Our prices are always right!

Knowing that we needed to venture down to Arizona to find an apartment for the next two years and also needing a final getaway before PA school, we decided to combine our trips into one. We voted on a return trip to sunny California!

The trip began at the airport, where Heather excitedly discovered that if she simply picked up her foot while on the moving sidewalk, the step counter on her phone counted it as a step. Yay exercise! We flew into Phoenix on Frontier Airlines, which we used for the first and last time. We chose them for their low ticket prices, but will never fly with them again because they charge you for carry-on bags you take with you (even if you stow it neatly in the overhead compartment). What a rip-off. Plus their stewardesses think it’s okay to repeatedly drop the f-bomb in front of customers, including a little girl. Anyways, upon arrival, we got our rental car and drove around to a few apartment complexes to check out our options.

We soon learned that there are tons and tons of apartment complexes in Phoenix and it was tough to figure out which one was best for us. We also discovered after calling a local bishop that a “basement apartment” doesn’t really exist in Arizona because no one has basements. Perhaps basements would flood if it ever rained. Or fill with rattlesnakes? Anyways, we got several brochures and phone numbers before having some BBQ at a place called Dillon’s (which Heather read and pronounced as Dillion’s) and then headed off to California. Amusingly, a few hours later, Heather also misread the town of Surprise as “Slurpees.” Mmmmm, illiteracy. Then it was Eric’s turn for embarrassment as he about pooped himself after a bird decided to randomly slam into the driver’s side mirror as we were going 90 mph. When we took a break at a rest stop, all that was left of the little guy was a feather, which Eric saved in the cup holder (to Heather’s chagrin). In addition to the fun of hitting a bird, we also discovered something interesting about a sunroof: if you open it while speeding down the freeway, it isn’t strong enough to close back up on its own. This wouldn’t have mattered much, except that Heather jokingly opened the sunroof during a rainstorm. Luckily, some physics principle kept the water from drenching us as we were driving so quickly down the road. Thanks, science.

Speaking of the car, since we were trying to save money, we only pre-booked one hotel room for the trip, which meant that the first night was spent sleeping in the car. Not finding any vacant parking lots or freeway exits, we resorted to sleeping on the side of the road in a residential neighborhood. If you think sleeping in a car sounds like a good idea, you are as foolish as we are. Besides cramped quarters, Eric tried to open the windows a crack before going to sleep, but Heather was concerned about being cold, meaning the car turned into a suffocation chamber over the course of the night. Heather even woke up breathing heavily at one point from the lack of oxygen, but rather than get cold, she risked death and left the windows shut. At least now we know what breathing atop Mt. Everest must feel like.

After a restless evening, we freshened up in a McDonald’s bathroom (if you haven’t gotten jealous of our trip yet, just you wait). We spent the day at Universal Studios, Hollywood. We had a great time posing with various movie characters and walking through the newly constructed Springfield, USA. We met all the Simpsons, rode a nausea-inducing 3D ride, and ate a Clogger Burger which we took over to Moe’s Tavern. We saw the Kwik-E-Mart, ate a pink donut with sprinkles, and got a picture of Sideshow Bob strangling Eric. We rode the Jurassic Park ride, the Mummy, and took the iconic studio tour. We also played in Super Silly Fun Land from Despicable Me and Eric finally won a carnival game prize for Heather without even cheating (although his competition were all ages 7 and under). We had a wonderful day and even got a sneak peak at Harry Potter Land being constructed for later this year.

Then it came time to find our hotel. It was only a few blocks from CBS studios where Price is Right is filmed and was cheaper than most any other hotel around. When we got to the building, we found out why this was. Essentially the entire place was under construction. Picture that building that Kevin McCallister booby traps in New York when he gets lost in Home Alone 2. We should have brought hard hats as we wandered around lost looking for the lobby. After finally managing to check in, we went to our room which was actually fairly nice and modern, complete with a cool yellow happy face pillow. We had never been so happy to sleep in a bed and both of us slept like rocks until morning when headed over to the studio hoping to come on down.

Monday morning we got up and put on our custom made Price is Right T-shirts. Heather’s read “MY PRICE IS ALWAYS RIGHT,” while Eric’s cleverly said “HER PRICE IS ALWAYS RIGHT” with an arrow pointing to Heather. On a side note, we realized that night as we went to dinner that Heather’s shirt was rather sketchy out of context, insinuating that she was a hooker of some sort and Eric was her pimp. Anyways, we got to the line around 8:00 AM and shortly thereafter all the people with priority tickets were ushered inside. We got our legendary yellow name tags as we filled out paperwork. We took a commemorative photo in front of a green screen posing with our best “winner” faces. We were then each briefly interviewed by the producer who essentially asked what we did for a living while trying to determine who would be good on camera and who was really a serial killer. After about 4-5 hours spent waiting in line, we finally headed into the studio. As everyone was placed randomly around the surprisingly small studio, we sat on the left front row in a spot we didn’t even think would be seen on camera. Finally seated, it was time for the show!

George Gray called the first name, which we could barely hear over the crowd. They have these large cue cards with the contestant’s names on them so you can read the names a few seconds after they are called. Then, shockingly, Eric caught a sneak peak at his name on the next cue card and jumped out of his seat. Heather, thinking that Eric was punking her because she hadn’t heard his name, tried to get him to sit down as he planted a kiss on her and ran up to contestant’s row. Feeling a unique mixture of excitement and a desire vomit, Eric got on stage (while winning the bid for a fancy margarita machine), won his pricing game (winning patio furniture and an outdoor TV), and even won the wheel spin to make it to the showcase! The whole experience was completely unreal and Eric kept looking at Heather behind him in disbelief. After being “passed” a showcase containing a camera, a motorcycle, and a fabulous trip to China, Eric confidently bid $23,000. Fun side note, when the trip to China was offered, Eric almost instinctually made slanty eyes at Heather, but decided against it, what with being on national TV and all. After learning that the lady next to him had overbid, we were both ready to run towards our prizes and ride our motorcycle straight to China and all its glory. However, Drew announced that Eric had also overbid (by a sickening $1,500), causing Eric to almost fall to the floor. The only redeeming thing was the disappointment music that they play to indicate a loss (bum bum ba dum, bowwww), although that was barely heard over a sea of groans from the audience. After momentary clinical depression, Eric had to convince himself that we had won almost $6,000 worth of prizes, got to meet Drew Carey, and Eric also got to show off his sweet dance moves for the 300 people in the audience. Now we just have to keep everything secret until the air date of June 18^th … yeah, we’ll see how that goes.

The rest of our time in California included an evening of mini golf and arcade games, a trip to the beach, a few hours randomly in a Starbucks while Heather stole their WiFi to finish an online final, a Slurpee run, and lots of tasty food. Heather decided she wants to move to the beach permanently and play with crabs and listen to waves. After staying Monday and Tuesday nights in hotels as well, including a surprisingly upscale one in downtown LA where everyone was dressed in power suits while we walked around in T-shirts, we drove back to Phoenix to finalize an apartment and then fly home. We looked around and contemplated our options and finally decided on ... the Rancho Sierra apartments. Not too luxurious, but we’re in a unit close to the pool. Heather suggested laminating all Eric’s study materials so he can study while swimming. I suppose laminated notes could come in handy during blood-spattering surgery … This complex was actually the first place we looked and is the same building where Heather’s friend Hannah is also moving around the same time. So at least we’ll know someone in Arizona to share in the scorching heat with. All in all, it was another great trip with great memories. We’ll let you know how well the margarita machine works when it comes in the mail :).