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uncompute · 7 years

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Greetings From Tucson

Spoiler Alert: We almost moved here we loved it so much. However, it did not begin as a love affair. Our first day we arrived late at night after our Palm Springs fiasco, tired and ready for rest. We stayed at a place where the AirBnB hosts own a home and have a small studio and larger casita all in one lot. The hosts were absolutely amazing and we were excited to openly share we had a dog again. We woke up the next morning and headed to the Starbucks that was two tenths of a mile from our house, a very dangerous thing, and decided to go for a walk to scope out the new hood.

Of course, Dexter’s gentle leader had gotten destroyed by our visits to the ocean and was now chaffing against his nose so badly that it had started to crack and bleed. With no other options, we took him for a walk using just his dog collar. In case you didn’t know already, Dexter is 75 lbs and horrible on a leash. So this got things started off RIGHT. I went in to Starbucks to receive our life blood and messed up the order, making enemies at the one place I so desperately needed people to like me. After multiple apologies, I ran out, we checked out a few places on google maps, and were on our way.

The Starbucks was located at a busy intersection- think 4 lanes going in 4 different directions, with an abandoned lot and a Safeway on the opposite corners. We figured things would calm down once we got walking and proceeded to end up in a sketchy alley where people deliberately almost ran us over with their cars. We found a place we had researched- a cute cafe people recommended. When we arrived, there were no people and bars on the windows. We started to feel a little discouraged. Would this be Santa Barbara, part two? We continued on our walk to find a brewery in a closed shopping center. The streets we were on were desolate and empty. We walked back to our place despondently, finding a dead pigeon that some kids had put a crown around at the entrance to our place. I freaked out. What was this place? What kind of omen was this? Why were we in Tucson?

(Just kidding, it wasn’t that bad. We didn’t find the dead pigeon until weeks later.)

Determined not to repeat last month’s adventures, we caffeinated and re-grouped. We knew we needed to check out other areas, despite the (once again) record weather- upper 90 degree temperatures at 9 a.m. in March. We hopped on our bikes and headed down to 4th street, where our fears were calmed. We found a bustling, funky, college town rich with diversity and cool spots. We ended up spending our first Friday night (coincidentally St. Patrick’s Day) at The Shanty- the oldest bar in Arizona (a typical college bar) and Dave got a $50 haircut. History would not repeat itself. We were pumped. Here’s what we found the rest of our time there:

St. Paddy’s Day

Hikes:

So we actually didn’t do as much hiking as we had hoped- I think due to the heat and the fact that we found ourselves outside getting our fix in the mornings when it was particularly nice. Side note: Dave and I are obsessed with figuring out how many days of sunshine each city gets on average because we come from Cleveland where the sun don’t shine. When we first arrived, we asked a few people how many days of sun Tucson gets and they looked at us confused. “It shines every day” they would say. “That’s not a thing here.”

Rillito River Path: This is a paved path that runs along both sides of the Rillito river. Dave and I were very confused by the fact that there is no actual water in the river. Even now, I like to look at Google maps and see the river, labeled in blue, looking like a river, and wonder at the mystery of it all.

Saguaro National Park: I’m not joking when I say that it was super hot every day while we were in Tucson, so oftentimes we skipped out on hikes later in the day because it wouldn’t be fun. We had been wanting to visit Saguaro National Park for some time but could never get it together to get out there before the heat hit and are limited in National Parks due to having a dog. On Easter, we opted to do the scenic drive, which did not disappoint.

Sabino Canyon Seven Falls: This hike we decided to do despite the heat because there was a rumor that there was actual water at the end. After getting lost on the trail a few times, we finally made it to the Seven Falls. It’s a gorgeous waterfall that fills a few small pools you are welcome to jump in. Dave went for it despite it being snowmelt and being March and also because he secretly had to pee. Secret’s out.

Dave getting ready to pee

Dave secretly peeing while an older couple watched and talked to him

Mount Lemmon: Lo and behold, the hidden gem (or not really hidden, it’s a giant mountain) of Tucson. A real mountain that you can drive to the top of. The drive up is gorgeous and we hit it right around the time of a big bloom of wildflowers. At a certain point, you reach an elevation where the cacti disappear and pine trees and grass burst out of nowhere. It continues to baffle me and Dave that there are two completely different climates and respective landscapes less than thirty minutes from one another. Another magical thing about Mt. Lemmon: the Cookie Cabin, a place where you can get cookies the size of your face. We went twice. Oh also, there are lots of hikes on the mountain. But also cookies. Giant cookies.

Just looking at that cookie makes me want to drive back.

