THE BOYS OF SUMMER…CLEVELAND INDIANS

Wednesday, March 14 – After our long hike on Monday and brief visit to The University of Arizona, we made the decision to drive to Buckeye, AZ, Tuesday morning. We still had several places we wanted to see and hikes to do, but we know this is one place we will visit again in the future. Our friends from Ohio, Kenny and Connie, are staying at the same campground as we are.

We drove a couple of hours and arrived at Leaf Verde in Buckeye. We stayed in this park in February, 2010. We are here to watch a few of the Cleveland Indians spring training games. We didn't remember the campground being so big and the sites being a bit tight. They aren't too bad but could be bigger for sure.

We are in site F17.

Looking to our right.

Left

We are not particular fond of way the pull thrus are arranged with our door opening to the rear of the MH next to us. Doesn't seem to be much privacy. They do have a ton of activities here, a very nice laundry room and extra warm pool. We will be here for two weeks.

Thursday, March 15 - Well, here it is. The reason we're here in Goodyear, Arizona. It's SPRING TRAINING BASEBALL and the CLEVELAND INDIANS!!!! We enjoy baseball, but Marsha is a CRAZY Indians fan!

We're off to the ball park to see the Cleveland Indians play the Chicago White Sox.

The game starts at 1:05, but the gates open at 11:30 and we intend to be there early. Marsha is seeking autographs, especially from Rick Manning, the announcer for the Cleveland Indians, former centerfielder, and her favorite all-time player. She is even taking along his jersey #20 that Paul bought her a “couple” years ago on her 30^th birthday.

We arrived at the ball park about the time the gates were opening. We talked to the fellow standing watch at the press box door. We asked about when the announcers (Rick Manning) would arrive. He suggested we we might want to meander over to the press gate where they enter the stadium. So we headed that way.

Just as we reached the entrance, who should walk by but Rick Manning. Marsha asked him to autograph her jersey which he was more than happy to do. He then gave her a hug and said how about a picture. She loved it and Paul snapped the picture.

She said she was about to faint.

Isn't he just GORGEOUS….that is Marsha talking NOT Paul.

As we began to walk away, who should walk by but Matt Underwood, the other Indians announcer. We called out and asked Matt to sign Marsha's baseball. He also was very happy to do so and to pose for a photograph.

He is a cutie too….Marsha talking again NOT Paul.

So with Marsha on Cloud 9, we headed down to our seats to wait for the start of the game. Kenny and Connie soon arrived, and we settled in to watch the game with our signs hoping to flash them for the TV cameras.

Our starting pitcher, Justin Masterson, for the game signing autographs.

Our super catcher, Carlos Santana.

The boys of summer.

Paul won't allow Marsha to put up the entire individual team photos. She is the only one who knows them by name and face…OH BROTHER!

It didn't take long for Marsha's and Connie's phones to start ringing. Friends and family, back home in Canton, Ohio, were calling to say we were on TV. By the time the game was over, reports from home indicated numerous camera shots of us with our sign and several close-ups. Our 15 minutes (or would that be seconds) of fame. Maybe a little silly but cool too!

Marsha's brother taped the game and took a picture of the tape….hence the blue bar at the bottom of the picture.

Just one of the many many highlights of the game.

We had a great day with friends at the ball park. Oh yeah, the Indians won 12-3.

Read it and weep White Sox fans.

It was a beautiful sunny day to boot.....85 sunny degrees. We then returned to the campground and finished the day with neighbors and friends with a little happy hour.

To start off this baseball season, we will leave you with a few of our favorite sayings by the great Yogi Berra.

      1. “It’s like deja vu all over again.”
      2. “We made too many wrong mistakes.”
      3. “You can observe a lot just by watching.”
      4. “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”
      5. “He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious.”

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

ONE FINAL HIKE…SABINO CANYON…WOW!

Monday, March 12 – We went to Sabino Canyon in the Santa Catalina Mountains today for a hike. We've heard many good comments about this area and we agree....This place is AWESOME!!!

We rode the trolley about 4 miles to the top of the canyon where we found the trail head to Phoneline Trail.

Crossing the stream on the tram.

There is even a sandy beach area in the Canyon.

This is a six mile hike of moderate difficulty. The first mile may be a little tougher than the “moderate” rating. You have a pretty steep climb on a very narrow trail.

At times we had to place a hand on the mountain wall to feel safe.

Looking way down.

Once that first stretch of trail was out of the way, the trail leveled out and became very enjoyable.

One word…Beauty!

We were on a high trail about half way up the face of the mountain and continued along the height for about 4.5 miles.

Can you see Marsha on the other side of the valley?

What about now?

Now?

Our trail is somewhere over there.

Of course, the last half mile was mostly down hill.

We were pretty tired once we reach the Canyon floor. It was going to be good to get back to the car. But we had another mile to walk from the end of the trail back to the car.....JEESH! Sure wish that trail ended at the parking lot....kind of a mental let down.

Most of the last mile was UPHILL!

Our only wildlife.

We really enjoyed this hike and look forward to returning some day to explore several of the other trails in Sabino Canyon.

 

Several bloggers from yesterday's post had the same question. Here is one from Jeff and Barbie, Boldts RV Castle, OK, you've enlightened us that Barrel Cactus always lean to the south. Now the million $ question.... WHY? Inquiring minds want to know :-)

ANSWER: The Barrel Cactus leans toward the South, casting shade on its side to prevent sunburn. Inquiring minds now know!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!

 

ENJOYING THE ACTIVITIES IN TUCSON

Sunday, March 11 – We went to the Tucson Farmer's Market at St. Philip's Plaza today.

They say there are over 70 booths at this wonderful market. Fresh vegetables, fruits, and delightful baked goods.....yeah, we purchased some cookies and a muffin.

There is goat cheese and goat milk....we purchased the cheese! Delicious!

Fresh peppers and roasted peppers....we liked the roasted peppers! So you see, we enjoyed the Farmer's Market and contributed to the local small businessmen of Tucson.

We hurried home to take advantage of the amazing weather for a hike in the mountains. Our destination was Gates Pass, the same place we enjoyed last night's sunset. There are many nice trails leading up into the mountains and out into the desert. Having hiked the desert several times we choose the mountains for today's hike.

Pretty steep climbs.

We sent several hours hiking from the desert valley up the mountain and actually looked down on Gates Pass the passage between Saguaro National Park and downtown Tucson.

Today we learned that Barrel Cactus always lean to the south.

There were quite a few people out hiking and enjoying the wonderful weather. Fortunately, this is a huge area and we saw very few people on the trails. As the saying goes, after the first half mile of trail, you lose over 50% of other hikers. After the first mile, 75% are gone.

That looked like the case today. Although, on the highest point of our hike on a particular narrow path, we had to scoot over and let a dad and his three kids (I would guess all under 10 years old) pass on their way up the mountain. Guess they start them out young enjoying the outdoors in the Tucson area.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y'all back real soon. Have a great day!