It already felt like quite the trip, but the main part with Clarkson hadn't even started.

Taking the early morning train to San Francisco International, I was about to be on a strange flight leg for a guy who mostly flies out of Windsor or Deer Lake. Often visiting the same places because of being marooned on that island back east, I was delighted to be somewhere fresh and different, standing here in the line for American Airlines to Phoenix.

Even though we were delayed by a broken luggage carousel, Phoenix Airport still brought me the joy I get from mid-sized American airports. Giant airports are soul-sucking and utilitarian, while mid-sized airports actually feel like the city and country they belong to, bringing me joy when I find myself in one in the States.

Meeting up with Clarkson and after a bit of walking outside from terminal to terminal, we finally found the light rail that conveniently brought us right downtown. Catching up after not going on a baseball trip since 2015, we stumbled upon a dark bar with a friendly waitress, Cornish pastries and cold beer. It was great to be out of the Phoenix heat & chilling here with a good friend.

Next up was the worry of accommodations. I'd looked up a classic motel with some sketchy reviews, but after walking over to its location a bit far from the ballpark, they questionably didn't have any rooms available even though it was only 3pm.

Clarkson was happy enough to go back to the Rodeway Inn that we passed along the way & I accepted the Rodeway for tonight, but vowed that we'd stay at some actually cool motels of the American west on this trip. After all, it was one of the things I was most excited about.

I wasn't expecting much from Phoenix architecturally, and the area by our motel was a sea of parking and 1-story forgettable buildings, but there were a few gems nearby. I especially enjoyed the Maricopa County Courthouse, built in 1928.

(I didn't even realize it was the old county courthouse at the time & didn't seek it out intentionally. We simply happened upon the building as we walked towards the ballfield.)

I liked Phoenix because it felt so foreign with its humid weather and how I couldn't relate it to much else in America. When I saw Atlanta, it had hints of Charlotte. When I saw San Jose, it was somewhat like Sacramento. The best I could do with Phoenix was an Albuquerque comparison, but Phoenix sprawled and Phoenix was more imposing with its taller buildings.

For a city where I could take or leave its downtown, I was still overjoyed to be in a fresh American city. I wanted to walk around and explore even more, but the sweltering temps weren't conducive to such endeavours.

It wasn't a long walk to the stadium, although we didn't realize this as the flat city hid Chase Field quite well. Eventually the ballpark suddenly emerged from behind the neighbouring Talking Stick Resort Arena's glass wall, and we scurried up stairs into a nearby park to grab a better view. Excitement was in the air as this was one of my last 5 pro baseball stadiums to see and one of the last eleven for Clarkson (last eleven, how cute, haha).

While I was excited to check out this new stadium in a city I'd never been to, I have to admit the outside was garish. The giant contrasting photos, the digital advertising board, the sad attempt at an old-timey "support beams holding up a press box" mural. The outside of Chase Field didn't blend very well, but I guess that keeps with the overriding theme of Phoenix's streetscape.

The 1995 expansion of Major League Baseball brought franchises to Phoenix and Tampa Bay. This set the ball rolling on building a brand new ballpark in downtown Phoenix. A site was chosen to the southeast of downtown, where the losses would include a pre-1900 residence and three warehouses on the National Register of Historic Places. There was one nod to preservation though, when two walls of the Arizona Citrus Growers Warehouse were preserved and built upon on the south side of Chase Field.

In terms of financing, this wasn't the usual awful stadium deal as the taxpayers actually made the Diamondbacks pay the extra $85 million in cost overruns. The taxpayers still got screwed though, as the City of Phoenix had a law that any stadium over $3 million required a public vote of approval - but then the Arizona State Legislature greasily passed a bill to transfer Chase Field authority to the county, so the county of Maricopa could pass a stadium-funding 0.25% tax without public vote.

This new tax was so unpopular that it even led local man Larry Naman to shoot one of the county supervisors who voted in favour. Facing 21 years in jail, Naman told the councilor in court, "I will say I'm sorry I shot you the day you stand before the court and admit what you did was an act of violence.”

Chase Field would open on time for the arrival of the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998. The team never had to play in a temporary stadium & Chase Field has been their only home.

The 1990s and early 2000s brought about the stadiums nowadays heralded as the greatest. Camden opened in 1992, Pittsburgh's PNC Park in 2001 and Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park in 2004.

That being said, Chase Field needed a dome for obvious heat-related reasons and it feels like Houston's Minute Maid Park as a result. The funny thing is that no one talks of replacing Minute Maid, while the Diamondbacks owner has sued Maricopa County out of being unhappy with both his deal and Chase Field.

The county supervisors are going to look better now. The initial lease they signed stated that the team make their own renovations and upkeep their stadium. The problem and the threat to leave comes from the Diamondbacks, with Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred stating “to be a major league-quality stadium,” Chase Field “needs work.” This stems from a $187 million dollar demand from the Diamondbacks for "necessary upgrades and repairs." The only problem is the county took a look at this upgrade/repair list and found $55 million to be regular maintenance like painting and servicing A/C units (not their responsibility), as well as $90 million for desired upgrades like new suites and LED scoreboards (also not the county's responsibility).

