Music Festival Road Trip: Arizona Adventures

 Aloha Reader,

One year ago, I attended my first music festival, divinely timed and aptly named: "Extra Innings", with headlining artists Chris Stapleton and Dave Matthews Band.

Before purchasing the concert passes, I debated for about a month whether to spend the money and increasingly it felt like the right choice. Since it was being held in Tempe, Arizona, a city I had never visited, yet very accessible and I could get coordinating cheap flights/hotel, this was appealing to me. I purchased the concert passes in February of 2024, then figured I'd sort my accommodations shortly after.

What I didn't expect was turning this music festival into a 2 1/2 week road trip, which not only included some of my favorite California cities, but new ones (Palm Springs!). In exploring the nearby ASU campus in Tempe, I was introduced to many college students and wonderful coffee bars.

During the music festival, I also met a lot of very cool folks, even puffing on a marijuana joint, offered to me to by two beautiful women. While I honor the power of medicinal marijuana and support recreational use, I hadn't puffed on a joint since 2010 in San Francisco, CA, with my CPA girlfriends. Ha!

At this point, let me debunk a popular addiction myth regarding marijuana. While MJ can lead to more serious drug/substance use, it is not a gateway drug for everyone that samples it. On that note, can we toss/revamp those awful D.A.R.E. programs now!? As with all other substances, sourcing greatly matters in quality of this medicinal plant. Furthermore, If we’re going to demonize substances, let’s focus on AA’s favorite: alcohol, which is responsible for many preventable deaths and WIDELY available everywhere in America. Oh, just wait until America hears my thoughts on punishment and sentencing crimes involving drunk driving, something privileged white men have been getting away with in high numbers for far too long…

Let’s table those heated topics for now and get back to my March 2024 roadtrip! Plus, I’ve already submitted my action plan for America to multiple parties.

Many funny stories emerged from this road trip, including another funny, quiet, non-verbal f u to the defunct legal system, dumba$$es in the Bay Area and the compounding BS, which includes a tossed iPhone, beautiful hotel swimming pool and making new friends. Hey-it was Spring Training Season, and reframing this incident, I suppose I was working on my pitch. :) Always feels good, though, to creatively, non-violently call out both major corporations (AT&T and T-mobile), law firms and the people who f'd me over so badly... and this incident, which was part of my "Heidi Spice", was no exception.

Beyond the festival musical acts (which were all very good!), I participated in many activities during my time spent in AZ last March. I visited indoor malls, purchased both cowboy boots and my lucky, sparkly LA Dodgers cap and met beautiful women at my AirBnB's swimming pool. Before I left, I purchased a discounted bottle of Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg's chardonnay to drink in the Bay Area. Yep, all true, karmic and funny actions! :)

Have a great week, friends!

Heidi