Ride 'Em Cowboy

One of the draws to Arizona for me is that my younger brother Franklin wants to go to college at ASU. I’m thinking Arizona sounds boring, but time and time again I’ve learned on this trip that looks can be deceiving. I walked around the ASU campus and liked what I saw. It’s not my decision obviously, but I’m sure with the nice scenery and great weather Franklin will enjoy himself here. I also checked out the baseball stadium where he’d be playing if he went there. The team was on the field working out and I felt bad for them it was hot and they had on a couple shirts and pants, but the stadium itself was nice. I had to get back in time to let Ashley back into her place but I definitely had a good time. If he ends up going there I can’t wait to visit.

When I got back I spent time with Artemis and Nick, Ashley’s roommate and her boyfriend. Cool people they are vegetarians like Ashley but I tried not to hold that against them. I’m joking but they were an interesting pair. She was from Chicago he was from Rhode Island. He is an activist and her in Medical school. Looking at them you would think them an unlikely pair but they fit. I don’t know what about them Clicks exactly but it def works.

After speaking with them and Ashley getting ready she wanted to take to Hot Yoga. Simply put it’s Yoga but with huge space heaters in the room. I wont lie, I have never done Yoga nor have I ever thought much of it. It was hard, the positions were tough but the real test for me was the heat. It’s Arizona it’s already hot as Satins house and they wanted to put a space heater in here. I was sweating just standing in this room. And Surprise Surprise the men in the room outnumbered the women. I never stretched so intensely, I would like to keep at it but I think I’ll find a place that doesn’t have the space heater to keep myself from fainting. When I heard that it was done I was very happy. Geoff and Jason gave us a ride home and we had a dinner with a bunch of Ashley’s friends to go to.

Sake Bombers is the name of the place. A nice Japanese restaurant where we met Nick and Artemis and Judy and Patrick we had a good dinner with great conversation. It was a fun time it almost seemed for a little there the guys were all talking together and the girls were having their conversations. Almost like grade school except no one had cooties.

When dinner was over Ashley and I went to her friend’s house, one of her friends was having a birthday party and we were just going to stop by, because she had some studying to do. After he friend’s laid on some serious peer pressure she gave in and decided to stay out. We drank a little at the house, had a little dance party and then headed out to a bar called the Saddle Ranch. It was a cool place but the big surprise was the Mechanical bull. Now I’m not a Cowboy of any kind but I’ve never ridden a bull before and wasn’t going to pass up the chance to. I hopped on and gave it a good ride lasted about 15 seconds the first time and he turned up the heat for my second try and I only lasted about 10 seconds before being thrown onto the mat. After dancing and hanging out we went home. She has a really nice couch I slept like a baby.

My last day in town Ashley took me to a wine tasting, in Phoenix, with her friends. Mike Fink drove us out there, he’s a cool guy me and him clicked right away we have the same humor and enjoyed each other’s company. Now I’m a beer guy, I like it foreign, domestic, light, and dark. Wine on the other hand I have little knowledge of but it was a great time. We tasted different wines matched them with a few cheeses and had an awesome time. We laughed, told stories and just enjoyed the company of everyone at the table.

Arizona was a great time. I was able to see and get closer with an old friend and ever found a new one in Mike Fink. Good people are everywhere and I’m lucky enough to have found them again and again along my travels.

One Mile at a Time.