I went a little overboard with my mother’s birthday gift. As you might know, I took her to Chicago last week so she could see the Cubs play at Wrigley Field as her birthday gift. Unfortunately, the Cubs lost both the games we attended. Luckily the Cubs were going to be playing the Arizona Diamondbacks (Dbacks) this weekend so I thought it would be a cool idea to go see them one last time. I bought us tickets to see them Saturday night and since my mom and I both had work early on Monday we made it a quick weekend trip.

We left Vegas Saturday morning and it took us almost 5 hours to get to our hotel. We stayed at Rodeway Inn Downtown Phoenix. It was a cheap place and definitely not meant for luxury, but we only needed a place to sleep and it was located near the baseball stadium. We had only stopped for gas on the drive so we were extremely hungry when we got to Phoenix. As a bartender on the strip, I meet tourists from all over and a while ago I had met these ladies from Phoenix so I asked them for recommendations. Right next to the stadium was a gastropub, they had recommended, The Arrogant Butcher. We walked there from our hotel and even though we are from hot Vegas, it seemed so much hotter in Phoenix. We were excited to get in the air conditioning and get some waters.

The place was awesome! They had their weekend menu available and I don’t know how different that would be from their weekday menu, but so many items looked good. We had a great server who recommended we get the Butcher’s Platter of charcuterie. It came with different meats and cheeses, along with delicious bread, and lots of different sides – cherry marmalade, goat cheese stuffed peppers, pistachios, etc. I would eat it for every meal if I could. My mom’s favorite dish is hummus so we got the artichoke hummus, which was also good. I would definitely go back to that spot again to try other dishes.

We left just in time since there was a long wait when we were walking out. It looked like it was all baseball fans trying to eat there before the game. There were so many Cubs fans walking around, it didn’t even seem like we were in Phoenix. I couldn’t even believe how many Cubs shirts and hats I saw. There had to have been just as many Cubs fans as there were Dback fans. We made our way through the busy street in front of the field. There were grills and taco shops that were poppin’. People were out on the patio hanging under the misters and pre-gaming before the baseball game. My mom and I had never been to Chase Field before so we decided to go in early to walk around.

Chase Field is one of the few indoor ballparks and it was awesome! I’ve only been to outdoor ones before, but the Field was so big and it’s fairly new so it had a ton of cool stuff built into it. While we were walking around we saw a gym connected to it. There was also a pool and Jacuzzi where people with VIP tickets can hang out in while they watch the game. I’m not sure why they need all of this, but it’s definitely cool. There were tons of food and drink booths and so many seats. We had really good seats on the third level but in the first row, so we were ready to catch some high foul balls.

Unfortunately, no foul balls came our way and neither did our luck. I think my mom must be a jinx or something because again the Cubs lost. They weren’t doing anything until the 9^th inning, but by then it was too late. They had so many opportunities to win, but the Dbacks played better and harder. I would have been really disappointed if they shut the Cubs out, but at least the Cubs scored a couple runs in the last minute. Even though they lost. . . Again, my mom and I still had an enjoyable night. It was fun experiencing a game in an unfamiliar field.

After the game, we walked over to Bitter and Twisted Cocktail Parlour. It was another spot those ladies had recommended to me. It was about a ten-minute walk from the field and I was nervous it was going to be crazy busy since it was the most famous cocktail lounge in Phoenix. Since it was just the two of us, we only had to wait about a half hour to get in. The bigger your party is, the harder it is to get in, plus since it was right after a baseball game I knew it would be pretty crowded. People were putting their names on the list and waiting outside. We didn’t have anything else to do that night so we decided to wait. Even when the sun was down I was still sweating everywhere. I couldn’t believe how hot it was still.

When we got in we were given two bar seats, which is perfect because as a bartender I found it extremely interesting to see what was going behind the bar. Honestly, I couldn’t even tell you what was happening, haha. They were using tools I had never seen before and, wow, they made me feel like we didn’t even have the same job. The menu was insane! It had a map to explain drinks to you and it had over 60 cocktail concoctions. It even explained all the extra preparation they do to ensure their cocktails are top notch, like importing their olives from Sicily and making most of their ingredients in-house. My mom had the Bear Witness drink and it came out in a cute bear cup. I had a fruity drink, called Lovefruit Medley. It was good but I’d order something else next time just to try more drinks. We also split a big platter of Smashed Chips, which was similar to loaded potato skins. It was definitely more of a drinking place than a food place, though. It is dark in there and loud, but I was extremely glad we were able to get in on a Saturday night. We were in the bar for the perfect amount of time since it had rained pretty hard while we were in there apparently and just as we arrived at our hotel after a short walk it started to pour again. That was pretty lucky.

We grabbed some breakfast in the hotel lobby since it was complimentary and then we decided to hit up the Musical Instrument Museum before we started back to Vegas. This museum was the number one thing to do in Phoenix according to trip advisor and my mom and I both like museums so we gave it a shot. It was massive and even though we spent three hours in there we still didn’t see everything. Most of the museum is included in the $20 entrance fee. They also give you a headset that automatically plays music when you walk up to an exhibit. It was very interesting, they had exhibits on specific musicians, and had over 10,000 instruments from all over the world displayed. Most of the instruments were categorized by the country from which they originated. They also had a room with unusual instruments you could play. That room was cool, especially for children, since you got to play the drums and bang the massive gongs. They offer free tours and talks about certain instruments and musicians, but my mom and I decided to walk through ourselves since we didn’t want to get on the road too late. If you love music, and who doesn’t, and if you are into history and museums then it is a must see. It is too much to take in all in one day though. I like learning about that kind of stuff but even my attention span couldn’t last through all the countries and thousands of instruments.

We grabbed lunch down the street at Paradise Valley Burger Co., which had been featured on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives before for their Booze Burger, so I obviously had to get that. It was tasty, but my mom and I both agreed that their Brulee Burger was better. Last stop of the trip was the gas station to refuel and to grab a handful of lottery tickets (a girl can only dream). Then we listened to the Cubs and Dbacks game on the way home. Of course, the Cubs won that game, 7-2. It was a short trip, but we had a good time together doing new things in a city we hadn’t spent a lot of time in before. My new goal is to visit every baseball stadium across America. I still have a lot to get to.