Tucson (03-14-16)

After finishing our doctor appointments in Phoenix, we moved on to Tucson, for More doctor appointments.  But at least here we got to visit with friends, too. 

And what’s better than visiting with friends? Visiting with friends that have their own grapefruit tree!  Yummy!!! Thanks to Tom and Dianne I have all the grapefruit I can eat!





Although we only had a few days, we did manage to cram a lot in.

I have always wanted to do the scenic drive up nearby Mt. Lemmon, and when the weather forecast called for temps in the high 80s, we packed Mike and Julie into the truck and headed for the hills. (Thanks for the pic, Mike)

As we climbed to higher elevations (Mt. Lemmon stands at 5000 ft higher than Tucson) the weather got cooler and cooler, and the highest elevations had snow on the ground! 

There were lots of viewpoints where you could get out and admire the view, go for a hike…..














…or get your exercise by pushing some rocks around.

     Gee, can you tell which way the wind comes from??

We started getting hungry for lunch so we bypassed some of the turn outs and bee lined for the restaurants at the top of the mountain, in a small town appropriately named Summerhaven. 
There are only a few restaurants, so we chose the Cookie Cabin (no surprise there!) and had a reasonably good lunch before heading back down the hill into the warmth of Tucson.







Our other major outing was to the Marriott Starr Pass Resort.  It sits high on the mountain pass and has a nice view of the sunset.




We first came to this restaurant last year with Mike and Julie, and came away with a new favorite toast.  Most of our friends have heard it from us-  “Arriba, Abajo, Al Centro, Al Dentro” (Up…Down….Out…In ….)

Every day at 5:30,  after telling the story of Pancho Villa, a toast is made, using a complimentary shot of tequila served by the restaurant. The full story is quoted below, from the restaurant’s Facebook page.

This year we were joined by our friends Tom and DIanne, who are in Tucson, waiting to close on a new house!

After a short time enjoying the company of our friends, we continued our trek towards El Paso to see Paul’s mom.

The Legend of Arriba Abajo:

“the legend of Arriba, Abajo  goes back to a traditional Mexican custom where a prospective groom that wants to marry his beloved asks for her hand in marriage through her father.  Now, Pancho Villa, the great Mexican revolutionary, wanted to marry his dearest Juanita, and in ritual custom he asked for her hand in marriage through her father.  Her father, knowing whom Pancho Villa was, refused the offer, but…he offered a very interesting contest.  He said… if you can drink more tequila than me…than you can marry my daughter.  Pancho Villa scratched his head at that request, but he loved Juanita, accepted the offer, they sat down at the table and the tequila was brought out.  They started doing shots, but after a while Pancho Villa noticed that the father was doing one shot for every two of Pancho Villas.  Pancho Villa takes his shot glass, slams it on the table and says from now on we drink together.  He toasts Arriba, Abajo, Al Centro, Al Dentro.  A couple more shots are taken, a little bit more of the bottle goes by, and the father ends up face down, passed out on the table, and that’s how Pancho Villa won the hand of his dearest Juanita.”

Road Trip! (Phoenix-03-13-16)

In early March we packed up the trailer for a short (one month) road trip. After two days of running back and forth, moving things back into the trailer, we deemed it “packed” and ready to go.  I won’t tell you how long the list of things we “forgot to bring” is. Oh boy..

Our first stop was Phoenix, where we both had appointments at the Mayo Clinic for our annual physicals. We were Very impressed, and glad we made the switch!  I had booked several days at a park in Scottsdale, since I didn’t know how long we would need to be there.  With all our lab results in within hours, we were free to leave the following day!



We spent our few free hours exploring a museum we’d never been to before- the Musical Instrument Museum. The museum had about 7 rooms of displays with instruments and music from all over the world. 







This one contained music from different parts of Canada and the U.S.  Each display had typical instruments from the area, and a video showcasing the music of the region.  Everyone was given a set of headphones and as you approached a TV screen, the audio would automatically play.

Other rooms showcased different styles of music, such as Zydeco, country, and Marching Band.

One particular room displayed music and memorabilia from specific musicians.  Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Elvis and John Lennon were among the stars.  This is the piano that  Lennon used to compose “Imagine”.

Taylor Swift, as one of the most successful musicians in the world, warranted a “double wide” display.

The final room was the Experience Room, where you could try out musical instruments of all kinds.  I liked the banjo and the harp and Paul liked the drums.

Being done a day earlier than we expected gave us an extra day to play.  With temperatures predicted to be unseasonably cool, we elected to beeline straight for Picacho Peak, one of our favorite places to hike.

This  6-7 mile hike is challenging in a fun way, with lots of cables to use when the trail gets really steep, but it’s not a fun hike to do on a hot day.



























This is our 5th or 6th time hiking this trail.  You can hike it in a loop, starting from one of two trail heads (we have done it both ways) or you can hike up and down from the same trail head.  That’s how we did it this time, because if you hike the loop, you have to walk two miles down a road to get back to your car (unless you brought bikes).














This is what we call a “twofer” hike.  The hike itself is fun, and the destination also makes it worth the work.

After a short stay at Picacho, we made our way to Tucson.