Well — I have been slacking and frankly, the blog may suffer down the stretch of vacation. I just don’t have much planned for the final few days and it will be like watching bad re-runs for you folks —-
But – Wednesday AM — woke up at 4:30 AM local time to get on the road around 5(ish) on my way up to Sedona to view some breath-taking red Rock formations — I have been there a couple times previously, but only a cameo both times…
My feeling was get there early — take an early off-road tour and then decide the rest of my day (lounge in Sedona or shoot to Flagstaff for a couple hours) — well….I hear a lecture about calling ahead or planning ahead coming…I showed up at Pink Jeep Tours at about 7:30 after taking some pictures on my way into town. The earliest they could squeeze me in was 10:00 — unless I wanted to do combo tours, which would be more money and up to 4 hours….this is their version of “would you like fries with that?”, but instead it is “if you want to add the Ancient Ruins to your tour as a combo, we can get you out in 25 minutes…”. I declined, wanting my day to be flexible —
So, it was two hours of snapping a couple photos, putting my nose against the shop windows of the places not yet open and checking out the same 25 post cards that are on sale outside a few early risers who were open…..YAWN!
The only benefit is the change in weather as you head north to Sedona and later to Flagstaff — while Scottsdale hit 108 on Wednesday, Sedona peaked (not pun intended) at 90 and Flagstaff peaked at 80 degrees, cooler than beantown for the day —
Well…10:00 rolls around and me and a family of four from New York (I can’t ditch all the Yankee fans in the world if I tried) headed out on a 35 mile, 2 hour tour of “Diamondback Gulch”. Tour guide Bob was very knowledgeable and the tour was about an 8 — excellent learning experience, some good canned jokes from Bob, but I guess I wanted more formations out of my tour. I can whine pretty well when I try, huh? The off-road experience was something I recommend and I would do one again –

Before, during and after the Pink Jeep Tour, I was able to see many of the formations in the area. The camera doesn’t seem to catch ALL of the deep colors, but they still look decent — some snapshots are below:


These sights are pretty breathtaking — and they can make your heart skip a beat –
Obviously, the local city council does as well, as you can see these heart Defibrillators on the sidewalks every quarter mile or so –

As you can imagine, lots of artists have jumped in on these great views. There are artists who have rendered these in drawings, paintings and even in photography. I have jumped into this in my own abstract photo of the main road, showing the closeness of the formations to downtown life…..

I call this photo “Green Lights, Red Rocks”….I can have it silk-screened onto drink coasters if you like….I just need to contact Billy Mays for the infomercial…..WAIT! Oh, nevermind.
Well, I was full of disgust for waking at 4:30 to set up all this available time, and the lack of planning ahead made the day reach a baptism under fire mode around 1:00 — Do I drive over the hills to Flagstaff for one of Guy Fieri’s restaurants or do I head back towards Phoenix/Scottsdale? I decided to do Flagstaff and drove the 28 miles to this bustling place –
I got out to pump gas and it was kind of, ahem….chilly — well, an 80 degree chilly, but I must stress that I haven’t seen a daytime temperature below 100 degrees since Logan Airport….
So, off to another one of Guy’s finds….and while they featured a great dinner item, I had to select from the lunch menu at Brandy’s Bakery and Restaurant. I even saw the chef bouncing around the restaurant who I remembered from the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives clips. Too bad I wasn’t here for dinner….
I ordered a California Dip sandwich, which was served au just (thus, a french dip)….and thank god there was au jus — I mean, this sandwich was listed as “juicy roast beef” with muenster cheese and green chilies…
There was ZERO juiceness to this roast beef! I was there at about 2:00 and I had a sad feeling that this beef MAY have been juicy during their breakfast rush…..7 HOURS AGO — I had thankfully ordered a pesto mayo for a side, which helped the sandwich along.
I get a lot of french dips — and the true test for me is….does this sandwich stand on it’s own as a roast beef sandwich? Is it already good, and just enhanced by the au jus (I feel so french!)? If not…thumbs down –
Even the chilies were a disappointment –
The fries were hot and fresh — and I learned a long time ago if you can’t say anything else nice…just stop moving your lips……but, seeing that this is a blog and it is my fingertips, I can say such great things as “unremarkable”, “hot filler”, “begging for salt and pepper”…..
This visit made me have a major realization about the show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives…..nobody ever said the food at all these places was great! They are either in a funky building, have a funky personality, have some strange items on the menu, have an unusual cooking manner…..and occasionally, the food is “off the hook”. So, my expectations have been changed for the culinary tour of Triple D restaurants (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives = Triple D). They have been set to medium low and that way I can be pleasantly surprised.
Brandy’s gets a One Buck out of Five Bucks….my lowest rating yet in this “foodie” blog stuff….
So, off the the great roads of Arizona….weird driving down a highway and as far as you can see, no homes, no buildings….not even a Starbucks….
So, I decided I was gonna have enough time to get to Phoenix for the Diamondbacks game against the New York Mets (I can’t dodge New Yorkers, even the ones that hate the Yankees).
I parked behind Alice Cooper’s restaurant, aptly named Alice Cooperstown, which had frosty aluminum bud products for $4….again, FRIGID — like my third day in a row blessed with ice cold beer —- maybe it is a state law or something….but everyone from the Cask and Flagon to the Towanda Club can learn from these refrigerator experts!
Here is the outside patio of Alice’s place –

Funny thing about the servers inside is they all have to wear some of the Alice Cooper face paint — with the black tears down their face — I didn’t ask any to pose, but for a flavor of it, here’s a photo of Alice himself..

Imagine asking someone looking like that if I can get the ranch on the side?
I reviewed the menu and everything is pretty much named after a sports figure or a rock star…. they even have a two pound hot dog called the Big Unit (named after Randy Johnson who used to play for Arizona). One of the sides of the building makes sure you know where to get the Big Unit….

Just so you bring enough dough…..the Big Unit will set you back $18.99…..or the same price as a Fenway Frank in the bleachers at Fenway….
They actually hosted Adam Richman of Man vs. Food for the Big Unit! They actually added an Adam Richman version of the Big Unit, but I forget what it added and it isn’t on the website — here is a photo from the web of Adam and Alice….with two Big Units…

Never seen Man vs. Food — pretty entertaining — see more info here
The D’backs are a BAD team….think, Orioles without the passionate fan base…. It’s a nice place to watch a game, modern, been here a couple times before…and it is comfortable. Grabbed a cheap seat in the left field bleachers, $16. Lots of beer and food choices. I mean, when in Rome hit me in the first fifteen minutes as I decided to have a frozen strawberry margarita (hey! I was back to the 100+ temps, so I thought a foo foo drink at a game was ok). Skipped food, so no ballpark food report. For those of you counting my calories…today was a skip breakfast, skip dinner day — not the way you want to eat, but it happens from time to time….I’ll make up for it later.
One thing about what is called Chase Field that is pretty interesting is they have a swimming pool area just beyond the right field fence! You can rent out the space, but my guess is it comes pretty pricey! But, as you can see below: you could easily have a Home Run in the pool! (Note: those living in the gutter, keep your memories of a home run in the pool to yourself!).

I decided to keep dry, walked around a lot, talked to ushers about the team, the stadium, their matching outfits… my ticketed section is shown below, but I was here for only 20 minutes….long enough to be 30 feet from one of 3 Home Runs that were hit there last night –

Gassed up at Alice’s joint before heading home…some local Hefeweizen which was forgettable and a Fat Tire….after all, this is where Fat Tire and I had our first date, many years back –
Future posts will be shorter I imagine….no real plans ahead — and I will try not to bore the audience…