It's been a month and a few days since my last post. I've been a bit slack on posting and apologize for the extended silence. Let me recap a few things and then move on to current events in later posts.

First, my trip with my son to Dodgers Camelback Ranch in Glendale, AZ was a great trip! I love the facility and intend to make it a new tradition for me and my son to make an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for years to come. The place is beautiful and well worth the trip. Perhaps next time I'll fly their and rent a car, but all in all I'm quite impressed with the facility.

While we were there at the stadium we walked around and watched as some of the White Sox players were taking batting practice in one of the nearby fields close to the entrance from the parking lot. The Sox are in a partnership with the Dodgers and share the training camp with them.

We continued along the path and took in the pools of water and mini waterfalls where they have koi stocked in them. We didn't see any fish though, but it was something pleasant to look upon. We meandered over to the Dodgers minors fields and watched them take batting practice and on a nearbyy field watched a bit of a simulated game. Meanwhile minor league pitchers warmed up throwing pitches on a nearby grassy area.

We entered the stadium and were blown away by the intimacy set in noticing that there's not a single bad seat in the place. We had out seats very close to home plate, 1st base side and had a great view of the action. Before the game we staked out the 3rd base side to watch the players file in and do their warm up stretches. We got to see some of our favorite players up close and managed to get the autographs to rookie minor leaguer Jamie Hoffman and new hitting coach and former Dodger pinch hitter Mark Sweeney. Sweeney was just announced as a new assistant hitting coach just the day before so it was quite the surprise when we saw him walking down the field to the dugout.

The weather was perfect and despite losing the game in the later innings it was quite a treat to be there and enjoy a game in the early spring. Soon after that my son and I took off to downtown Phoenix to look up Alice Cooper'sTown. That place is great. Typical of a sports bar with a rock 'n' roll, sports theme. Imagine a a mixture of Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Cafe and ESPN zone all in one. We ordered some wings and fries and drinks. Myself having a Cooper'sTown Poison Pale Ale. Before leaving I couldn't help but snag some swag from the gift counter which consisted of T-shirts, guitar picks, shot glasses and hot sauce & BBQ sauce.

One of the really awesome things about Cooper'sTown is its location which is just a block and a half from the main entrance to Chase Field where the Diamondbacks play. One of these weekends when it can be planned I intend to make a trip to watch my Dodgers play the D'Backs. Book a hotel downtown within walking distance and revisit Cooper'sTown!

If you are a Dodgers (or even a White Sox) fan I highly recommend making the trip to visit Glendale's Spring Training facility and take the time to visit Cooper'sTown if you're a fan of the rocker and the restaurant's offered menu food and draft beer offerings in addition to their margarita menu, specialty drinks and specialty martinis.