I LOVE BEING A TOURIST IN MY OWN HOMETOWN

Last night was the kick off of Jim's Birthday Month festivities.  As a surprise I got tickets to the Seattle Opera (Tales of Hoffman) and booked a room near the Seattle Center.  We got into Seattle early so set out to visit some of our favorite haunts.

Jim figures he has been coming to the "VI," as it is affectionately known, for over 40 years.  It used to be a dive tavern, the bar stools full of regulars first thing in the morning.  I first started going there right after the current owner bought it (some 30 years ago) and slowly but subtly changed it adding really good food and premium local brews,

 along with an ever changing tableau of local art work.  Sometime  in the last 15 years or so, the owner bought the building next door and expanded the small original footprint, while retaining all the original funky character, even matching this fabulous old-time Seattle tile floor:

  This is looking toward the new part where they moved the old bar.

We tend to always sit in the front corner where there is an excellent view of Elliott Bay and fabulous people-watching potential.   Jim ALWAYS orders the Gumbo.  This is probably because it is ALWAYS outstanding.

We were absolutely stuffed after this excellent meal so by-passed the Crumpet Shop at the Pike Place Market and went on to do our shopping.

Our main goal was DeLaurenti, the fabulous Italian food market/deli which has been an institution at the corner of 1st Avenue and Pike Street in Seattle for as long as I can remember.  We were successful in our mission to find bresaola, an air-dried salted and aged beef, as well as some excellent prosciutto and luque olives.

It was a rare hot day in Seattle with the temperatures reaching 85 degrees!  I was so happy to get to see the Olympic Mountain range which is often obscured by clouds.

Another great view from the Pike Place Market looking southwest to the mouth of the Duwamish River.

With purchases taken care of we wandered up Post Alley past some of our favorite landmarks:

* The Kells, an institution amongst Irish Pubs in Seattle -

* One of our favorite restaurants, The Pink Door -

* A place where you can get a really good cup of tea and real English tea biscuits -

* And of course, the original Sur La Table, which we didn't dare go in -

It's so fun to be in the middle of the "vibe" in the Pike Place Market.  Everyone all around is having a good time and enjoying the food, coffee, music and ambiance.  I had to look twice at this musician to realize that she is a statue.

After a little rest in our room we set out for the opera by walking through the Seattle Center.  Seattle in May is the best because all the Rhododendrons are out in full force.  More on that later.  As always, the opera was an excellent performance and a good time was had by all.  Afterward, Jim and I went to our usual post-opera place for a nosh, McMenamins http://www.mcmenamins.com/308-mcmenamins-queen-anne-home which is the perfect late-night place to be.  After a short walk around the lower Queen Anne neighborhood we were back at our hotel but not ready for bed.  We decided to give the rooftop garden a try.  Even though it was well after midnight the evening was still nice and warm.  Here was our view:

This morning we decided to head back home at a leisurely pace, but not before we met a woman from Sonoma County (Petaluma) in the Starbucks.  I am continually amazed at what a small world it can be. 

We decided to take the scenic route via Highland Drive on upper Queen Anne hill.  This is why

and this

 

We were gone only 24 hours but I know it was a  very satisfactory start to Jim's Birthday Month 2014.

WINTER ESCAPE - PART III: OUTINGS IN THE SONORA DESERT

Sabino Canyon was one of the really great outings we went on while in Tucson.  Frank, Carol, Jim, Naomi and I went for this adventure while Ron was on an 8 mile hike.  This amazing riparian area is right in the outskirts of Tucson and is so different from the other Sonora Desert areas we were used to.  Of course we saw saguaro cacti...

 
 But a big difference in this landscape is WATER.

 
The park has trams (no personal cars are allowed in the canyon) which take passengers up to the top, following Rattlesnake Creek.  There are multiple stops along the way so it's easy to jump off and jump back on. 

Spring comes early in the desert!

 The park is in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains. 

 

There are many, many trails and lots of people were out hiking.   We hopped off the tram on the way down and hiked a ways.  Here are Carol and Naomi.


I loved this sign we saw on the road.

 What a difference a creek can make in the desert.  We found the scenery very restful.

Sabino Canyon is definitely a return-to place.  Next time we will hike all the way down and maybe try some other trails.

