and got ‘em signed. We talked to Jesse for a while, a very knowledgeable and personable guy.
After that, we headed back to Casa
Wenzel to crash. Tomorrow would be day one of Phoenix Comicon.
•••
real to be from Spartanburg, SC, and walk into Alice’s restaurant in Phoenix and the first song I heard was “Heard it in a Love Song” by the Marshall Tucker Band. There are multiple large TV screens in
the place which I am sure are very popular on game day. The waitresses all wear the iconic Alice Cooper eye makeup. Last time I was here, I vowed to one day try “The Big Unit.” ($24.99) Named after Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Randy Johnson. It’s a 3-pound, all- beef 22” dog in a bun, served with fries. Enough to feed a family, but Eric and I man- aged to polish it off. The meat, anyway. We left quite a bit of the bread, but that frank, which is more like a sausage, is amazing. After parking and walking in the heat
Posing with a turret from the USS Arizona that was sunk in Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. (Eric Wenzel Photo)
Thursday stared out with a nice visit to
Wesley Bolin Park, an absolutely beautiful and peaceful park that features multiple mili- tary memorials and more. I was drawn to the display celebrating the USS Arizona, she of Pearl Harbor fame. One of her huge turrets is on display, as is her massive anchor. There’s plenty of reading material under glass and on plaques, loads of living history. I love it. There’s also a 9/11 memorial, a tribute to po- lice and firefighters and even a memorial for K-9 police killed in the line of duty. There’s a Korean War memorial and a tribute to the Navajo “Code Talkers.” This and so much more, all surrounded by beautiful landscap- ing.
We went into town and headed for an-
other place I love, Cooperstown, the restau- rant and sports bar owned by one of my teen heroes, the legendary rocker Alice Cooper, whose home town in Phoenix. It was a bit sur-
43
from our parking spot to the convention cen- ter, I was ready to get into the air condition- ing as soon as possible, that was, until I caught sight of a row of very recognizable motor vehicles lined up in front of the center. The first one that caught my eye was Sam and Dean Winchester’s iconic 1967 Chevy Impala, the black beauty with the four-barrel 327 from Supernatural. I just had to pose for a photo with the car, although I would have preferred to take it around the block. Also on display was Rick Grimes’ Atlanta police car from episode one of The Walking Dead, blood splattered and all, and the iconic Ghost Busters vehicle. There was even a recreation of The Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo and a car painted with an amazing portrait of
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