We're Off to Tucson

 Tucson, AZ   High 78  Low 52

We are off on our next adventure. There are lots of things to see and do in Tucson, so we picked 8 places that sounded interesting. We made it to 7 of them (some of them in the rain). 

We took off Tuesday morning and the closer we got to Tucson, the uglier the clouds and the more rain we had. By the time we got there, we could see a little blue sky.

First Stop - this is a definite favorite for everybody. I had been there before with Paul but they had new exhibits. I'm writing about The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures.  This museum is dedicated to preserving and advancing the art of miniatures.

 I am absolutely amazed at the amount of time and effort that people put into these exhibits. Talk about loving what you do. You can certainly see that love in this museum.

A short time exhibit greets you in the lobby. A 2017 Peel P50. How many of you had ever heard of this car. They were first manufactured in the 1960s and only 50 of them were produced. They are 54" long, 39" wide, and their top speed was 38 mph. They have three wheels, one door, one headlight, and no reverse (a handle on the back allowed the car to be lifted and turned. A "replica" was released in 2017 with an electric drive train. The original Peels are worth $175,000. 

 This post is going to be mostly pictures. This is just a small sampling. Enjoy. 

Some people go really small - like the tip of a pencil or the inside of a walnut shell.

The Fantasy Room

After marveling at the museum, hunger struck. I suggested we go to Beyond Bread (Paul and I tried it and really liked the food) which is a sandwich and soup restaurant (wish they had one up in this area). I had the Carmichael Crunch, a wheat pita bread sandwich with chicken, apples, cranberries, mixed greens and toasted almonds. Sooo good.

More visits after lunch but they will be in the next post. Thanks for joining us on our adventures. 

Drumroll Please - Meet Raelee Beth

 AJ, AZ  High 70s  Low 50s

  Isn't she beautiful? (many pictures) Raelee was rather stubborn and wouldn't turn so she was breach. The doctor said it was time to get her out of there so a C-section was scheduled for Tuesday morning. By the time the surgery came around, she had flipped herself so her head was pointed down which made for a much easier surgery for both her and her mom. 

February 10 - 10:07 am - 5lb 11oz - 19 inches 

 

 

 

Grandma Mary

Elias turned 3 years old on the 3rd of February. So far he's really excited about having a baby in the house.  Hope it stays that way.

 

February is a joyous month.  Happy Birthday Elias. Welcome to earth Raelee. 

 

Wild Wild West

 Apache Junction, AZ  above average temps in the 80s. Lows in the 50s

 Meanwhile back at the park

We have some very talented people in our park and they decided to throw a western murder mystery dinner. It was so much fun. I definitely did not figure out who committed the murder, but a few people did a good job of it.  

I only took a few pictures because I was having too much fun. So this will give you just a small picture of the fun.

Waiting in line to get into the clubhouse.

Mickey - a Pinkerton Guy

 Laura - another Pinkerton - trying to keep the crowd under control

 The local paper (with clues)

The characters or should I say possible murderers

The Menu

The food - it was really good. Not only do we have talented people we have really good cooks in this park.

Wendy and her dad Jim

They did an amazing job and we all had a great time. 

The other thing I had going was birthday cake kits. We put these together last year and delivered 44 kits to the food bank. I hoped we could surpass that number this year and we certainly did. I delivered 57 kits this year. This really is a group project from everybody donating all the cake mixes, sodas, frosting, napkins, candles and foil cake pans. Then they all come together to put the kits together and wrap them.

My car was full - the trunk, backseat and passenger seat were piled high. Believe me, the food bank was glad to see me come.

Next up will be a really exciting announcement. Have a great day.

 

 

Day Two Continued and Day 3

 Sierra Vista, AZ  beautiful weather

 After finding our way off the base finally, we had a very important meet up. Well sort of a meet up - the other party didn't know we were going to show up. Pat has a very dear friend who lives in Sierra Vista and she hasn't seen her in years. So she found her address and we decided to track her down.

Her name is Betty and we did find where she lives. However, she wasn't at home. Luckily her little house is right next to her son's house. Betty had gone to Costco with her son and they were on their way home and arrived about five minutes later.  

They had a wonderful reunion just not long enough. Hopefully the next time we get down here we can arrange for a longer visit. 

Pat and Betty

 It was getting late and we were all tired. So we decided to just munch on whatever goodies we had and not go out to dinner. That sure worked for me.  

Next morning we had a so-so breakfast and checked out. We weren't in a big hurry but we did have one stop to make on our way home.

I'm sure many of your have been to the San Xavier del Bac Mission in south Tucson. It is a beautiful old Spanish Catholic Mission (undergoing some restorations while we were there). The Mission is located on the Tohono O'odham Nation San Xavier Indian Reservation. 

Our timing wasn't great because there were two or three busloads of high school students with big backpacks everywhere. We were able to take a few pictures. 

The building was completed in 1797 and continues to serve as a place of faith. At that time Southern Arizona was still part of New Spain. It is the oldest intact European structure in Arizona.

 I used this picture on their website to show you have beautiful this mission really is.

 We decided it was a little too early for lunch so we pressed on to Florence. I just had to take them to one of my favorite restaurants. The Irish Cowboy. Paul and I have been there several times. I think they also really enjoyed the food.

Then we were home and we all want to know where we are going next. So hang in there until we get plans firmed up. Thanks for following along on our journeys.

The Three Musketeers