We spent the weekend in Arizona, and I swear every time I go out there I’m ready to pull up stakes and move. It’s so gorgeous and the people are so nice. Yeah it can get pretty damn hot, but it’s not a huge difference from California. And the housing prices are just amazing. I can buy an 1800 sqft house in AZ for nearly a third of what I pay for my 900 sqft apartment in CA. Remind me again why I shouldn’t move?

We went out there to watch my friend Duke play baseball again this year. Like last year, the team was… not so good. And like last year, it was a lot of fun. This year they got to play a game in Tempe Diablo Stadium, which is the spring training facility of the Anaheim Angels (I won’t call them the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. I just won’t). The only thing greater, in my Angel-obsessed opinion, would be if they got to play at Angel Stadium in Anaheim. Even still, this was pretty damn cool. They had a 9am game on the Angels practice fields, and then the 8pm game was in the stadium. That leaves a whole lot of hours to kill in between. Donald and I hit up the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, and then spent the next several hours driving around Tempe. We found the biggest Bed Bath & Beyond I’ve ever seen, and miracle of all miracles, I was able to walk out with only one item. Tempe is a lovely city, and even when we got a bit lost driving through it, we had a good time together. The night game at the stadium was great. It was a little colder than I’d prefer, but nothing terrible. Duke’s team got spanked, but I got some great pictures of them, as well as some awesome pictures of the stadium itself (I learned how to take great pictures at night. Yay me!).

We stayed with my friends Tony & Kerry & Jenn, and since they all had to work Saturday, we killed time by driving around the city and casually looking at houses. When we got back, the 5 of us went to a great steak dinner at Firebirds, and then out to the greatest bar/club I’ve ever been to, called Graham Central Station. It had a huge dance floor in the main room that was mostly for line dancing and two stepping. The music was mostly country, with a couple of R&B/Hip-Hop songs mixed in occasionally. In that same room were 6 pool tables, 4 bars, and a mechanical bull. (I did not ride the bull on this trip, but I think I’m going to try it next time!) Off of the main room on one side was a room called South Beach that had R&B and Hip Hop music continually, 2 bars, and also had cages for dancers. On the other side of the main room was a room called Carnival, that had a very eclectic mix of Pop, Rock, and Hip Hop. Between South Beach and Carnival was a Karaoke bar that actually employed 4 people to be constant backup singers to whatever poor drunk soul was attempting to sing. I loved the variety of it all, and the way it was laid out. The speakers in each room were set up so the music didn’t “leak” from room to room, despite the wide open doorways. If you didn’t like the song in the room you were in, it was incredibly easy to go somewhere else. Not like at a regular club where there’s only one option. My favorite part of the place, aside from the variety, werethe waitresses (Tubey Ladies, as I called them) who walked around with test tube racks full of different shots in tubes. Ever since the bar scene from Miss Congeniality, I’ve always wanted to go to a bar that had shots in test tubes, just to try it out. I even kept one of my tubes to take home and compare to a regular sized shot (I contend the tubes have less capacity, but it’s just a theory.) We hung out for around 4 hours, and I danced a good portion of the time. Donald taught me how to two-step, and by the end of the night, I was fairly comfortable with the basics of it. Duke and his buddy showed up (totally not planned) and he and I danced as well. It was such a great time. I was a little bitter when they closed the place at 2 and told us we had to leave. But now I have yet another reason to look forward to going to Arizona for!

Sunday we all woke up late and went out to lunch before Donald and I made the long trip home. All in all it was a great weekend. I can’t wait to do it again!