Spring Training 2020: Day 3

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Leap Day baseball!

We thought we would end up sleeping in this morning, with nothing to do until the baseball game at 1:05pm. But we were both up at 7:45am so I did some quick research and realized that Red Rock Canyon was only 20 minutes away. I had hiked in the canyon during my first trip to Vegas back in 2015 with college friends and since our annual spring training normally involves hiking and we hadn’t had a chance to do it back in Phoenix, we decided to drive out there before the game. We had breakfast at the hotel around 9:30am and checked on my brother’s progress in the Mississippi Blues Marathon (which is why he couldn’t come with us on the trip this year), and my niece’s solo and ensemble competition (which my other sister had flow back overnight for) before checking out of the hotel and getting back in the car.

We arrived “in” the canyon area around 10:30am but the line of cars to get into the 13-mile scenic loop was very long (Saturday morning hikers!). We eventually reached the gatehouse and paid our $15 admission. We spent the next 90 minutes marveling at the scenery, stopping at the various locations to get out and take photos. We weren’t really prepared for “real” hiking but we did do a short trail out to see some the petroglyph wall. The whole area is amazing.

Leaving the canyon behind, we made it to the Las Vegas Ballpark by 12:30pm which left us some time to walk around and check out the new stadium … there’s a swimming pool in the outfield! Our seats were in shade by the 3rd inning and it was quite chilly (good thing I wore jeans and a sweatshirt!). We got to see Lindor actually play, and once again the Indians tried to rally late but ended up losing to the A’s 8-6. This is only the second time we’ve seen all losses on this trip (the last time being 2012). But my other sister (the one who left last night) was happy to know it wasn’t because of her. 😉

We were meeting some of my sister’s friends for dinner at 6:00pm and had some time after the game so we hung out in the parking lot re-organizing our suitcases and changing out of our baseball jerseys while the traffic filtered out. The LVBP is in a really cool area called Downtown Summerlin which reminded me of the Westgate Entertainment District in Glendale. It’s basically an upscale outdoor mall with lots of shopping, restaurants, bars, and, of course, the ballpark. We popped into Trader Joe’s to pick up a bottle of wine for my sister’s friends (she’s staying with them overnight) and then met them for dinner at the Grape Street Cafe where excellent pasta and wine was consumed. After dinner we tried to go to Frankie’s Uptown for drinks but it was too crowded so we ended up at the bar at California Pizza Kitchen for a little bit as we continued to visit.

Eventually, unfortunately, it was time for me to get to the airport to catch the red-eye back to Florida. I said goodbye to my sister and her friends and drove back to McCarraan. I was returning the rental car around 8:45pm and by 9:15pm I was through security. I still had about an hour until boarding so I just walked around for a bit and then did some catching up on e-mail. I had a window seat so I caught a glimpse of the strip as we took off and then I fell asleep (mostly) during the flight to Charlotte.

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