The 3:10 to Tucson

A few weeks back, we went to Phoenix to visit my brother's family and to welcome young little 1900 into the family. While we were there, we decided it would be a good opportunity to visit some friends who had moved to Tucson a few years back (about an hour south of Phoenix), and whom I hadn't seen in about 4 years.

After college, a friend of mine from UVM and a couple of his high school friends decided to move to Boston, get jobs, and have a good time in the big city ('big city' in relation to Hartford and Burlington, not 'big city' in relation to NY). The three of them, me, and a friend of mine from high school all moved into a 4+1 bedroom house in Cambridge (with our unofficial sixth roommate, Banana Man). We had a foosball table. We had a basement, and a guy who would occasionally come over and pee in the basement. We were across the street from the greatest dive bar in the history of dive bars. Needless to say, we had some good times.

After a few years, the 262 House started breaking up. Babies and marriages and time all contributed. New guys moved in, but it was never really the same. Rob had moved out before me to live with his girlfriend, Kyrsten, and they would eventually move to Tucson together. Soon afterwards, I left the house and moved to the Northwest.

Rob and Kyrsten are two of the happiest, most positive people I've ever met in my life; if you can find someone who would speak ill of them, I will give you a shiny nickle (dogs don't count, as I know some people who aren't super big fans of Kali). They're created a nice life for themselves in Tucson. They have an awesome house, with a swamp cooler. They have three dogs, that despite the occasional 'dog freak-out,' are pretty cool. And they have an awesome backyard. We spent most of time back there, where Rob cooked up some phenomenal chicken quesidillas on the grill. We sat deep into the night, drinking beers around the fire, reminiscing about old times at the 262, catching up on our lives away from Boston, and listening to Rob's impressive stories about winning chili cook-offs (no small feat for a Yankee from Connecticut living in the Southwest).

The next morning, Rob took us to a small local place for some tasty Mexican breakfast goods. Kimberly could hardly contain her excitement. The food was spicy good, and we certainly ate our fill.

Afterwards, we took a quick jaunt into the Saguaro National Park, which is right on the borders of Tucson. Pictures can't do this place justice. It is one of the more breathtaking places I've been to, right up there with Joshua Tree National Park in California - something about tall, green, statuesque succulents stretching to the horizon in an otherwise desolate place really gets me going.

On the way back to Rob's place, we drive through the 'city' of Tucson and some of the neighborhoods. Overall, it seems like an artsy, funky place - lots of coffee shops, bars, and thrift stores in cool old buildings. Although we didn't get to experience it so much on our feet, it seems that the city has a much more human scale to it than the strip mall concrete that we experienced in the Phoenix area (You can walk places? Aghast!) (am I too hard on Phoenix? People love it there, and I guess I only spent like 3 days there, but I'm not sure. It didn't leave a good first impression with me. Maybe I need to give it another chance).

As we left Rob and Kyrsten and their gaggle of dogs to head back north, we out through the desert and past the Saguaros. Tucson gave me a good sense of why people love the desert - the sense of isolation, the drama of mountains and cacti shooting up in the stark landscape. It will be nice to go back in May and experience the area a little more in depth. Rob and Kyrsten are getting married. Let the party start.

This Baby has Cooler Clothes than Me

Dreaming of Enter The Dragon

A few weeks back, before Thanksgiving break, the two of us took a trip down to Arizona to visit our niece, 1900. While I was not overly impressed with the Phoenix area, it was really nice to get out of the on-coming cold of the middle and spend some time in a 90-degree desert. And it was really nice to finally meet 1900.

To entice everyone to the desert, BtO and S.I.L.K. had a naming ceremony for 1900, even though they're not Jewish; the whole thing was just a really good excuse to throw a party in the very cool Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. Almost the entire immediate family from both sides was there (except for my Uncle Loveday and S.I.L.K.'s brother, who doesn't fly), so it also served as a bit of a family reunion.

