First Class

After a long day of traveling, I have finally arrived in Phoenix around 12:45 pm PT. I got up early and went to the airport again today. This time, however, I actually boarded a plane. My 7:15 am flight to Houston was smooth enough and, after a 2+ hour layover, I boarded a plane bound for Phoenix.

As I wrote yesterday, Continental promoted me to first class for both flights. I had never flown first class (though I've often been jealous as I trudged past their rows on the way to Coach). The big advantages? The seats are comfy arm chairs (no middle seats). There is more than enough leg room. The service? Fantastic. EliteAccess passengers enter the plane first and receive beverages while the rest of the plane boards. Even the notorious airline food was good. On the first flight, we ate a full breakfast, complete with scrambled eggs, potatoes and fresh fruit. On the second flight, we were served a warm turkey & cheese sandwich with a potato salad and dessert. If you can afford to fly first class or can get bumped from your scheduled flight, it is definitely the way to travel for a long flight.

Rick Epstein, my first cousin once removed, picked me up at the airport. I am staying with his family, which includes his wife Mitzi and their sons (my second cousins) Sam and Danny, in Tempe. They're very generous to put me up for 4 weeks; they've given me my own bedroom and bathroom. The house is within spitting distance of the public bus that will take me to Athletes Performance, so this is truly a perfect situation. On the way back from the airport, we passed by Athletes Performance. It is situated on the campus of Arizona State University, near the baseball and soccer fields. The facility looks nice enough from the outside; I hope it's as spectacular inside.

The only thing that's not ideal is the heat. Being outside for more than several minutes is unbearable here. It's over 100 degrees here and will be 104 tomorrow. The low temperatures are in the mid to upper 80s. Managing the heat will definitely be a challenge, but if I can train in this environment, I should be in fine condition for fall practice. At any rate, I heard that most of the training will be indoors.

Tomorrow will be the most interesting day of the trip. I can't wait to find out what happens next.

Thanks for reading,

Ben