Nowhere

OK, I'm sure Arizona is a wonderful state. In fact, I've been all over it, from Tucson to Sedona, Flagstaff to Bisbee, Superstition Mtns, Saguaro National Park etc. Also, spent many days around Phoenix. So I'm not entirely ignorant of the place. So I say this with confidence:

Downtown Phoenix makes downtown Cincinnati look like the Vegas Strip.

True Story: I spent at least half an hour walking around downtown this morning, looking for a place I could buy toothpaste and a disposable razor.The hotel had them, but I'm cheap and I felt like exploring.

Surely, there would be a CVS, Walgreen's, whatever they call UDF out here. Not one. Not one decent sports bar outside of Majerle's, not one place where you might hear some music, not one sign of life outside the hotels and office towers. For a place allgedly booming, the core is absolutely dead. Comparing vibrant DC last week with Phoenix is like comparing Caesar's Rome with Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park.

There's more: Lacking a car, I checked out the central bus terminal. I wanted to go to Scottsdale, which at least has a pulse, and Goodyear, the Reds future spring home, maybe, probably, we'll see. The ride to Scottsdale, about 20m by car, takes an hour by 2 buses. As for Goodyear, the lady behind the counter said there was no definite place to go there.

"Where you wanna go?''

"I dunno.City Hall would be good.''

She says she has no idea even if Goodyear has a city hall, and if does, she wouldnt know a bus that went close.

Welcome, Cincinnati Reds. Yikes.