Round II -- Spring Training Here We Come!

So we're at it again! We have begun our second roadtrip to Phoenix to see the Texas Rangers and other teams in the Cactus League duke it out in spring training competition! Of course, one of the best parts is going to batting practices (BP) in the mornings and getting autographs. One plus on this year is we were able to begin the trip a day earlier, as my friend (who is a teacher) works in a school district which had the Friday before their spring break off (nice, huh?! Making any other teachers jealous!?!?). So I went ahead and requested the day off from my job and we got a day earlier start this year!



So, just as last year, we are breaking up the 17 hour drive, by staying the first night in El Paso, Texas. That made for a 10.5 hour drive for today (yes, folks, you can drive for 10 hours and still be in one state...Texas is THAT big)! So here we are safe and sound in good ol' El Paso, Texas. After 10+ hours of this old body riding in a car, I'm sore and wornout, so tonight's entry is going to be shorter; however, I thought I'd end it with some brief "points" so far from our trip...

• Gasoline is sure a lot higher today than it was a year ago. We pulled up our records/budget from last years trip and the most we paid for gasoline last year was $2.09 a gallon in Benton, Arizona. So far today, we've paid prices from $2.61, up to $2.79 a gallon. Yikes...good thing we are getting two of our nights in hotels free from credit card points!


• I've decided that the Murphy's gas station by the "new" Super Walmart in Abilene IS officially the windest place in all of Abilene. I was strongly beginning to believe this theory when I was there at homecoming, but today's trip sealed the deal.


• I think State Troopers and the Border Patrol switch shifts from Friday's to Saturdays. Last year when we made the trip to El Paso on a Saturday we only saw a few state troopers along the way and more border patrol than I could count on my fingers and toes. Today, with the trip being on a Friday, we saw 14 hundred state troopers and the only border patrol we saw were at the check point station. This was kind of sad, as last year seeing all the border patrol was a bit of entertainment, as we liked watching for them and their trucks hidden down in the ditches. It was like we were anxiously awaiting to see a truck racing through the desert chasing a group of illegals or something. Sure, it never happened, but I'm pretty sure the anticipation of it helped a boring trip move along.
• I'm pretty sure the lack of the border patrol this year also took some of the excitement out of our large lettering of "JUAREZ BOUND" which we had chalked on the back window of our vehicle. Oh well...

Goodnight, from El Paso, and the next time I write, it should be from sunny Phoenix, Arizona! As for me, I think my body (which believes it's after 10 PM, even though it's only 9 PM here) is ready to get to bed. As for my friend, yeah, she's already out cold! HA!