Day 3 - Phoenix and Chase Field #24

After leaving the Grand Canyon, we made the 3.5 hour drive back to Phoenix where we would go see the Diamondbacks that night.  We made pretty good time getting into the city and had some time to spend before we could check into our hotel.  The temperature in Phoenix when we arrived was about 104 so there was nothing that we could do outside so we decided to go see a movie.  The boys went to see the new Jurassic World movie and Tammy and I went to see Elvis!  It was outstanding!  I give it two thumbs up.  Austin Butler nailed the role.  He will win the Best Actor Academy Award.  Write it down!

So after the movie, we checked into the hotel and set out on the half mile walk to Chase Field.  Not the best idea as the temperature was pushing 106 on the walk, but we got in and basked in the AC at Chase Field!

Chase Field - Home of the Arizona Diamondbacks - Ballpark #24

The Diamondbacks were taking on the Detroit Tigers so the number of people in attendance was kind of small but the fans that showed up were very supportive of their DBacks!  And there were a few devoted Tiger fans in attendance as well, many sporting Miguel Cabrera jerseys.  It was kind of cool getting to see the future Hall of Famer (Cabrera) play and get a hit.  The highlight of the game was watching Tiger infielder Javy Baez hit a Grand Slam!

The Tigers went on to win the game although the Dbacks put up a pretty good fight.  Our seats were in the outfield as we had 2 seats in left field and 2 in right. Below are some of the views that we had.

Our view from the Left Field Bleachers - we had a great view of the Grand Slam!

Chase Field - from Home Run Porch in Center Field

Tate's view from Right Field - We were on the front row in each section - Nice!

Tate and Trey with the proverbial Ball Park photo - sorry about the lighting - Tate sporting his Serpientes (Diamondbacks Spanish Heritage) T-Shirt.

Trey's T-Shirt from Arizona repping Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, "The Big Unit"

So Chase Field is a nice ballpark.  It is like an Oasis in the middle of a desert - literally!  The amenities were very nice.  I don't think they could play unless it was indoors because the heat would be unbearable.  The people were friendly and they are very supportive of their team.  It's challenging for them in that they play in one of the most challenging divisions in all of Major League Baseball having to battle the Dodgers, Giants, Padres, and Rockies.  It's a nice place to watch a game.

We headed back to the room again walking the 1/2 mile at 9:30 and it was still 97 degrees.  Unbelievable!  The next day we would head to San Diego!

Day 4 - Driving to San Diego and Coronado Beach

On Saturday we left Phoenix to make the 360 mile drive to Sunny San Diego.  We knew it was going to be a grind because of the heat outside and the fact that the scenery did not change much.  Kudos to the Toyota Company who make the Highlander.  I have to say it is a pretty nice and reliable vehicle.  The temps were climbing almost up to 110 degrees as did the elevation change.  We reached as high as 8000 feet in California and then descended all the way down to sea level during the drive.

A sight we have not seen before!

Actual pic of the Temp taken during a stop near the California border.

During the drive on Interstate 8, the elevation changed a lot more than I expected which I thought would just be flat desert.  Just over the California border past Yuma, we could see the US/Mexican border as seen in the following pic.  You can see the border wall.  We went through two different checkpoints to the Border guards could check to see if any illegals were on board.  That was kind of strange.

In the distance, you can see the border wall.  We were within sight of Mexico on Interstate 8.

Not exactly desert flatland, more like a lunar landscape!

But we made it to San Diego in about 5 and 1/2 hours and headed across the bay to Coronado where we had hotel reservations.  It turned out that Coronado Beach is a very popular place for tourists and locals as I think most of the people in San Diego decided to go to the beach that day.  As did we,  Tate could not wait to go to the beach.  So we checked in and headed out.  The temperature was in the low 80s with a nice breeze.  The boys said the water was cold and did not stay in very long.  

A picture taken from the bridge crossing over into Coronado from San Diego where we stayed.

The boys playing around on the beach (Trey getting dunked on by Tate!)

Just two lovebirds on the beach!

And two weak, little boys!

We spent about an hour and a half at the beach and then went back into downtown Coronado for some pizza for dinner.  The next day (Sunday) we would get up early to take the ferry across the Bay for the trip to Petco Park to see the Padres.