9/24/2011 5:50:58 PM
PHOENIX - It seems like I spent a lot more time behind the wheel of my rental car today than I did at ball fields, even though at I was at two complexes in the greater Phoenix area (re: the Valley). It's just that those complexes lie quite a few miles from one another, and the more time I spend here it seems as if the whole metropolitan area is nothing but ribbons of freeways and highways.
I started the day at Salt River Fields, where the Perfect Game/EvoShield National Championship (Upperclass) is being held. Salt River Fields takes up land on an Indian Reservation on the Valley's east side, near the city of Scottsdale. Depending on traffic, it's close to a 25 minute drive from my centrally located hotel here in Phoenix proper.
Leaving Salt River at about 10:30 a.m., I decided to travel (that's what travelblogs do) over to the city of Peoria and the Peoria Sports Complex where the PG/Evoshield National Championship (Underclass) is being held. Peoria is in the Valley's northwest burbs, just north and little west of Glendale. It was a full hour's drive from Salt River Fields to the Peoria Sports Complex - the spring training home of the Padres and Mariners - although I have no idea if I took the most direct route. I just drove where MapQuest told me to drive.
Anyway, I'm really just getting started writing even though it is already 4:50 p.m. here and I've been "working" since 7 a.m. These late work days are keeping me from reporting on the Phoenix restaurant scene (at least the scene close to my hotel) but I did get over to a real classy, high-end Mexican joint across the street from my hotel that I still plan on "reviewing" in a later post. I'm also going to walk over to another place that caught my eye in this high-end mall (it has both a Macy's and a Sacs Fifth Avenue) across from my hotel for something to eat right now, before I come back and finish up my day's writing. It caught my eye because it is billed as a "burger and wine" restaurant. Hey, I'm up for anything.
Enjoy the rest of your college football Saturday