

Sunday, on the other hand, was a bloodbath. at one point, we were down 16-1 and the game ended up 17-3.. talk about a Little League game! oy vey!

still, even with Schmidt pitching like shit and having to endure a handful of seriously obnoxious As fans, it was still a really good time. the guys sitting next to us turned out to be Oakland firefighters and knew ;someone Corinne had treated a couple weeks ago. we watched these beautiful puffy desert clouds pass over the field and i nearly caught a foul ball. and the really hot sun, while really bad for my skin's well being, was a wonderful vacation from the false-starting spring the Bay Area was experiencing.

when we weren't watching baseball, there were still other things to do. downtown Scottsdale is a big giant flop, if you ask me. but we wandered around anyway and saw plenty of bad art, jewelry and other pseudo-ethnic crap. there were a few bars full of seriously drunk individuals and some pretty trees and cacti, but not much else to look at or do. we walked by the Pink Pony, which use to be the hang-out but had since given way to Dan & Charlie's. it looked like the dive it was purported to be.

Saturday night, we got a recommendation from Frommer's (been good to us all over the world) for dinner and headed to Roaring Fork. we'd wanted to eat at Dan & Charlie's but the hostess just laughed at us when we asked for a reservation and told us we'd have to wait three hours. turned out to be just fine as Roaring Fork was superb. the atmosphere was classy but laid back, the food was fantastically interesting and tasty, and the service was friendly and attentive. we sat in a semi-outdoor patio which had dual fireplaces. our appetizers included an awesome pork stew and a fun cheese fondue with tiny lamb chops and really good pistachio bread to dip into it. i've never had anything like either of them.

our entrees were equally fantastic. Corinne got duck that was cured in sugar and absolutely one of the best tasting things i've ever had. my beef was also quite good as was the surprisingly interesting macaroni and cheese that went along with it. the only problem was we'd gotten really hungry earlier and had pre-meal appetizers back at our hotel. finishing our food was a bit of a chore and we both had to leave behind things we wished we could have taken with us.

our eating habits, or rather our eating schedule, definitely left something to be desired during the trip. we were all screwed up. after the As game on Sunday, we wandered over to Tempe, near the ASU campus, and walked around Mill St. we stopped off at an Irish pub and ;Corinne suddenly realized she was ;famished. so we ate dinner. except that it was only 4:30pm! i don't think we ate one meal at the commonly accepted time for that meal. Corinne thinks it's all my fault, since i frequently go long periods without eating, and is resolved to bring snacks with her everywhere we go so she doesn't wind up dieing of starvation.

after dinner, we wasted a couple hours walking around, playing pool and darts at a bar, and taking note of the strange cacophony the local birds were making. (seriously, it had all the makings of a Alfred Hitchcock movie soundtrack.) with the sun setting, we meandered back to the rental car lot and returned the beloved Mustang. two flights later (the only way home on Sunday, it seemed, was through Los Angeles) and a cab ride later, and were back in our bed dreaming of not having to go back to work the next morning.

this is definitely going to be an annual trip. it was an easy trip that had a surprisingly intimate feel. ;i think next year we'll go for longer and see some of the other ballparks. i hear the Rangers' park in Surprise is pretty spectacular. plus, maybe we'll see more of Arizona: the desert, the mountains, Sedona, Flagstaff. it's a curious place that i don't yet have a good feel for.