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SCOTTSDALE:
Saturday, Jan. 21
We left from Hobby Airport on the 11:35 am flight arriving at the
Phoenix Airport (also known as
Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport)
about 1:15 pm (Arizona is 1 hr earlier than Houston - since they don't have
daylight savings time). I enjoyed listening to my new iPod at the airport
and on the plane. We checked into the
Doubletree Paradise Valley in Scottsdale and were unpacked by 4 pm; Bud was
there to attend the Midyear Meeting of the
Health Physics Society
for four days (Jan 21-25). We had decided not to pick up a rental car
until Wednesday Jan. 25, so we walked up N. Scottsdale in search of a restaurant
Bud had heard about - Hapa - where
we had an excellent meal (I had the lamb and Bud the pork chops). On the
way back we enjoyed the vividness of the stars and the lemon trees planted
around the hotel, which were full of ripe lemons. The business center had
three complimentary computers - so of course I had to check my email.
Sunday, Jan. 22
We enjoyed the breakfast buffet at the hotel at 10 am
and then took a walk around the grounds where I used the new camera to snap
shots of the grounds and surrounding mountains. We then headed to the
heated pool area where Bud enjoyed a book and I soaked in the hot tub and
paddled around the pool. Sunblock is a necessity at all times in Arizona
but I overlooked my elbows which turned out rather pink. We then checked
into Bud's meeting, had drinks at the hotel bar (my usual martini); again I
checked email and then we headed to the conference reception, followed by dinner
at the hotel restaurant,
enFuego.
Monday, Jan. 23
Bud left at 7 am for his meeting and I got up around
10, breakfasted at the hotel and then took the complimentary stretch limo to
Casino Arizona Salt River,
picked up a player's card and enjoyed the slot machines. We attended the
conference reception that evening, hosted by the vendors, who always have neat
giveaway items.
Tuesday, Jan. 24
Bud left for his meetings and again I had breakfast at
the hotel and fun at the casino (this time Casino Arizona Talking Stick).
We walked down N. Scottsdale for dinner at
The Quilted Bear (which we had spotted on our previous walk). Each day
Bud took a walk around the neighborhood near the hotel during his breaks and met
a woman who had just moved in - she assumed Bud was a neighbor and stopped
him to chat and gave him several restaurant recommendations for Tucson - all of
her recommendations we tried turned out great!
Wednesday, Jan. 25
We packed up and stored the luggage at the hotel.
Bud attended meetings and again I took the limo to the casino. We picked
up the Avis rental car at 3:30 pm (they
conveniently had a location at the hotel) and drove to Green Valley.
The drive took about two hours through heavy traffic. Our friend Marie
Murphy (who formerly lived and danced in Houston) retired to Green Valley; she
lives about 10 min. away from the hotel where we stayed (The
Baymont Inn & Suites). We had dinner with Marie at the
Arizona Family Restaurant,
just across from the hotel parking lot. It was great to see Marie again
and she said to send greetings to all her friends in Houston!
PHOTOS OF MARIE MURPHY, FRIENDS, HOME & SURROUNDING AREA: CLICK HERE
Thursday, Jan. 26
The hotel had a complimentary light breakfast which we
enjoyed each morning during our stay; after breakfast we drove to Marie's house;
she gave us a tour of the house. Marie joined us as we headed to Tucson,
with a stop at the San Xavier
Mission (most impressive & where I got some great photos).
PHOTOS OF SAN XAVIER MISSION CLICK HERE
Each year Tucson hosts in world's largest Gem & Mineral Show; we visited the Arizona Mineral & Fossil show at the Ramada. I never knew there were so many fossils still around! We picked up several interesting items - small plates made of stone with fossils inside and a beautiful necklace. Some of the vendors we especially enjoyed: Fossils From Morocca Sahara (Hammou - Laaroussi) Injame@Caramail.Com; J&S Fossils (Jim & Susan Pendergraft); and Raf Minerals Inc. (they had giant egg shaped stones from India).
PHOTOS OF FOSSIL SHOW CLICK HERE
Next we stopped at
Bookman's Used Bookstore to browse for a
while. We dined at one of the restaurants recommended by the lady in
Scottsdale - Blue Willow Restaurant
Friday, Jan. 27
After breakfast we left the hotel at 11 and visited
two wineries and did their tastings:
Callaghan Vineyards (my favorite
was their Little Red) and Sonoita
Vineyards (our favorite there was the Columbard). We then drove to
Parker Canyon Lake
but it was too windy to stay very long! We took a wrong turn and ended up
at an army military base, Ft.
