Great House

Our friends had to head back home today for a family wedding, but we're staying in Arizona for a few days longer. Both the Cubs and the Angels were off today, so we weren't planning to watch another game. Even though the boys would have liked to try to get more autographs, there just wasn't another game or stadium that seemed very interesting to us grown-ups.

So the plan for today was to visit Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, which is about an hour away. There are a few other NPS sites surrounding Phoenix, but we just didn't have time to see them all, which just means my OCD will bring us back here for another trip!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Today was the day that we (meaning, R and me!) have been looking forward to ever since we decided to come for spring training! Cubs vs. Rangers game at Hohokam! Cubs! Woo!

Rich took the boys down to breakfast first while I was working on yesterday's blog post. One of the Cubs spring training regulars overheard the boys talking about getting more autographs and offered a tip. He recommended going to watch batting practice on days when they have an away game. They warm-up at their own practice fields before boarding the team bus to head over to the other stadium. Since it's not as big of a crowd as there is at a game, more players take time to sign.

Autograph Hounds

Wow! We've only been here for two days, but I feel like we've been here for a week! Maybe it's because we've already seen three games... but I'm getting ahead of myself.

When we started planning the trip, we only bought advance tickets for the Angels/Dodgers and Cubs/Rangers games. We weren't sure if the kids would be willing to sit through more than that. Were we ever wrong! After they got their first autographs on Saturday night (and were left empty-handed on Sunday), they have been on the hunt for more. So, it was no surprise when given the choice of visiting Casa Grande Ruins National Monument or going to another game today, they picked baseball.  

Hail! Hail!

Previously, the boys' spring break has always been tied to Easter. So, for the past couple of years, their week off has fallen in April. This year our school district changed the calendar, but coming out to see spring training wasn't even on our radar until I heard my friend at work talking about her plans to come see her San Francisco Giants, which started the trip-planning wheels turning.  

Besides coming to watch the Cubs, we were also interested in seeing the Angels/Dodgers game at Camelback Ranch, partly because the Angels are R's adopted west coast team and partly because our friends who came along with us are a family with split loyalties. Something for everyone, win-win!

On the Road Again...

Just can't wait to get on the road again...

I guess it's about time to dust off our travel blog, since we're hitting the road again! Destination: Arizona, to catch some Cactus League spring training games and maybe even a few national park sites!

I was a little concerned that how we started out our trip this morning was a foreshadowing of things to come. RAIN! Ugh. We saw an overturned truck before we even got out of town! And three more accidents (likely due to hydroplaning) on the freeway on our way through LA. But thankfully by the time we reached Palm Springs, we had gotten in front of the storm so it was clear the rest of the way to Phoenix.

Junior Rangers

Yay! The last of the boys' Jr. Ranger badges finally came in the mail today! Cedar Breaks National Monument had run out of them and promised to mail theirs when more came in.  

Not long after they started collecting their badges, my mom made a banner for each one to display their hard-earned rewards. By last count, they have badges and/or patches from 57 different national park units + 2 California state parks. Oh yeah, and a sticker from Muir Woods. Woo. Hoo. Great job, boys!

Hmmm, looks like they're running out of real estate. We'll either have to stop visiting national parks or sweet-talk PoPo into making more banners...