As the county surprisingly stuck to their guns and wouldn't gift $187 million to the 18-year-old stadium, the Diamondbacks retaliated by suing to get out of their lease.

Following our trip, in May of 2018, Maricopa County allowed the Diamondbacks to break their lease, under an agreement that they could look for a new stadium site in Maricopa County immediately and move the Diamondbacks there as early as 2022 - and if the Diamondbacks choose to leave Phoenix altogether, there would only be minor penalties of $5-to-$25 million.

This actually works as a good deal for Maricopa County because if the owner is going to be such a petulant child about having to play baseball in an 18-year-old stadium, then it encourages him to pursue his new stadium in Maricopa County. (The Diamondbacks like this because they can play Glendale taxpayers against Phoenix taxpayers against Scottsdale taxpayers against Native American tribes, all within Maricopa County.)

As Clarkson & I sat here, I knew that the Diamondbacks talked about leaving Chase Field, but could only remember some quips about how the stadium is too big and unintimate like an airport hangar. Throughout the game, the two of us lounged and exchanged the same thought over and over again, about how Chase Field appeared to be a great stadium without anything wrong. Both of us had it in the top end of stadiums, with Clarkson even putting it into his top 10.

That being said, we didn't explore the stadium at all. Entering the main hall and scanning our tickets, we were seated about 10 rows from the field and our section was right there by the entrance we randomly chose. We planned to eventually go for a walk, but after I retrieved refreshments, Clarkson was already chatting with the older couple next to us, while an adjacent guy in a throwback Goldschmidt jersey was entertaining the whole area. We hit it off with Goldy to the point that we learned he was heading up to Detroit next month and he even offered Clarkson the floor space of his room at the Book Cadillac.

Even foodwise I couldn't make myself walk past the Tot Dog near our seats, instead quickly returning with a foot-long sausage topped with chili, cheese, sour cream, green onions and best of all, taters. It was delish & Goldschmidt was taken aback.

We should have went for a walk around the ballpark afterwards, but for whatever reason we headed out into the night. Nearby was a random pub with one of those hacky names, which we also didn't realize was a "waitresses wear skimpy clothing" establishment until we were inside and waitresses were wearing skimpy clothing.

The funny thing is that we went inside just to sit outside on their 2nd-story patio that overlooked dark Phoenix and distant Chase Field. Not surprisingly, we were the only two guys out on the 60°F patio and we rarely saw our waitress.

Deciding on leaving The Tilted Kilt after only two beers, we happened upon a more modern place that worked perfectly for sitting at the bar and finishing up the night. By the end of everything, I was excited I only had to walk to the Rodeway Inn and not all the way to the Las Palmas Inn.

Waking up the next morning, I don't know why I didn't look up a decent breakfast spot, but it was probably since the D Coney Grill was closed. If the D Coney Grill was closed, then what was the point of anything?

We ended up at some mediocre burrito place, where I appreciated that it was right downtown and allowed me to see more of Phoenix. On the other hand, Clarkson made fun of me for knowing that Bachellorette Lindsay was on the TV.

Finishing up, it hadn't been hot when we entered the burrito place, so since Clarkson and I are both big walkers, we agreed that there wasn't any need to worry about a taxi or a convoluted bus route to get up to the Avis Car Rental 9.8 km (6 miles) away.

Funny thing though, the sun had rose high and was now throttling the Phoenix streets. A digital sign told us that it was 104°F, or about 40 Celsius. Regardless of the old adage about dry heat, by the time we covered a mere kilometer (0.6mi) I knew we needed water and a cool off. Thankfully salvation appeared in the form of Desoto Central Market, with frigid ice water, iced coffee and air conditioning. For covering only a kilometer, the two of us sweatily laid out, humbled by the heat.

(DeSoto Central Market was so much better than the burrito place & really chapped my ass in terms of pre-trip research. It was in a 90yo former DeSoto dealership, tastefully renovated & the food looked great. Unfortunately for all, it's now closed.)

Clarkson remained insistent on walking the whole way, so with worries of making it to the Avis in time, I worked up the gusto to get going. Exiting the market and rationing water and shadowy spaces, we briefly stopped to admire the famous biking spot next to Phoenix's library, before hurrying along to get off the shadeless bridge.

Through Clarkson's encouragement, we made a big push post-Desoto and covered almost 3km (1.8mi). It's hilarious to look at these minor distances now, but at the time it felt so far and exhausting. In fact, Clarkson tried to keep me going after 3km, but I just turned into the Mobil parking lot as I knew I needed water while starting to feel foggy-brained.

Stepping out of the store, I leaned forward and poured ice cold water on the back of my long hair and exposed neck, sending cold shivers through my spine, while my noggin felt light and also stung with slight brain freeze.

We chipped away at another kilometer before I convinced Clarkson we'd had enough exercise and our time was better spent in the rental car. Our northern asses could get this walk done eventually, but I also didn't want to feel off for the rest of the day.

We sat down at a bus stop and waited for an eventual bus to take us to the Avis.

Continue to Part 4...