Hot Time in Tucson

I left Mark home for five days and flew to Tucson, Arizona with three generations of Stark girls. Kammy, Mom, Erin and I went for Erin's orientation/registration for her freshman year at University of Arizona. We stayed at the Marriott right at the entrance to the university and right next to University St. which is the main drag for retail for the university district. I was impressed with the size and number of retailers (comparing to U of O's). U of A is a huge school with over 36,000 students, so that makes sense. The Marriott was a great location, but we were disappointed with the lack of free Wi Fi, breakfasts, and no frigs/microwaves in the room. What is that? When we tried to upgrade to a room with a frig/microwave there wasn't anything available so the totally awesome front desk clerk gave us the secret key to the concierge level. We took full advantage of that, of course, with late night desserts, and all the snacks you could smuggle out. Ate on University most nights. Frog and Firkin (Pub grub. Googled Firkin: similar to a keg in old British times), Vida Thai (slow service and probably the worst Pad Thai I've had), Which wich (a sandwich shop where you place your order on the paper bag in which they serve it to you), a Mediterranean restaurant(had a dish with rice, lentils, chick peas with elbow macaroni in tomato sauce served on top!), and Gentle Ben's brewpub (great outdoor upstairs balcony to enjoy a beer on a warm summer night).

It was HOT!!! I can't remember sweating so much in my life without actually doing some sort of physical activity. Had to check the seat of my pants a few times when I got up to make sure my sweat didn't make me look like I had wet my pants. : ) We managed with the great misters that restaurants have, and spending many hours by the pool.

While Kam and Erin did registration events, Mom and I hired a taxi to take us to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. I highly recommend this if you are in Tucson. It is a "living" museum in an outdoor setting.

I love the desert beauty with it's flora and fauna so different from the Pacific Northwest. We did the tour with a tour guide, Carmen. It was a great way to see the museum and learn so much more than you would walking it on your own.

My favorite exhibits were the bird aviary and hummingbird aviary. You could sit on a bench and watch birds up close. Saw a hummingbird's nest with a hummingbird sitting on it!

On another day, we took a ride to 4th Street on the old restored trolley that runs between that street and University. Struck up a conversation with the conductor and found out he had family in Salem, and had ridden the Portland Streetcar, the trolley that runs between the Southwaterfront and Lake Oswego, and the train that went to Astoria during the Lewis and Clark Celebration. A real buff. 4th Street seemed very '60's-like with "retro" shops and hippy-wear. Interesting, but not my style. May also have been that it was over 100 degrees and window shopping required constant rehydration!

I enjoyed my time seeing the University district part of the city. I did several runs in the early morning before it got too hot and ran through the campus. I was amazed at the size and proximity of the football, baseball, basketball, and softball stadiums. Erin's dorm will be right next to the football stadium (or as they call it Bear Down Stadium). Sounds a little too much like childbirth to me. Named by men I'm sure. : )

We will be back in November to see the Ducks play. Looking forward to cooler temperatures and seeing more of the city.