First NFL game

We went to the state-of-the-art University of Phoenix stadium to see the NY Giants play the Arizona Cardinals. It is a very impressive stadium, and even though we had horrible seats on paper, we could see the action very well- there doesn't appear to be a bad seat in the house. The only negative was they didn't open the stadium for some reason, even though it was sunny outside with a blue sky.

Because Phoenix is a horrible pro football town, not only was I able to get tickets on short notice, but so were about 10,000 Giants fans, many of whom apparently did fly in from New York to see a team that they aren't able to otherwise in their own backyard. It was strange seeing large amounts of blue spread out with red.

As a result, there was a lot of trash talking between drunk Cardinal fans and drunk Giants fans. It was in appropriate at times, but for the most part good-natured. When the game was close, the trash talking was even and fair, but as the Giants pulled away in the second half, the Arizona fans had less to say and the Giant fans wouldn't shut up.

Thanksgiving in Phoenix

We spent most of the day at the Phoenix Zoo, as it was the only place open on Thanksgiving (if you ever need to drive in Phoenix, I suggest 9am on Thanksgiving; it was a ghost town). It was about 65 and sprinkling lightly in the morning. We were wearing shorts and t-shirts and thought it was a nice morning. Meanwhile, all the locals were wearing pants, coats, carrying umbrellas, and complaining about how cold it was. The people in Phoenix apparently think anything below 80 is freezing.

The zoo was pretty good (meaning it was better than Boise but not as good as Washington D.C. or Chicago). We got to touch and feed sting rays in a pool, and they had an exhibit where you walk into an area that has about 20 squirrel monkeys jumping around like you were invisible. The keepers squirt water at them if they get too close to the people, but that doesn't seem to stop them from trying again.

After the zoo we hiked Piestewa Peak, outside of Phoenix. It is the second highest point in the Phoenix Mountains. It didn't look that hard on paper, at 1.6 miles, but it is not for the faint of heart. It is very steep (about 1200 feet gained in elevation), the "path" is almost entirely jagged rocks with steep steps, and there is no water or much shade. I can imagine it would be challenging in the Phoenix summer. It took us about 45 minutes to walk up to the top.

For dinner, we learned from last year (when we naively assumed restaurants would be open Thanksgiving evening, and then went into panic mode trying to find any food before finding a Denny's in a part of town in Tampa that was made up of extras from Deliverance) and got a tip that a Ruby Tuesday would be open to cater to the ASU students stuck on campus during the break (and the weirdos who travel during Thanksgiving to places in which they have no family or friends), so we ate there.

I kept my streak alive with a bison burger and salad bar (that is now seven straight Thanksgivings without a traditional meal, and counting, for me).

I am sure other states did this as well, but in Idaho, the online newspaper (the Idaho Statesman) listed profiles of all candidates, with a series of questions, such as experience, education, why are you running, etc. My favorite one was "last book you read."

Mike Moyle (R), running for District 14, House Seat A, replied: "The New Testament."

After careful consideration, he did not receive my vote.

Pathetically, he still won.