Arizona Road Trip 7/16/16

Oh Arizona…

Let me first start off by saying that after this trip I now have a love hate relationship with Phoenix, AZ and it has nothing to do with the game.

The day began as it should have. We woke up at the butt crack of dawn, made or way over to Union Station, signed in, got our tickets and a very cool pair of sunnies, loaded the buses and began our sleepy journey to Arizona.

 

Bus 1

 Bus 2

Bus 3

Bus 4

 

Travel/Packing Tips for Arizona:

• Wear light clothes. Arizona is extremely HOT!
• Bring a blanket for the bus. It can get pretty cold inside.
• A neck pillow is always welcomed for the long drive to and from.
• Fight your urge to pack only alcohol. Its a long drive and you will be wishing you had something to eat halfway there.
• Consider bringing a few travel sized items to freshen up such as wipes, deodorant, mouthwash, etc.

The bus was pretty quiet the first hour or so. People were either hung over from the night before or still needed their beauty sleep, either way, the silence was welcomed.

About half way there, the music turned on, donuts were passed around and the party finally started.

If you’re like me, you love getting the window seat, hoping to get a better glimpse of all the scenic views and things along the way. But let me just burst your bubble now if you’re ever heading to Arizona from Los Angeles, THERE”S NOTHING TO SEE!  Endless amounts of dirt mountains with the occasional tumbleweed is about all the excitement you’ll be seeing on the road. Luckily for me, I was in a bus filled with awesome Dodgers fans who made the trip worthwhile!

We made one stop once inside Arizona. It was definitely welcomed since many of us dread using the restroom on the bus, however, looking back I think I would have taken my chances. Immediately after taking one step off the bus, I was hit by a huge wave of heat and quickly took refuge in the air conditioned McDonald’s. Look, I know what you’re thinking, here’s another girl complaining because she’s sweating her makeup off. That’s so not the case! I live for the sun but there’s a difference between the sunny California weather and the “Oh look I can bake cookies on the ground” Arizona heat.

Once back on the bus, the party started again.

Welcome to Arizona!

Fun Facts about Phoenix, AZ 

• Phoenix is larger than Los Angeles and New York.
• Parts of Downtown Phoenix were built over 3,000 year old civilization.
• South Mountain Park is the largest city park in the Nation, almost 20 times the size of New York’s Central Park.
• Phoenix has an elevation of more than 1,100 feet.
• It’s the nation’s fifth largest city
• It’s home to about 22 Native American Indian tribes and communities.

 

Pregame at Tee Pee Tap Room

The buses left us off at the Tee Pee Tap Room which happened to be conveniently located right outside Chase Field.

Pro’s:

• Super close to the stadium.
• Air Conditioned
• Full Bar
• Patio Area
• Large enough to hold five buses of Dodgers Fans
• Drinks are good and decent in price.
• Awesome hospitality.

Cons:

• Food could be better but then again I am pretty biased when considering all the amazing Mexican Restaurants we have right here in Los Angeles.

 

Chase Field

Fun Facts:

• It has a swimming pool called the Ram Trucks pool. The pool is considered to be a suite and needs to be reserved in order to be used. The suite costs $3500.00 can accommodate up to 35 guests and comes with your own lifeguard, food and drinks.
• Has a retractable roof mad of 9 million pounds of structural steel.
• The stadium is Air Conditioned which is a welcomed aspect considering the dry heat that plaques Arizona.
• There are suites in the Dugout. Fans can literally get up close and personal with all the action.
• They have the lowest Beer prices in Major League Baseball.
• Known to have an abundance of food options from delicious restaurants to unique concession stands.

 

Food at Chase Field:

If I would have known that about all the delicious food options available and waiting for me at Chase Field, I wouldn’t have definitely decided come earlier. Here are some that stood out to me.

Game 7 Grill: BBQ-style, family friendly restaurant. They can accommodate up to 300 fans and has special live entertainment on Fridays and Saturdays.

The Draft Room: This popular pub-like spot is a favorite to many because of their 20 draft flavors available.

Friday’s Front Row: This awesome sports grill overlooks left field and can be dinned at even on non game days.

Big Dawgs: Concession stand offering 6 different foot-longs with special toppings from across the USA.

Churro Dog: This has got to be my personal favorite finding at Chase Stadium. It is a churro inside a donut bun topped with frozen yogurt, whipped cream, caramel and chocolate. Believe me when I say that this is heaven in your mouth!

I was also pleasantly surprised to see some of my favorite places to eat in LA here as well such as Cold Stone Creamery, Subway, Panda Express, and Wetzel’s Pretzels.

 

Dodgers vs Diamondbacks

This being my first trip to Chase Field, I had no idea what to expect. I wondered what the fan ratio would be and whether or not us Dodger fans would be welcomed. But soon after entering the stadium, I felt completely welcomed and at home. Despite seeing a large amount of red, I am happy to say that our boys in blue were definitely represented. I had no idea so many Dodger fans resided in Arizona.

Another thing I want to point out is the respect that was given to us by the Diamondback fans and stadium workers. It definitely makes all the difference when you are at an away game and you are greeted with friendly competitiveness as opposed to rudeness and hatefulness by the opposing side. It truly made the game more enjoyable to know that we were welcomed, well, as welcomed as opposing fans can be.

If you weren’t fortunate enough to have gone to the game or watched it on t.v., you might have missed the large amount of airtime that Pantone 294 was given.

As part of the Pantone 294 family, it was really amazing to hear Alana Rizo and the folks over at Sports Net LA speak about us and have so much knowledge about who Pantone 294 is and what we do.

Click below for a recap of the trip and to hear what was said on Sports Net LA!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post.

Stay tuned for more Pantone294 ultimate fan experiences.

Next Stop: New York on September 2016!