Around mid-November of 2008, my fiancee and I traveled to Phoenix to visit her brother. Although he and I had only hung out one weekend when he came to visit us a few months before here in Louisville, I can easily say without a doubt that I'm proud to have him as my future brother-in-law. He really knows the meaning of a good time and it showed as he was nice enough to let me and Mallorey crash at his place in Gilbert, Arizona, which is just right outside Phoenix. This happened to be my first time to that region and Mallorey's third to Arizona.
As soon as I entered the parking lot of the Phoenix airport the hot dry desert air hit my cheeks and forehead faster than Hasim Rahman knocked out Lennox Lewis in South Africa. Damn, it was hot! Don't misunderstand me. I'm not attempting to bad-mouth the climate by any means. This change in weather was like a dream come true. In fact, Mallorey and I had been used to the normal temps of about 40 degrees back in the Ohio Valley just several hours ago. For anyone who has been to Las Vegas before, such as myself, Phoenix is comparable. Sure over the course of the next 4 days my chapstick was my lifeline due to the lack of humidity in the southwestern air, but who can say they went swimming during the middle of November?!?!
Anyhow, the atmosphere that the greater Phoenix/Tempe area held was that which resembled a college town. Its easy for me to spot this characteristic given the fact that I was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky and graduated from the University of Louisville. While we really never spent much time in Scottsdale, it was explained to me that they hold more of a pro spirit and lean toward the professional teams like the Suns, Cardinals, Diamondbacks and Coyotes. What really shows that Tempe is a true college town, was when Saturday night a man was killed from getting run over by a Hummer at a bar called the Salty Seniorita. The ironic part was that we had left that exact same bar just hours before. Needless to say, we didnt attend there twice while on our 4-day mini vacation.
After a night of partying on Saturday, we attempted to watch NFL football on the Sunday Ticket via Directv. Mallorey and her brother along with his roomate and friends were decked out in their Bears gear (being from the Chicago area). Meanwhile, I was the only poor sole who was sporting my beloved purple and yellow personalized Vikings jersey. After they got the heckling out of the way, her brother and his roommate were kind enough to put Minnesota on whenever the Bears were at commercial. Such nice guys. Mallorey and I barely made it through the third quarter of the first games before having to return to our upstairs air mattress for a much needed nap to help in our recovery. We didn't miss much. There was hardly anything to root for. The Bears got slaughtered by the Packers and the Vikings lost to the Buccaneers of all teams. It was a rough weekend so far I tell you!
So now on to the campus of Arizona State University. Coming from a guy who is used to grass as his playground, ASU's campus definitely pulls off beautiful scenery without it. The campus area is very large (larger than UofL, I'd say) and pays great homage to its southwestern heritage with native statues and fountain fixtures throughout. Two of the neatest features that intrigued me the most were the campus' underground library and the 100 or so snakes native to the state of Arizona housed in one of the college buildings. It was like being at the zoo! Of course the students walked by like it was nothing probably because they see the exhibit everyday. So here I am, this Kentucky boy in Arizona, tapping on this rattlesnake's glass teasing it with a smile on my face. It's a wonder why no one stopped to ask "dude, what the hell are you doing?"
Did I mention there was a sale right outside of the bookstore? How can you beat that?! I'm talking everything from t-shirts for $5 to hooded sweatshirts that were $10. You certainly don't see that everyday. If that won't stimulate our economy I don't know what will.
But nothing beats a nice football stadium within walking distance on campus that really tops off an outstanding college environment. That's the case with ASU. Sun Devil stadium can be seen as soon as you leave the airport and it sits right next to a small river and what the student body calls "A" Mountain. I felt stupid when I asked her brother why they refer to it as such. When we drove to the opposite side he clearly pointed out the enormous A on the side of the mountain that could probably be seen by the MIR space station. Come to find out her brother had actually climbed this mountain before he graduated. Not me. Let's just say I need to keep my feet on the ground so my hand can still write these blogs.
All in all, Arizona State was a great university with an even greater college atmosphere. Anyone who hasn't seen it should check it out. I'd venture to say its probably one of the finer colleges in the country regardless of how old or young you are. You can even see a few cacti along the way if you're lucky. Oh, and the winter season is quite mild for the average American.
PS - I learned a new phrase while hanging out with my future brother-in-law: "That's what she said....". I will leave that to your imagination. Or Google it if you'd like.