Our next outing was Jim, Ron and I to the Sonora Desert Museum.  This is an outdoor park - a sort of cross between a museum and a zoo.  Jim and I first came to this museum 30 years ago and have been in love with it ever since so we were eager to show it to Ron.  The Desert Museum is only a few miles away from Tucson Estates and just past Old Tucson, which is the movie set where many a Western has been filmed.

One of the things I love about this park is that they have labelled all the local plants so you can positively identify them. 

I was excited to see this one because it is the very agave we had bloom in our front yard in Santa Rosa last year.  I never knew what kind of agave it was; it was in a bucket in the backyard when we moved in to that house.

In the wild desert one only gets to see the flowers bloom if there has been rain.  At the Desert Museum they do water so we got to see more things in bloom than would be outside the park.





But the Sonora Desert Museum is far from just a botanical garden.  There are many opportunities to see the wildlife that populates the Sonora Desert.   Here we got to see a Curved Bill Thrasher tending her nest high up in this cholla cactus.

 

And I was thrilled to go into the Hummingbird House, where we saw this little beauty sitting on her tiny nest.

 As we wandered around the grounds we had this visitor come for a little drink right in front of us.

 

Some of the many animals on view include javelinas (wild pigs), bobcats, foxes, coatimundi (relative of raccoons), various reptiles, big horn sheep...



and otters!

 The day was quite hot but Ron and I decided we wanted to see the Raptor show.  We didn't realize this meant standing for 1/2 hour in the beating down sun.  (Jim was smarter and found the cafe where he could see the show from the shaded terrace while sipping a cool drink).  The show was worth it, though, and Ron and I got to hear the narration which Jim couldn't hear from his location.  Here are some of the Harris Hawks which swooped right over top of our heads.  They are so majestic (and huge!) and hunt in groups, with the alpha female in charge (and she gets to eat first, too).



 

 We had a lovely outing in spite of the heat.  Here is Ron and Jim and a rare photo of yours truly.

Next time you are in Tucson you MUST stop at the Sonora Desert Museum.  It is an experience unlike any other.

 Next - more in and around Tucson.

Audrey

WINTER ESCAPE - PART II: THE ARRIVAL OF RON AND NAOMI

A little over a week after our arrival at Tucson Estates Ron and Naomi Garwood arrived from Rochester, NY.  Ron and Naomi are long time friends of my sister Carol's from when she was a short term missionary in Japan in the 1970s.  It just so happens that I visited her in Japan during that time and met Ron and Naomi who were also short term missionaries and who were not a couple.  I had not seen them since 1976 and Jim had never met them so this was a much anticipated visit.

The day before their arrival, Ron had to dig out their driveway from 10' of snow.  No wonder he was so
 taken with all the citrus available for free at TE.


The week Ron and Naomi were with us was packed full of activities.  One of these was making 28 lunches for a Vista Missions (http://vistamissions.org) team which arrived at the Tucson airport from Seattle one Saturday.  We made bag lunches for the team and met them at the airport while they were awaiting vans coming from Mexico to take them to their destination in Mexico, several hours south of Douglas, Arizona.  This team was doing construction work as well as running eye clinics and dispensing glasses.  Our sister-in-law, Carolyn Watson, used to run these teams and now that she is semi-retired from teaching Spanish, she still goes along as a member of the team.  Here is Carolyn lending a helping hand.

She knew that Carol and Frank were bringing the lunches but Jim and I were a total surprise to her as she didn't know we were in Tucson. 

Ron is a major pickle ball player so every morning (unless going on an 8 mile hike) he would be on the court at 7:30 am and we wouldn't see him back until 9:30 or 10 am.  He's a guy who likes his exercise so when not playing pickle ball he would be biking, hiking, walking or playing golf.  This freed Naomi up to go thrift shopping with Carol and me.  The day Ron when on the 8 mile hike, the rest of us visited Sabino Canyon (a future blog) and on a hot day (too hot for Naomi), Ron, Jim and I visited the Sonora Desert Museum (another future blog).  

When not out running around we found time to enjoy each other's company at home, like this tea party we had just because Carol made scones.

And they were GOOD.

A week  was way too short with Ron and Naomi and we were sorry to see them go back to snowy New York.  We all tried our best to help lure them to be permanent snow birds in Tucson (now that Naomi has retired they are selling their home in Rochester but keeping their summer cabin in upstate NY).  I hope I don't have to wait another 30 years to see them!

 Next time - Outings to Sabino Canyon and the Sonora Desert Museum.

Audrey