Bought a new car, check. Cleaned apartment, check. Filled the tank and picked up water, check. Time to get out of town not only to inaugurate the car for road trips, but we are also running out of February and haven’t made a proper getaway this month. Today, shortly as a matter of fact, this is being rectified. I’m currently at Starbucks, awaiting Caroline’s call to fetch her so we can get this show on the road.
This was all put together rather frantically last night in the minutes before we walked into a nearby theater to watch an anniversary showing of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Caroline suggested we could head down to Douglas, Arizona, for bird watching, a stay at the magnificent Gadsden Hotel, and to get in some hiking. What didn’t fly was her idea that we could leave Saturday morning; nope, we’ll leave Friday after work, grab a room in Tucson so we can have dinner at El Charro Steak & Del Rey, and then in the morning we, could hit Five Points Market & Restaurant if we are still around when they finally open at 8:00. Lucky us, El Charro had a high-top still available for reservation so we jumped for it. There are other things I’ve already put to the side we’ll be exploring, but I’ll wait to share those details until we are underway and out goofing off.
Well, I’m still sitting here longer than I thought I would and so I went hunting for breakfast alternatives as that 8:00 opening wasn’t sitting well with me. Then again, we might sleep in, and that could work out, but I discovered the Baja Cafe is a highly-rated place that opens at 6:00, so we might be better served to get things moving early. It’s nice to have options. Regarding options, AllTrails has been consulted, and if all goes well, we’ll venture out into at least a couple of hikes.
Drats, while we were driving south on Interstate 10, we saw one of the famous Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles moving north. It was in sight and gone before we could snap a photo, but there it was joining the list of legendary things we’ve seen with our own eyes while out in America. Sadly, we were traveling in the opposite direction and checking their schedule; wherever that one was going, the Phoenix area was not on the list, so there was no chance of getting a Wiener Whistle this time.
Our luxury accommodations were not at the cheapest place in town; those would have been further south, and the one place priced at $38 a night was hard to pass up, but we situated ourselves as close to El Charro as budget would allow, meaning we were on the other side of the freeway at Quality Inn for the budget deal of only $80.
Such a romantic time, just walking through downtown Tucson on our way to dinner. This was our third time this year getting something to eat at El Charro, and while it was great yet again, we agree that next time, we need to stretch out and try something different. Our meal started with their tableside guacamole and continued with Caroline choosing their vegan tamales while I opted for a bone-in ribeye. We also split an order of their extraordinary crispy Brussels sprouts.
On the way back to our car, we met an 18-year-old homeless girl and her dog. She was a lovely young lady who spoke of some victimization out here on the streets and told us she had been in foster care for some time. She didn’t ask for a thing which made it easy to give her a little something to feed herself and the dog unless another homeless person steals the money from her.
Once again, Caroline and I are reminded how fortunate we are.