Category: Life

A taste of Tucson

We started the day with the complimentary hotel breakfast; it was OK, but the coffee was insipid. So I suggested a walk to the nearest Starbucks afterwards, which turned into about a one-mile each way exploration of East Grant Avenue. We didn’t actually discover much that we hadn’t seen from the car (about the only thing that was new to us was the Fry’s supermarket), but it was nice to be able to stretch our legs.

After that walk, we moved Diane’s dad’s luggage to our room to wait until they could check in across the street, and then we went exploring. We went east first, out towards Fellowship Square to see what banks would be convenient (and, not incidentally, to find a service laundry for our stuff), and then we drove downtown to check out the historic districts and have lunch. The Tucson Visitor Center was very helpful, giving us several brochures (and giving us a huge “newcomer’s packet” for Diane’s dad). We explored the area around the original Presidio of Tucson, including a delicious lunch at El Charro Cafe and a long browse through the Old Town Artisans, especially the Old Town Pot Shop. I was amused by the Mexican-themed Judaica of Julie Szerina Stein, but not quite enough to buy any (though the Seder plates were tempting).

After that, we helped Diane’s dad and SO move into their temporary home-while-waiting-for-home, including a shopping trip to the aforementioned Fry’s and Trader Joe’s to stock their fridge. I am afraid they’ll be counting the days until they can move into their apartment — but in the meantime, they will be visiting relatives in the Mountain Time Zone as often as they can. Tomorrow, they were invited to go on an expedition to a local casino; we plan to visit the Desert Museum instead.

Dinner tonight was at China Thai on Tanque Verde. The food and service were fine, but unlike lunch, there was no sense of place — we could have been anywhere.

Moving is one detail after another

We spent much of today helping Diane’s father and his SO find a place to stay until their permanent apartment becomes available on February 1st. First, we went through the phonebook and did some Internet searching to find a short list of possible locations. Then, we phoned what looked like a promising short-term apartment, only to get an answering machine. So we drove over there; there was a note on the door claiming that the manager was “on the property” but could be paged by pushing a button. We pushed the button; it’s a good thing the weather was pleasant, because we waited an awfully long time before giving up.

After that, we took a tour of their new home, Fellowship Square, and then had lunch at Dragon Palace (chosen by using the car’s GPS to find nearby restaurants and then guessing), which was quite pleasant.

Then we visited the Extended Stay Tucson, conveniently located across the street from the Sheraton, in hopes that it might fit the bill. And it did.

So with a place to stay taken care of, it was time to continue celebrating; back to B’nai B’rith Covenant House for the second half of the birthday celebration. We were the last ones to leave, I think — and I think Diane’s dad is going to enjoy being in the same town as his sister.

We finished the day by getting a cellphone for Diane’s dad; this was more of a problem than it might otherwise have been because he uses hearing aids. The nice folks at the Cingular kiosk in Park Place Mall let us try many phones, taking them outside, and eventually he found an LG which works pretty well for him. We will have to call Cingular tomorrow and turn off all the junk services that come on “free trial”, like the Roadside Assistance plan, but other than that, I think he’s set.

Fortunately, we’d munched a lot at the party, because it was 8pm before we were finished with the phone. None of us were very hungry, so we got a pizza from Magpie’s at Shaw and Speedway. The pizza was quite good, and I wish I’d gotten a bigger pie. Maybe another night or another visit….