Tucson, AZ Trip - Day One

Mrs and I woke early on May 15th to make our 7:30ish am flight in Providence (technically Warwick), RI. We parked at Pre-flight parking just outside of the airport and were hurried aboard a shuttle bus. I am never comfortable with this kind of pressure. It's not a big deal leaving the 4Runner behind in a secure lot, but I am always afraid that I will have forgotten something small, but important. Wallet, cell phone, backpack, etc. Then I have to watch the car closely as we drive away to ensure that I do not set off the automatic car starter, or unlock it, or set off the panic alarm by engaging a button on the key fob. Certain things just cause me stress. What can I say?

We checked our bags, headed through security with no issues, and waited to board our Southwest flight bound for Midway Airport in Chicago. We were able to get fairly good seats, though I am not crazy about riding the wing. I made my usual counts forward and back of how many rows were were from the emergency exits - in this case, one - and checked who would be manning those exits. I picked up a few of these little habits by reading The Survivors Club by Ben Sherwood some time ago.

It was an easy flight into Chicago and I enjoyed reading more of the final book in the Harry Potter series. We switched planes with about a two hour layover, which went by quickly. Once on the plane I went through the usual cursory checks and we were off again.

The flight from Chicago to Tucson is about an hour or more longer than the first leg. There were several more little kids in close proximity to us, so I broke one of my rules and turned on the iPod.

We arrived around noon Arizona time to wonderful, brilliant weather! Tucson airport is small and really easy to navigate. We had our bags in no time, got the keys to our little rental car (a 2009 Nissan Sentra) and headed for the eastern side of Tucson. We used the GPS I had brought along, but it was not needed. Tucson is an easy city to get around and this was our third visit, so we know where to go.

We stopped at Safeway for groceries, beer and rum and grabbed coffee to go st Starbucks in the store. My choice for beer was something called Bridgeport IPA and New Belgium Fat Tire. Both very good.


We arrived at the house (belonging to Mrs's boss) mid afternoon. Did I mention the beautiful weather? Near 90°F, bright, sunny sky. We quickly prepared the house which includes turning on the hot water, moving the outdoor furniture outdoors, hooking up the grill, checking for scorpions and vacuuming up dead bugs that died since the house was last used.

I did not take many interior shots, but here's one of the kitchen/dining room.

Shot of the house from the road. Much permitting and great care is taken to build in the environment, especially when it comes to the giant saguaro and the use of native plants in the landscape.

Ain't life grand?