Huachuca, where they kindly gave us a temporary pass and map with directions
to Tombstone, which we were trying to reach.
PHOTOS OF VINEYARDS AND PARKER CANYON LAKE AND SURROUNDING AREA: CLICK HERE
We enjoyed Tombstone a lot and visited among other things the Courthouse, the Crystal Palace Saloon (where we sipped sarsparillas),
GENERAL PHOTOS OF TOMBSTONE: CLICK HERE
The Birdcage Theatre (reputed to be haunted, where I took a number of photos),
BIRDCAGE THEATRE PHOTOS: CLICK HERE
the newspaper office (the Tombstone Epitaph Museum) where we purchased t-shirts and replicas of old newspapers, including the one reporting the shootout at the OK Corral,
TOMBSTONE EPITAPH MUSEUM PHOTOS: CLICK HERE
and finished with a visit to Boot Hill (which is managed by the City of Tombstone).
Websites with more links: City of Tombstone and the Tombstone Web. The sun was setting as we headed back to the hotel, with a stop at Safeway.
Saturday, Jan. 28
We joined Marie and her friend Florrie for the
Arivaca
Home Tour; stops
included the Old Schoolhouse, Christian Center (for a pancake breakfast with
Prickly Pear cactus syrup), Rocking A Feed Store,
Arivaca Artists Co-op (where I purchased a CD of local band
Kaivaly) Arivaca Branch
Library (where there was Celtic music by Dave Shaul who had a CD of Celtic
Christmas music from 6 of the 7 Celtic Nations which I picked up), Gadsden
Coffee for a coffee break (many hippies moved to the Arivaca area in the 1960s
and of those who stayed, one opened this coffee shop); Stockwell Home (with a
bee theme), Amo Home (with a cat theme), Deere Home (crochet), the Cinderella
House Antiques (where I picked up some great costume jewelry), Hembree-Ruderham
Home (impressive with a penguin collection, a casino themed den with slot
machines where I hit the jackpot, a gourmet kitchen, and a spa room), and the
Campas Ranch and the Community Center, which had an interesting art show - one
of the artists was C. Hues (chues41@hotmail.com).
Marie joined us for a great meal at Lavendar's Restaurant, a gourmet restaurant
in the
Best Western.
PHOTOS OF THE ARIVACA HOME TOUR & SURROUNDING AREA: CLICK HERE
Sunday, Jan. 29
We visited Saguaro
National Park East, where we took the loop drive and got lots of great
photos. The saguaro cactus comes in many interesting and sometimes funny
shapes; the inside of the cactus is wood like. We then tried out another
recommended restaurant, Molina's Midway Mexican Foods
SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK EAST PHOTOS: CLICK HERE
Next a visit to the wonderful Tucson Botanical Gardens.
TUCSON BOTANICAL GARDENS PHOTOS: CLICK HERE
Monday, Jan. 30
We joined Marie for a trip to the magical
Madera Canyon, part of the Coronado National Forest (also see
Friends of Madera Canyon).
Bud fell in love with the place so I suspect we'll visit there again someday.
It's a birding mecca.
MADERA CANYON PHOTOS: CLICK HERE
In the afternoon we visited the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum and had a delicious lunch at their Ocotillo Café where I had a Prickly Pear cactus margarita and then drove through Saguaro National Park West. We then returned to Marie's house to join her and several of her friends for wine and munchies which we enjoyed as the sun set.
ARIZONA SONORA DESERT MUSEUM PHOTOS: CLICK HERE
SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK WEST PHOTOS: CLICK HERE
Tuesday, Jan. 31
We drove back to Phoenix to catch our 5:10 pm flight
back to Houston; with a couple of hours to spare we made a last visit to the
casino.
It was a great trip! I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed Arizona - a beautiful state. I did have to use lots of sunblock and pick up some industrial strength moisturizers and hair care products. My usually wavy hair went completely straight there due to the low humidity. As you can see, we visited a lot of great places and didn't begin to scratch the surface of all the things to see and do there. I'm sure we'll return one day. Many thanks to Marie Murphy for her travel suggestions and acting as navigator. Again, Marie said to say hello to all her Houston friends!
- Dianna Shipman
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Page updated Feb. 2, 2006