A week away from returning to the desert I have been plotting about my destinations. Unlike the 10 days, I only have six days to visit and catch up in old haunts or old friends if they want to get together. But the line of thought is that I'll be in Mesa from Saturday thru Monday before getting into the car and driving up to the north country on Tuesday-Thursday. The logical thought is to Flagstaff then on old Route 66 to Kingman. Then spend a day in Lake Havasau City before going back down to Phoenix and taking a day to go to Tucson.
In all fairness this will be the last big bargain hunt to the desert. Basically the fact is that the CD age is over and most of the music stores that I used to go to are now history. Not a good sign for the bargain hunter looking for the real thing. The 10 Days of AZ I don't think I spent much time in Phoenix itself except to go to Jade Express in Metrocenter to get some chicken fried rice, the best that I have ever had. I spent most of it in my old stomping grounds in Mesa/Chandler. I don't think there's much in terms of hard to find cds that I haven't gotten yet but every trip has proven to find some interesting finds and I'm sure this will not be any exception. The bargains found came from FYE around Fiesta Mall or the Chandler Zia's from last year and I'm sure I'll visit the FYE stores that are still in business out there. I do know if I still lived in Chandler, that my second home would be that FYE near Fiesta Mall.
There's not much for tunes up in the north country of Arizona outside of Hastings. I know there are five in selected cities and I know if I lived in Kingman that Hastings would be my hang out. I wouldn't be the only one. Last couple times I was up there I met the same freaky family. When you come across that you know they're more hardcore than I am. But there's not much otherwise for music in Kingman, no Best Buy although I noticed that they do have more big box stores out there in the strip malls. Kingman has come a long way from just being a railroad town and tourist trap for the old Route 66. I'd love to retire there someday and spend countless days getting sunburned and watching trains among the way. Somehow I get funny looks when I talk about Kingman but it still has that old Route 66 aura around it to make it a place for me to hang my hat once a year.
This trip was a spur of the moment thing. After getting my plane tickets to see my girlfriend in Michigan I looked up Allegiant Airlanes and they had 99 dollar airfares one way and back on sale and so I jumped at the chance, just like last year when they were only 29 bucks one way. Therefore it sounded like a good idea so I did it. For the past 20 years I managed to go to Arizona and find a lotta classic cds that I wouldn't find up here and the last decade I had an all out to find them. But this year it will be the last time that I go out there to find the ultimate cd or vinyl album. This is actually a farewell to the music stores that I used to hang when I lived out there or the places that used to be here that are still out there I can go in one last time to see what they have. We used to have a Hastings in Ames but not anymore. Hastings sucks but they do have bargains in the dollar bins. It's different now then 10 years ago, more cd space than DVDs but nowadays DVD's are the norm.
Time has a funny way of sneaking up on you then passing you by. And I'm no different than anybody else. I'm sure there will be another arizona trip in the future but I'm also certain that I will not be invading the music stores although my GF will know we must stop at the FYE at Longmore in Tempe/Mesa and the Chandler Zia's. It's been a good run but if anything else, this trip will be one more chance of living in the desert and playing in the 100 degree heat, then going up to Flagstaff and turning the heater on in the car. I probably will not have a computer with me but I can live without it a while. If I do come across a computer I'll make the usual notes like I did last year.
Till then, gotta a week to pack and prepare.
