Arizona :: Spring Training

Childhood dreams were realized this week for both my husband and my little guy.  We hopped on a plane at the break of day after a stormy night at our house and flew into sunny Phoenix Sky Harbour Airport.

Pueblo Indian Bronze Sculpture in the courtyard of the Heard Museum
The Hopi Indian version of Princess Leia

We arrived so early (in and out of the airport & car rental area by 10 am) that we had time on our hands before we could check into our hotel.  I had researched a small museum in downtown Phoenix, the Heard Museum, and we pointed our car towards their doors.  

What a beautiful museum focused on the people of the Americas.  Lots of Native American tribes represented under one roof.

We watched a short film about the Navajo Code Talkers during World War I.  It was fascinating and informative to learn about their role in covert communications and how their language was unique and undetectable by the enemy.

SL randomly found us the best mexican restaurant not too far from the museum.  The indicator to me was that it was almost noon and the parking lot was packed.  Yes, we would eat here.  Fantastic deep fried tacos and a mediocre margarita.  It his the spot after our long travel day that started a little after 3 am California time.

We finally arrived at our resort hotel, the Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in North Phoenix.  This place was a kid's paradise with eight pools, a water slide, a lazy river with inner tubing and an 18-hold miniature golf course.

My mom joined us for the afternoon and we lounged by the pool, sipping cool drinks and taking sporadic naps.  It had been a very, very long day.

The highlight of the trip was SL & Grady's day at the Dodgers' Spring Training Facilities.  They watched the Dodgers play against the Texas Rangers.  The day was warm, but not too hot, and they started out in their assigned seats and eventually moved directly behind home plate.

Lots of ballplayers signed autographs for Grady and the VIP signature was definitely Mark McGuire, the new batting/hitting coach for the LA Dodgers.  This is now cemented in both of their brains and I hope they look back affectionately at this adventure.

Day 2 of Spring Training was a lot different than Day 1.  The clouds moved in and rain spit down us as we walked onto the Seattle Mariners field to watch their match up against the Oakland A's.  Grady was now seasoned in getting autographs and set to it.  He asked anyone that walked by to sign his baseball.  

I loved seeing the players take time to stop and sign their name and jersey number for the little ones.  And for that reason alone, I would definitely go again.  Not to mention the gorgeous field and great seating.  

This game only lasted until the top of the 4th inning.  They called the game and we fled to our car as the lightning cracked open the sky and rain started pouring down on us.  It didn't matter.  We had fun, had a hot dog or two and the boy was perfectly exhausted by the end of it all.

Our friends arrived from Hawaii and joined us at the A's game (they are big fans!).  After the rain out, we let the kids soak in the warm pools at the hotel before we headed out for dinner.  The rain continued throughout the night and we cozied up in the steamy dining room of Pizzeria Bianco over a bottle of Flowers Pinot Noir and melt in your mouth handmade pizzas.

It was a great ending to a great day.  I love when you reconnect with friends you haven't seen in a long while and it feels like not a day has passed (except my memory and sight are worsening!).  Our visit wasn't long enough, but we hope to remedy that with a trip out to see them in Hawaii in the near future.

I wasn't really up for this trip initially, but I'm so glad I went.  I thought it was going to be all about baseball and statistics, boy was I wrong.

It was about family time and friendships that have stood the test of time.

It was about margaritas and swimming.

It was about a father and son making memories.  And I was there to tag along and document it.

It was awesome.