Trip Report

Kat and I went to Arizona's state capitol yesterday for a day of fun. Herewith, is the rundown of the hijinks we got into.

First, IKEA. Those Scandinavians know a thing or three about cheap furniture. We eschewed (that means "did not attempt to eat") the furniture and instead just bought some new slipcovers for our current furniture. We now have three sets of slipcovers, but most of them have been defiled by dogs. This new set will probably stay white for about a month, but what choice do you have when your pets control your life.

Second, we drove by the building where I am going to work and what was around it. We also took a look downtown. Kat seemed to like the area where I am going to work.

Third, we drove out to the Peoria Sports Complex to sit in on an intimate gathering that was the Peoria Saguaros versus the Peoria Javelinas. Thad Franklin Weber (note: middle name has not been verified) of the Detroit Tigers organization took the mound for the Javelinas in the fourth inning. Thad gave up two runs, but he was going against all-star hitters and an umpire with a strike zone that could only be seen by using the most cutting-edge technologies in microscopy. Thad said he felt good and made good pitches, and it was really cool to get to see him pitch. I don't think I had seen him on the mound in maybe eight years, although the only improvement would have been if Elliott Lloyd Gautreaux (note: middle name has been verified) was behind the plate.

Kat and I left when it became clear that Thad would not be pitching anymore. We left the assorted scouts, autograph seekers and baseball enthusiasts (that is, rather aged and portly white men) and headed over to Scottsdale. When we got to Westworld for the horse show, there was nothing going on. Our timing was quite poor. Finding nothing to catch our interest, we executed a well-known Kat Gautreaux contingency plan: go to a mall. We went to Kierland Commons (where you can buy a loft above a B.Rep for "only" $700k!) and looked around. Kat bought a shirt with a rooster on it at J.Crew.

We then went back to Peoria to meet up with Thad and his dad Les Orestes Weber (you know the drill on the middle name) at Cheesecake Factory. Kat and I got lost, so we were a little late. We had a nice dinner. Mr. Weber was quite generous. We talked to this guy for awhile. And generally a good time was had by all. Thad explained what minor league life was like and we talked about dogs and other topics. Kat purchased a salad that appeared to have been constructed by Frank Gehry. After thanking the Webers, we returned home to Tucson. The dogs were excited to see us.

All in all, it was a pretty good day.