Tucson Arizona

Sat 8/15/2009


So…it took us 2 and ½ days of driving with 2 cats and the dog to arrive in Tucson, and 2 days to unpack and move in. The movers unloaded and unpacked everything that I could find a place for on Wed. We spent the rest of Wed afternoon and Thursday putting away and emptying other boxes. I think everything is unpacked that is going to get unpacked.

My aunt , Helen and her daughter Judy and husband Phil and my daughter Kate all came down Friday afternoon from Phoenix and we went out to dinner last night at La Fuentes. Old Tucson – wonderful Mexican food and mariachi band. Our celebratory entry into Tucson and Judy and Phil’s 46th wedding anniversary. My aunt will be 90 in December and we will be here for her Birthday celebration!

Life is good…the guy from the gas company that hooked our gas up on Wed is a cyclist…saw my Cervelo t-shirt and bikes and figured out he would test a Fla girl out on a mountain ride Sat morning… I survived and got invited back again for tomorrow Sun am ride.

Ah…2.5 hours – of climbing. ( I am out of shape) A 7 mile climb, and a mountain pass. Mountain lions, wild pigs (javalina) coyotes , jack rabbits and snakes. Its like the wild west. This is a very cycling friendly town with lots of bike lanes and for the most part polite drivers….and the best part..after 2.5 hours – my clothes were still only slightly damp…WOW…no dripping sweat in the eyes…. Lots of runners and bikers out early in the morning. We started at 5:30 and were done by 8 am.

Now I know why we Fla people always get our butts kicked on the bike by the Western state folks. These are cyclists out here – even when people are modest and say they aren’t very good. I was huffing and puffing and Ryan was talking away not=2 0even breathing hard…hmmm I have some work to do before I try Mt Lemon…9200 ft…27 miles of climbing.

There are mountains everywhere you look – very humbling and the stars at night look to be close enough to touch. Our house is off of big sky road – Big Sky Ranch – and it is aptly named. At night the big dipper is huge and so bright you can actually see the stars twinkle.

Cooking steaks on the grill tonight for neighbors…Norm has a couple of good leads on jobs already and I start Monday at Tucson Eclectic.

Hope all is going well…


Pam