Lee Abbamonte
Try to become the youngest person to travel to every country in the world
Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point), Mexico
By Lee | 
3 Comments » 
“Sit right here and have another beer in Mexico” is a famous line that Kenny Chesney sings and it kind of exemplifies going to Mexico for me; although that song might have included tacos as well because all you seemingly do in Mexico is drink beer and eat tacos! Of course you’re on the beach and relaxing-it’s really a pretty awesome place. Last weekend I went to Puerto Peñasco, better known as Rocky Point, with 12 guys from business school and we had a blast.
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The Phoenix Open
By Lee | 6 Comments » 
The Phoenix Open is hands down the coolest golf tournament in the world. If you’ve ever been to a golf tournament, just throw all your boring preconceptions, misconceptions and thoughts out because the Phoenix Open is unlike any other tournament you’ve ever been to. It’s a huge party and golf is the last thing on peoples’ minds. Like usual in Scottsdale, it is a scene more like a meat market where it seems more that people are going out to night clubs than to a PGA golf tournament. The par 3 16th hole is the most notorious in golf as there is stadium built around it where people of varying degrees of intoxication are actually allowed to yell and boo at the players. Of course this depends on whether they hit the green or not but it is truly amazing; especially if you’ve been to other tournaments where golf certainly comes first and people aren’t allowed to make noise-hence the term “golf clap”. The Phoenix Open is the best thing that Phoenix has to offer in my opinion and an event that when I eventually do leave Phoenix, I may still come to every year. Happy Gilmore would love it!
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An Olympic Experience in Vancouver
By Lee | 6 Comments » 
I have been meaning to get to the Olympics for years, well for my whole life really. I am a huge Olympic fan and have watched every Olympics since 1988. Additionally, I am an Olympic historian and have been to every summer Olympic city and most of the winter sites. However, Vancouver 2010 was the first Olympic Games I have ever actually been to. While I don’t have any Olympics to compare it to, I can plainly say they were awesome and I cannot imagine a winter Olympics being any better than these Vancouver Games. The city of Vancouver is amazing, the country of Canada even more so and they have staged an incredible event. It is a better atmosphere than any Superbowl, World Cup, World Series, Final Four, NBA or NHL finals I have ever been to. I seriously did not want to leave.
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The Town Too Tough To Die
By Lee | 2 Comments » 
“The Town too Tough to Die,” Tombstone, Arizona is the most renowned of Arizona’s old mining camps. When Ed Schieffelin came to Camp Huachuca with a party of soldiers and left the fort to prospect, his comrades told him that he’d find his tombstone rather than silver. Thus, in 1877 Schieffelin named his first claim the Tombstone, and rumors of rich strikes made a boomtown of the settlement that adopted this name.
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Tucson in Short
By Lee | 5 Comments » 
If you read my site regularly then you know how much I love sports. I also love Universities and seeing different schools. So it seemed natural to head down to Tucson for the University of Arizona homecoming and football weekend. No I didn’t go to Arizona and in fact I don’t even like the state that much but I do love a good fiesta and a football game between the U of A and Washington State. This was my second consecutive week at a Pac 10 football game and the weather was just a little hotter than last weekend in Eugene, Oregon.
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The Arizona State Fair
By Lee | 2 Comments » 
Aaaaahhhh the state fair. For those who have never been it conjures up images of great times, fun rides and amazing food with nothing but smiling faces and cute little animals. Well I am hardly a state fair veteran but this is my second one in my second state and I have to say that between Arizona and Texas, there can’t be much more to see at these things. Other things you will see is a ton of rides, some good and some not; ungodly amounts of filthy and fried foods; all types of people-literally all shapes and certainly sizes; and the most fun of all is the animals and more specifically the animal races. If you’ve never seen pig racing then trust me you are missing out because I haven’t laughed so hard in a long time.
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A Weekend in Oregon
By Lee | 9 Comments » 
‘Keep Portland Weird’ is written in huge letters on the back of a building across from the famous Voodoo Donuts on Third Street in Portland and few sayings can sum up Portland quite so well. It is a weird place, that’s for sure. However, it is also one of the best cities in the United States and I was as surprised by being there as you may be reading this article. Portland has so much to offer in terms of restaurants, bars, good walking, parks, nice people and mainly just people watching. Portland is a city of transients, runaways and just plain weirdoes or yahoos as I like to say. But obviously that’s not all, it has very normal people as well but the yahoos are much more fun to watch and talk about! The main thing I will be left with from Portland is that it is a gorgeous city with a great edgy vibe. You see all types of people. It’s like San Francisco meets Seattle but more laid back and much cheaper. I had an absolute blast in the most underrated city in America.
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A Classic Road Trip in Arizona
By Lee | 6 Comments » 
There are few things I love more than a good road trip. Anywhere in the world, I would almost always prefer to drive if it’s reasonable because you get to see so much more, so much closer up. In the United States, there are few better places to take road trips than the Southwest. The huge open spaces, otherworldly landscapes, national parks and strange sights make for a really interesting trip while following in the shadows of the old Route 66.
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Soccer in Mexico
By Lee | 3 Comments » 
Soccer or Futbol in Mexico is a religion. Much like the rest of Latin America and in fact the world it is always the main topic of conversation and a true source of contention and passion. I have been fortunate to have been to manhy different soccer stadiums around the world and have seen many different matches. I recently went to a match at Tecnologico, which is the stadium for the Monterrey Soccer Club. It didn’t disappoint and we saw the home team win 3-0 as we sat in the front row and had a great view of the game. But the game in Latin America takes a back seat to the fans, their songs and certainly their celebrations when their team scores a goal.
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Teotihuacan
By Lee | 7 Comments » 
Teotihuacan is an enormous archaeological site in the Basin of Mexico, located about 40 kilometers north of Mexico City, containing some of the largest pyramidal structures built in the pre-Columbian Americas. Apart from the pyramidal structures, the archaeological site of Teotihuacan is also known for its large residential complexes, the “street of the dead” where they used to sacrifice people, and its colorful, well-preserved murals. You can stroll around the grounds and still actually ascend the steep climb to the top of the pyramids where the panoramic views are spectacular over the whole site and of the surrounding countryside. Teotihuacan is quite a nice escape from the gridlock of Mexico City.
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