Travel day, nothing eventful. Just the long drive back to Tucson. Sounds like we left San Diego just in time. The weather forecast for today said it was ACTUALLY supposed to cloud up a little and MAYBE sprinkle. That’s some pretty severe weather by San Diego standards.
Tag Archive for 'tucson'
Any day that begins with IHOP is a good day, I always say… um, starting now. And after grabbing some delicious grub with my older brother Ryan and his wife Kate, Denise and I hit the road with my parents from Tucson to San Diego.
Because of our leisurely pace (and almost running out of gas in the mountains… in the middle of nowhere… in the dark) we didn’t get to our hotel until about 8:30pm local time. We already got a great rate at the Pacific Terrace Hotel, but due to availability we were upgraded to junior suites with ocean views (although we can’t really see much of it in the moonlight).
The room is really plush. And considering the last hotel room I stayed in a couple months ago was in Manhattan, it’s downright gigantic in comparison… and at a fraction of the cost. In addition to the ocean view, large wood beds, marble bathrooms, and a flat-panel TV that I estimate at about 42″, we get free wine! And as if all that wasn’t enough, they actually managed to dig up a charger for my near-dead cell phone since, like an idiot, I left my charger in Tucson.
I have no idea what the plan is for tomorrow but after spending all of Friday afternoon traveling to Tucson and most of today trekking to San Diego, sleeping in and taking it easy are definitely top priorities!
After another lazy morning, the whole family had some lunch at a great little seafood chain up in Tucson called Rockin’ Baja Lobster. Afterwards, we all went to visit my grandma, who lives in a retirement home in Tucson.
Then Denise and I took a very scenic drive up Mt. Lemmon, an incredibly picturesque mountain north of Tucson. There’s a little village up on top called Summerhaven but unfortunately the gift shop (and more importantly the Cookie Cabin where you can get freshly baked chocolate chip cookies) was closed by the time we got up there. But we weren’t disappointed for long since we managed to time our drive down just as the sun was setting.
The rest of the day was spent back down in Green Valley relaxing with the family and playing a little Phase 10.
Another gorgeous day in AZ. I believe the temps were up around 75 and not a cloud in the sky all day long. It was a little slow going in the morning for Denise and I since we were both still fairly tuckered out from traveling the day before. When we finally got ambitious enough, we headed to my parents house for a delicious breakfast of french toast and bacon, which my mom buys right from the butcher shop. Mmmm… bacon…
Then we made a run for the border. Even though I forgot to bring my birth certificate, we talked to some locals here and heard that you can park on the US side and walk over to Nogales, Mexico, and all you need to get back in is a driver’s license. So we hit I-19 and went about 40 miles south to the border.
This might sound odd, but Nogales actually reminded me a little bit of New York City. Certainly not in size, but it’s essentially filled with dirty little storefronts and persistent street vendors that relentlessly hassle you to check out their knickknacks as you walk past. Oh yeah, and farmacias. Muchos de farmacias! But we did have a lot of fun exploring and buying some souvenirs. We also made friends with one store owner nicknamed “Fish”–he never explained the nickname, only telling us it was “a long story” (see picture at right).
As always, day 1 is typically just known as “traveling day”. When you get up at 4am and don’t really stop moving until like two in the afternoon, it tends to wear you out. And it doesn’t help when yours truly isn’t exactly a huge fan of traveling; my 5-second attention span tends to hinder such things. However, this time wasn’t so bad since Denise brought her portable DVD player. So we watched Office Space and played some card game that I just learned and don’t know the name of.
At the rental car place, what was described on Expedia as a “midsize, Toyota Corolla or similar” somehow turned into a PT Cruiser… yeah, no thanks. So after 10 minutes of the saleswoman trying desperately yet fruitlessly to talk me into upgrading to a Dodge Charger, I paid for a small upgrade to a Chrysler Sebring.
The rest of the afternoon was spent having lunch with my mom at the Quail Creek Grill and checking in at the hotel. Later on, we met up with my dad, my brother Ryan and his wife Kate at a pizza place called Sauce up in Tucson.
That was all the excitement we could handle for one day!
