Early Arrivers!

It is that time of year again! The annual pilgrimage to the Final Four has begun, and once again, we will be blogging about it. There will be a lot of special appearances in the blog this year since Sinickal’s parents live in nearby Scottsdale, and he spends a lot of time here. Sinickal and Tony have arrived a couple of days early to visit Sinickal’s parents. Pepster and Hopps will be joining us in a couple of days for the rest of the weekend. Absent this year are Corey (despite UNC being in the Final Four), and Pam and Whitney who were fantastic hosts last year.

Here we go. All times listed in Pacific Time.

Tuesday (March 28^th)

22:03 - Tony is first on the ground in Phoenix. He has a 20-minute wait until Sinickal arrives

22:30 – Sinickal is on the ground in Phoenix. Meets Tony in the terminal where we watch someone walk into his luggage. PHX Terminal 3 is currently being renovated, and it seems to take us 20 minutes just to get to baggage claim then to the rental car shuttle. Tony remarks that we could have walked to North Scottsdale by now.

23:00 – Finally in a rental car! The Nissan Rogue is nice. Not a lot of space for luggage and golf clubs, but it does have XM Radio. Sinickal immediately programs Backspin and Fly, remarking that Pepe will immediately reprogram the stations upon entry.

23:44 – We arrive at Sinickal’s parents house in North Scottsdale. We will be staying here until Thursday when the others arrive and we check into the house we have rented in Old Town Scottsdale.

00:05 – Annye (Mom) is asleep, but Si (Dad) is up, and it doesn’t take long before we are into beer and politics. It is always funny to Tony that Dad believes that Sinickal is a republican.

01:30 – Bed. Long travel day

Wednesday (March 29)

07:00 – Mom makes her first appearance! As usual, she refers to Tony as her favorite son. Sinickal ignores this slight and gets some coffee.

07:45 – We find out that Dad has already left the house, and Mom is leaving shortly. So much for spending time with parents. At least she made us something to eat!

08:30 – Tony and Sinickal decide that since it is the last day of spring training, we should try to see the defending World Champion Chicago Cubs. The cheapest tickets on Stubhub are $120!! Nope. We choose to purchase tickets to the Milwaukee Brewers. Those are only $10.

10:25 – Stop at Bank of America to get some cash. An older woman stops Sinickal at the outdoor ATM to ask if he is playing for one of the teams this weekend. She then says that Sinickal could help her favorite team, the Philadelphia 76ers. She tells us about her husband having dementia, the length of the marriage, how long they have lived in Scottsdale, and more. This was a 3-minute encounter.

10:32 – Sinickal and Tony head for Maryville Park. A lot of Wu Tang Clan on Backspin for the trip. It is noted that the trip to the west side of Phoenix looks a lot different than North Scottsdale. The only businesses along Indian School Road west of Central Avenue are liquor stores, strip clubs, pawn shops, and churches.

11:50 – We have arrived at Maryville Park for beers, brats, sun, and baseball. The weather is perfect, but neither of us is ready for this much sun.

12:10 – There is an older Angels fan sitting in front of us. He won’t stop talking to us. He claims to be a baseball umpiring expert, and he thinks he is the funniest person in the park. He is neither. Tony appears to be plotting a way to punch him in the back of the head without anyone noticing.

14:08 – We made it through 6 innings, 4 home runs, and 14 runs.  Oh, and Tony’s head is turning bright red. We decide that it is time to relocate somewhere where there is shade.

14:30 – Traffic is ridiculous. Of course, Sinickal is attempting to explain why the traffic is so bad and ends up missing the exit. This adds 15 more minutes onto the trip. Damn civil engineers.

14:45 – We arrive in Scottsdale at Stone and Vine to meet family friend Bob Lanier (yeah, that one) for a drink.  He is sitting at an outdoor table with fried Donna, Dave and Wayne Embry (yeah, that one). It is a couple of days after Wayne’s 80^th birthday, and the stories from the old NBA days are outstanding.

15:25 – Bob: “Do you remember that blond. I think she was a cheerleader. We were in Milwaukee. Damn.”            
Wayne: “You mean Stacy? Yeah, I remember.”  Wayne then starts dapping the table since he has remembered a random girl from 1972.

16:00 – Dave is a 60-year-old local business owner and seems like a nice simple guy with a wife and a country club membership. Then his wife Cheryl arrives. Hammered! She just finished 2 hours at the 19^th hole at Ancala Country Club.

16:05 – Cheryl’s arrival is like someone throwing a grenade into a fire pit at a party. She is currently trying to climb over the fence on the patio at the restaurant so that she can join us. Sinickal eventually lifts her up over the fence.

16:12 – Cheryl is trying to get over to the other side of the table to hug Wayne. She apologizes to Sinickal for rubbing her boobs on him. “I did that on purpose by the way. You’re cute!”

16:18 – Bob: “Cheryl, what did you shoot today?”

              Cheryl: “Anyone in my way!”

16:25 - Bob has decided that we will gamble for the tab. Tony looks at Sinickal…Damn, this is going to be a big number. Bob appears to be making up a game where everyone writes down a number, then we all have to guess numbers. No one understands the rules of the game, and somehow Bob loses anyway! Serves him right.

16:29 – Cheryl (to her husband): “What are we going to do for our 26th anniversary babe?”

Dave: “Fuck like rabbits.”
Cheryl: “You will wake me first, right?”

16:36 – Discussion turns to a Mexican restaurant in Milwaukee named Chi Chi's. A former Milwaukee police officer who has joined us (Tim) tells us that the longtime owner named the place for his wife's boobs.
Cheryl: "Wow, that was back before we knew anything about augmentation also."

16:50 – Sinickal and Tony head back to North Scottsdale to meet the parents.

18:05 – Sinickal, Tony, Mom and Dad leave for dinner at DC Ranch.

18:40 – At All American Bar & Grill. It takes Mom 6 minutes to order Buffalo Shrimp, and Mac and Cheese. So many questions! It is clear that the sun got Tony today. He is wearing down and is not going to last much longer.

18:55 – Mom is trying to convince us that Phoenix will be the best Final Four city. The argument is nonsensical. Sinickal dismisses her argument as incoherent babble.

20:40 – Sinickal and Tony have run to Walgreens to stock up on supplies, and are now in Cave Creek at a rodeo bar called Harold’s. Ferrari’s and Porshe’s litter the parking lot, cowboy hats and acid washed jeans litter the inside. This will be a weird nightcap.

21:00 – Karoke starts. This is about to get interesting.

21:05 - A Bad Elvis impersonator opens Karoke singing, you guessed it, an Elvis song. The impersonator is so bad that Tony refuses to acknowledge him as an Elvis impersonator. We decide to leave believing that this is the best this will get.

21:25 – Back at the parent’s house for an early night. Hopps and Pepster arrive tomorrow.