Drinks:

Cafe Pase: Yummy food and good coffee.

Savaya Coffee: That’s where Dave learned about a science coffee drip. I don't know what that is but it sounds expensive.

Crave coffee: Awesome work space says Dave.

Cartel Coffee: The best iced coffee around. Seriously so good and after a trip to Phoenix last spring this was a determining factor in our coming to Tucson. I should note I didn’t go once while we were there.

Public Brewery: Great little brewery in a super cool old barn/warehouse. We went every Monday for trivia, reviving our “Bazooka Joe” team from Bend. Not only did we not lose once, we actually came in 9th out of 15 teams one time! The staff here were amazing- sometimes sneaking hints for us. Also, we met a fellow traveler here who ended up going on one of those ships thats on “Whale Wars” and saves whales from being hunted. We spoke to him a couple of times and on our last night there, Dave, confused, asked him “How’s the whale hunting going?” Now we can never show our face here again.

I should also note that after a few brews we visited the Tucson Taco Shop (lovingly nicknamed “The Littlest Taco Shop,” by us), a local taco-bell-esque shop open 24 hours. The woman knew my order by the last week.

Edit: Dave just informed me that it clearly states this place was called “The Taco Shop Company,” an oversight on my part. For the record, I will continue to ignore this information.

Borderlands Brewery: Good beer in an old warehouse right (sensing a theme here) with live music on Sundays.

Dragoon Brewery: The best beers of all in Tucson in an… old… warehouse.

Food:

Marco’s Pizza: THEY HAVE ONE OF THESE IN TUCSON. We put our lactose intolerance aside to eat like we were in Ohio.

Walking to Marcos

1702: We put our lactose intolerance aside to.. eat pizza again. They had Hop Cheesy Bread- cheesy bread with actual hops on top. I pretended I liked it in front of Dave (who argued from the start it was an experiment gone wrong) but honestly it tasted weird.

China Pasta House: Authentic chinese dumpings. SO GOOD but also made my tummy hurt.

Prep and Pastry: A trendy brunch place with some of the best mimosas I’ve ever had, including one made with prickly pear cactus juice that looked like something a ninja turtle would drink.

Chipotle: A local taco/burrito shop. Very rare.

Seis: A walk-up gourmet taco shop in an outdoor mercado downtown. It was so good I went once with my Mom and her cousin Diane and then went back two days later. The tacos are amazing and the outdoor space makes you feel like you are eating them in Europe.

BOUT TO EAT THOSE TACOS

Street Tacos: An actual place with some really good tacos. I should mention Tucson prides itself on having the best 23 miles of tacos in the nation. They did not disappoint.

Spots/Things to Do:

Metal Arts District: One of our favorite places to hang. We stopped by the Tucson Hop Shop several times, a bar with several beers on draft and lots of drinks in a cooler. They had a gorgeous outdoor space and Etch-A-Sketches at each table. I also went to yoga at an art studio here and it was delightful.

Botanical Gardens: My mom came into town for a weekend and we spent an afternoon checking out an exhibit on Frida Khalo. It was gorgeous and especially helpful for two people who have no idea what the difference between all the cacti in the region is.

The Rock: A grungy concert venue right down the street from our place. Dave won free tickets to see a band called Chon. I acted like an old person.

Goodyear, AZ: When in Arizona in the spring, you gotta catch an Indian’s game! They crushed the Cincinnati Reds and we knocked something off our bucket list.

Cyclovia: An event that occurs twice a year where a huge section of downtown is blocked off to all car traffic and open to bikers and pedestrians. It was Dave’s dream come true, especially after he had a Sonoran dog from El Guero Canelo. A sonoran dog is a hot dog wrapped in bacon.

D&D Pinball: A pinball emporium. Dave.

Marana: We had dinner with my Mom’s cousin who lives in this city, a little north of Tucson. It is right near the foothills of the mountains and simply gorgeous.

Cousin Diane’s very impressive dessert

Phoenix: Dave went up to Phoenix for a few days for a work conference and somehow ended up booking the penthouse suite of an apartment building.

The view from Dave’s room. I DON’T UNDERSTAND.

His rooftop pool.

Star Gazing at Mt. Lemmon: We bought tickets to star-gaze with my Mom on top of Mt. Lemmon using some of the most advanced telescopes in some of the best skies in the country. We learned all about how the telescopes work, had dinner and watched a delightful sunset, and then were evacuated from the mountain due to a wildfire a mile and a half away.

What a beautiful sunset... can’t wait to see the stars

JK Mountain’s on fire.

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