Last weekend, we traveled South of town to Tucson for what I am told is one of the biggest gem and mineral shows in the United States. Being a girl and all of that, I was more than excited to go to a show that featured all things sparkly! I loved learning about how to cut my own opals. I don't think that I am ever going to take up that particular hobby, but it was very interesting to learn how gets a beautiful opal out of a chunk of unimpressive rock. I also left fervently wishing that my skills and talents were such that I could make my own jewelry since there were so many stones that needed to be set - I still find myself thinking about these pieces that reminded me of Japanese water color paintings. (I may look for some already made into jewelry online...thank God for the power of the Internet!)
One can only walk around looking at rocks for so long, even when the rocks are as magnificent as the Hooker emerald. (74 carats!) So, John took me over to 6th Street for lunch and shopping. He lived and and trained at Fort Huachuca for about 18 months when he first joined the Army, so he is very familiar with Tucson. I loved the little shops that we founds, and I wish that we had enough time (and appetite) to try all the restaurants that lined the street. We decided to have Italian food for lunch and stopped in to Carusos. (http://www.carusositalian.com/) I had the minestrone soup and was very impressed with how deep the flavor was, however; my favorite part of our meal was my lemonade. I could be wrong, but I am positive that it started the day out as real lemons. We walked around a little and then decided to have something sweet. We decided to try out the Chocolate Iguana. (http://www.chocolateiguanaon4th.com/) We had a chocolate chip scone with orange icing, and I am here to tell you that it was one of the best things I have ever eaten. I'm on one of those dreaded after-the-holidays diets, and it is definitely worth the calories.
I certainly will be after the hubby to take me back to Tucson so I can explore some more. I specifically will be back to 6th Street to eat at some of those restaurants.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Weekend at Christopher Creek
We decided to escape the unseasonal heat in the valley and go in search of fall leaves. Since I am from "back East", I don't think that it is fall until I can make s'mores and crunch through leaves.
We drove up Friday after work to our cabin at Christoper Creek Lodge (www.christophercreeklodge.com). The cabin was really nice with a Franklin style stove near the bed - we weren't there very long before I had the hubby build a fire. (Hey! vacation in the woods...need a cozy fire, right?) We actually had the conversation that we could live there forever...if the bathroom was a little bigger. The lodge was dog friendly, so even Ginger - our Brittany Spaniel - got to go on our mini vacation.
We got an early start Saturday morning and headed to Tonto Natural Bridge. (http://www.pr.state.az.us/parks/TONA/index.html) Ginger was only allowed on the paved paths, so we saw the bridge from the top side. We did take a short hike without her, and walked down the 80 or so steps to see the waterfall. John raced me to the top and won even after spotting me 50 stairs. (Sometimes I love bad knees.)
We went into Payson for groceries and some lunch. The tourism information center (chamber of commence) gave us several dog friendly hikes we could take and told us about some attractions in Pine and Strawberry. We decided to hike around Woods Canyon Lake. It took about 2.5 hours and is about 6 miles around according to my phone. We didn't get to see the famed Eagles that live there, but we did see their nest. Ginger almost caught a chipmunk; I don't know who was more surprised about that...the dog or the chipmunk.
Once we made it back to the lodge, the husband prayed to the fire gods and grilled us some steak and asparagus. I don't know if it was just "that" delicious or if we were just "that" hungry - but it tasted amazing. He needed to know the score of the ASU/Oregon game so we walked down to this little bar/restaurant next to the lodge. The Landmark at the Creek is a little gourmet gem in the middle of nowhere...I had butternut squash lasagna.
Sunday, we tried to squeeze in a little more vacation before heading down the mountain and back to real life. We headed up to the little town of Pine, AZ. This is where we encountered our only icky spot in the entire trip. We were told to eat at the Randall House for breakfast...the food was not that good made worse by the world's slowest service. When we asked about our order (after waiting 45 minutes for pancakes and eggs), we were treated to rudeness. (I got to hear the waitress rant about our rudeness while I waited in line for the restroom.) We won't be back there. We headed up to Strawberry and the Goat Creamery. Directions to this place include the phrase "turn off the paved road", but the fudge and strawberry/jalapeno jelly is worth the dust on the car.
It was a great weekend...my only problem is now I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.
We drove up Friday after work to our cabin at Christoper Creek Lodge (www.christophercreeklodge.com). The cabin was really nice with a Franklin style stove near the bed - we weren't there very long before I had the hubby build a fire. (Hey! vacation in the woods...need a cozy fire, right?) We actually had the conversation that we could live there forever...if the bathroom was a little bigger. The lodge was dog friendly, so even Ginger - our Brittany Spaniel - got to go on our mini vacation.
We got an early start Saturday morning and headed to Tonto Natural Bridge. (http://www.pr.state.az.us/parks/TONA/index.html) Ginger was only allowed on the paved paths, so we saw the bridge from the top side. We did take a short hike without her, and walked down the 80 or so steps to see the waterfall. John raced me to the top and won even after spotting me 50 stairs. (Sometimes I love bad knees.)
We went into Payson for groceries and some lunch. The tourism information center (chamber of commence) gave us several dog friendly hikes we could take and told us about some attractions in Pine and Strawberry. We decided to hike around Woods Canyon Lake. It took about 2.5 hours and is about 6 miles around according to my phone. We didn't get to see the famed Eagles that live there, but we did see their nest. Ginger almost caught a chipmunk; I don't know who was more surprised about that...the dog or the chipmunk.
Once we made it back to the lodge, the husband prayed to the fire gods and grilled us some steak and asparagus. I don't know if it was just "that" delicious or if we were just "that" hungry - but it tasted amazing. He needed to know the score of the ASU/Oregon game so we walked down to this little bar/restaurant next to the lodge. The Landmark at the Creek is a little gourmet gem in the middle of nowhere...I had butternut squash lasagna.
Sunday, we tried to squeeze in a little more vacation before heading down the mountain and back to real life. We headed up to the little town of Pine, AZ. This is where we encountered our only icky spot in the entire trip. We were told to eat at the Randall House for breakfast...the food was not that good made worse by the world's slowest service. When we asked about our order (after waiting 45 minutes for pancakes and eggs), we were treated to rudeness. (I got to hear the waitress rant about our rudeness while I waited in line for the restroom.) We won't be back there. We headed up to Strawberry and the Goat Creamery. Directions to this place include the phrase "turn off the paved road", but the fudge and strawberry/jalapeno jelly is worth the dust on the car.
It was a great weekend...my only problem is now I need a vacation to recover from my vacation.
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