Grants Pass to Tucson

Friday, December 13, 2013

We woke up to cold but it was warmer than it was when we went to bed. At that time there had been icy, slushy, snow beside the van. 

Still seeing snow, best keep driving.

I drove for awhile before Grants Pass - curvy, hilly, wet roads - scary! Even Ken was freaked with my driving (actually nauseated).

As we drove south the temperature rose ever so slightly. We stopped at many rest areas. Until lunch and beyond we had green, treed hills as scenery. Once we were in California the hills and trees became less and less.  We actually got into a sunny area. The sun is so appreciated by us in from the Pacific North West. No wonder the ancients worshiped sun gods. The sun just improves your spirits so exponentially.

More driving and talking. One big topic was dinners our Mom's made on a regular basis when we were kids. Often potatoes, veggie and meat based. Not ethnic based like tacos or pizza but meat based. I really disliked meat and only ate it to appease encouraging parents. I am now a long time vegetarian. Ken still likes his meat and potatoes.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Our rest area this morning was our first daylight glimpse of more southerly California - first palm trees, trees with many red berries and, of course, many birds. Our morning drive is through a flat, yellow land with yellow rolling hills o the west. We keep seeing groves of wither olives, nuts or orange trees.  The trees have green leaves and the rows are planted on an angle. We are seeing fields of grape vines, too.

Still no warm beach, best keep driving.

I drove for awhile today two different times. On both occasions the traffic was quite thick and moving quickly. I used cruise control at the speed limit 70mph. I was being passed literally by everyone except truck drives.

The weather is much warmer and sunnier now.

We experienced an oil change at Walmart which took a considerable amount of time. We didn't get as far as planned nor did we got to Dick Blick.  We did eat at Wholefoods but in Pasadena (huge, two floors). Seems like a city we should further investigate.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

We planned to drive to Tucson, AZ today. Again I drove for awhile with the same speedy driver experience. I even drove in Phoenix just because you can not just pull over on the highway.

We are now driving through the desert. Very hot in the car during the day but cool - cold at night.

Monday, December 16, 2013

We woke up but could not sleep in too long - free breakfast until 9:00 am. The breakfast room is done in mid century modern, plus Christmas. The warm air, cactus and sunshine make Christmas seem like a far away dream. Christmas is, close - less than two weeks away.

It took at least half an hour to walk into the city of Tucsun, downtown. We discovered a military surplus store and Ken bought a hat. It was similar to our Canadian Tilley Hats.

We walked to the tourist information to get another map and advice on a Mexican place for lunch. We went a charming Mexican restaurant that was owned by the same family for five generations. We were also in an arty area and in the center of the city. Tucsun is much more lovely when temperatures are not hovering around or around 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

The lengthy walk we had today did us good.  Sitting two days in a row is hard on a person.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

We rested once we woke up by watching an episode of the English dramady, "Doc Martin". We have watched about four seasons already of this show and love it. The actor playing the doctor totally nailed the part as did all the actors.

We got out the door finally ready to go do something, we were not sure what exactly. Ken discovered funky, trendy area - up 4th Avenue toward the downtown. Lots of great restaurants. Then we walked generally where we did the day before. We generally were in the convention area, specifically the courthouse area. We went back to Grupo Charro restaurant, this time for happy hour. We consumed a triple dessert between us. It included flan, white cake and deep fried ice cream. We each enjoyed a house margarita. 

We walked back to the hotel. I was very tired or lazy at tour arrival at the hotel.

At the hotel we decided to take a field trip to Walmart and Target to get little missing items like a new toothbrush head, etc. Ken had to get his glasses straightened - he sat on them, again.  I wonder how long the straightening job will last? We went to America's Best.

We then went back to the hotel to pack up and be ready for our departure the next morning.