Tulsa to Tucson '09

Friday 03/13/2009

The fun began at 4:30 on Friday the 13th. My Aunt Mary picked me up at work and we hit the road with plans to drive to Amarillo to spend the night. We thought it would take us approximately 4 or 4.5 hours to reach Amarillo. The weather was nice, after the snow Tulsa had on Thursday, we were a little nervous about what the conditions would be like. I told Mary that I was going to take our picture, so she p0sed. When I told her I was posting this on my blog, she was horrified. I just laughed, you know.... my evil laugh! We stopped for dinner at around 7:15 at a Denny's. As we left at around 8:00 it was just getting dark and it was starting to rain. I took the wheel and drove into the night (Aunt M does not like to drive at night!). About 30 minutes later, the rain turned to snow! I was so surprised. I have never driven on the highway in hard snow. It was a taxing experience, for sure! We continued to Amarillo and arrived at close to 10PM. Mary prefers to stay at a Comfort Inn, so we were both very happy when we immediately saw the sign for Comfort Inn just as we rolled into Amarillo. Here is the snow we found on the ground outside the Hotel.

Saturday 03/14/2009

We left Amarillo (yes, by morning) and headed to our side trip destination, Santa Fe, NM. We decided to take a short cut at Clines Corners and found that the road was under construction and we had to drive a good part of the short-cut on a GRAVEL road!!! Ugh! That was slow going, but a beautiful drive. The scenery was breathtaking for a girl who does not live in eyesight of mountains! We arrived at around 1:00PM.

I don't know if you have ever been to Santa Fe or not, but it is an eyeful! Everywhere you look there are amazing things to see. Mary and I walked for several hours, through lots of shops looking at art, jewelry, furniture and just amazing sights. Here is a picture of a funny statue.

And here is a nifty men's suit. It has pez dispensers glued all over it. Very artistic, but it would be terrible to sit in!!We found beads galore, they made me think of Gigi. Also saw tons of cute odds and ends. We shopped and shopped. I loved this little owl pitcher, but the lady who owned the shop must have loved it more than I did, because I decided it was too pricey to purchase. But I had to sneak a picture!

We finally decided it was time to eat. We chose carefully. We asked several shopkeepers where we should eat dinner. Two different one's mentioned "The Shed". The menu was Mexican. Aunt M was not happy with the choices, I thought it was fine, but not what I hoped it would be. I think we both wanted a little more for the price we paid. Santa Fe is a tourist town so everything is pricey. With that in mind, we headed out of town for the night. Looking for another Comfort Inn far enough away from Santa Fe that the price would not be outrageous. We drove about 2 hours and stopped for the night around 8PM in Socorro, NM.

Sunday 03/15/09

The trip continued. It was our plan to drive the rest of the way to Tucson on Sunday. We had cut a few hours off the trip by driving a few hours extra Saturday night. The scenery on the way was even more beautiful than what we saw in Santa Fe! Wow!

We arrived in Tucson around 1:00. The weather was beautiful and and sunny. It was about 70 degrees and the sun was bright. It felt so good to finally see the sign for the trailer park where Grandma's fifthwheel has been parked for the past 20 years.

According to Aunt M, this is not located in the best part of town. Grams and Gramps had been coming here for about 30 years all together. After Gramps died, Grams had the trailer brought to Crazy Horse and it has been there since then. She is the most senior resident in the park, and it seems like everyone loves her!

As soon as we arrived Grams talked us into going to one of her favorite places. The Tanque Verde Swap Meet. It is basically a giant flea market. There were lots of fun things to see there. I quickly spotted a Oklahoma license plate, a bear skin and a sweet little Miniature Schnauzer (my favorite breed of dog!) and some beautiful fresh fruits and veggies. Grams and I had to sit down and take a little break while Aunt M continued to shop. The temp was rising quickly and it was almost 80 degrees by 3:00! Finally Mary came back with her goodies and we headed for the car.

Back at the trailer, we relaxed for the rest of the evening. Mary napped and I read a book, then Grams friends came over and we spent the evening playing Rumicube. Louie and Dale, park employees, came by the trailer to say hello. Seems like there was always someone stopping by to say hello or to play a game of Rumicube with Grams. She seems to stay really busy for an 87 year young lady.

Monday 03/16/09

We got up and got ready to face the day. The weather was beautiful again. It had gotten quite cold over night, but it warmed up very quickly. While Aunt M finished getting ready, I walked with Grandma over to the office to pay her bill for the year. I got to meet Frank, the owner and Zach one of the park employees who has worked in the office for many years.

Mary and I decided to take our brochures to Cindy Lou's, a local diner for breakfast. We looked them over and decided to go to the 4th Avenue shopping district in downtown Tucson. We headed that direction and parked in the wrong place. While we were looking for the right place we found a cute vintage shop. Mary bought some awesome jewelry. Here are some pictures from her windows.

We finally found 4th Ave. It was really fun. We found some great bargains, Aunt Mary bought a lot of beautiful jewelry. I mostly just window shopped. I found some fun ideas for Halloween, but somehow, I don't seee these costumes showing up at our church Trunk or Treat festivities!

Tuesday 03/17/09

St. Patricks day! Another day of shopping, this time at a shopping mall. Fun. On the way back to the park, we stopped at WalGreens so I could get some green nail polish for my toes. Then back to the park for a quiet afternoon of toe nail painting, reading and napping. Finally finally at 6PM we went to a St. Patrick's day feast at the park clubhouse. Louie made Corned Beef and Cabbage and boiled potatoes and carrots. There was lots of other food, including homemade cookies and bread (by Grams!). We got a chance to meet more of Grams' friends we also got to see the place where she spends so much of her social time, playing Bingo and working puzzles.

Since this was our last night in Tucson, I spent some time after dinner taking some pictures around the trailer. I found some beautiful flowers, the pink flowers were vivid, the white ones so delicate! There were tiny bees flying everywhere, but I could not seem to capture them on film.

Wednesday 03/18/09

We got up and got around. The car was mostly packed, but we had a few last minute items to squeeze in. Then at 7AM we went back to the clubhouse for donuts and coffee. We watched while everyone gave Grams hugs and made her promise to come back next year. It is a small park and they make her feel like family. Seeing first hand how she is treated there makes me feel better about her leaving every year. We were on the road by 7:30. There were more sights to be seen on the way back. We stopped again in Amarillo, where we spent the night, back at the same Comfort Inn.

Thursday 03/19/09

Last day on the road to Tulsa. It felt great when we finally had to set the clock back to Tulsa time. There is a two hour time difference between Tucson and Tulsa. I know it will take me a few days to readjust to the change. It wonderful to finally see the sign that said that Tulsa was just ahead! We rolled up in front of my house at 1:05 this afternoon. I had a great time, but it is so wonderful to be home at last!