My father, BtO, 1900, S.I.L.K., Aunt Youyou, and S.I.L.K.'s father

Needless to say, 1900 is pretty cute. Somehow, two blond-ish parents ended up with a bright red-headed baby. She has enormously large cheeks, which I had to fight against every gene in my body to not pinch. And she has huge [color omitted] eyes. If I had a son, and I wasn't related to her, I would put a down payment on the dowry for her.

My mom, Sister-the-Youngest, BtO, 1900, S.I.L.K. and us.

Since Kimberly and I are 1900's favorite Aunt/Uncle pair (not to mention, the only Aunt/Uncle pair), we had to get her the best gift. I think we did ok:

[Looking back on it, 1900 got a lot of clothes as gifts. It almost makes me wish we had gotten her a book or a stuffed animal or something else different and cool. Although, since all the other clothes she got were pink or white, I figure this nice brown onesie, which goes well with her red hair, will be a nice change for her.]

After the ceremony and some great dinner [please note: I love roast duck, even when it's made with chicken], we went back to 1900's place, where her favorite Aunt and Uncle got to hold and play with her. I was trying my hardest to wake her up, but S.I.L.K. was having none of it.

Me, looking terrible, with two much better looking ladies

The event was a success and a blast. The Botanical Gardens were gorgeous and served as a wonderful backdrop. And 1900 was a charming young lass. It almost makes you want to have one. Almost.

An Open Letter to the City of Phoenix

To the City of Phoenix and all Phoenicians:

Hi there, Phoenix. I have always heard the you are a wonderful, up and coming new American City. The weather is supposed to be great, especially in the winter (when the high only gets to the 80's). People are moving to you in droves, escaping the cold of the Midwest and rain of the northwest.

However, I have to point out a few things that make you really difficult to like.

First of all, your airport is terrible. Considering that you are a hub for Southwest Airlines, as well as a major tourist and snowbird destination, you would think you would have a nice, clean airport. While a new, modern airport would be nice, how about just fixing up your precious Sky Harbor? How about some windows in the terminals? How about some color on the walls, or public art work? And don't even get me started on the passenger pick-up/drop-off areas, where I watched as person after person came perilously close to getting side-swiped by passing motorists.

While many will argue that renovating an airport while it is still functioning is a pain in the a-- and causes many headaches, it is possible. Just do it one terminal at a time. I would think that Southwest alone would be clamoring for a nice airport, and maybe they are, but I have to say, Sky Harbor is a dump.

Now, about your drivers: if anyone ever tells me that drivers in Boston are the worst in the country, I will laugh very sarcastically in their face (like this: HA HA HA HA HA), then make them drive in Phoenix (or from Ames to Des Moines for that matter, but that's a whole different post). Here's a tip for all Phoenicians: it's very difficult, and probably dangerous, to text message on your phone, while driving with your knees and going very fast. I should interject here that the highways in Phoenix are of wonderful quality, newly paved and spacious. However, when you have a wall of people 4 across going 60 because they can't figure out what LQTM means, it doesn't matter how well kept the highways are.

Additionally, in order to have a functioning highway, you need to have some of the on-ramps open so that people can actually get on the highway and drive on it. At 430 in the morning, when you get off the highway to buy gas for your rental car so you don't get dragged over the coals by the rental company, you should be able to get back on the highway relatively soon. Like, maybe, at the exact same place you got off. Having to drive 10 miles on surface streets, following poorly placed detour signs, to get on the highway because all the on-ramps are closed, is unacceptable. If it had been a busy time of day, I have no doubt we would have missed our flight.

Finally, I need to comment on the abundance of strip malls and sprawl. I understand you have almost endless flat land down there. But let me clue you in on something: just because you can, doesn't mean you should keep pouring concrete over the desert and building another Target or Home Depot. I understand that the weather for most of the year makes it difficult, if not impossible, to walk anywhere. But how about not having everything be miles apart? How about trying to create some pedestrian friendly areas? Density can be a good thing, especially in a place that has no natural water source and has so much concrete that it is disturbing the surrounding weather patterns. Urban planning and zoning, while having many flaws, is probably a concept that you will want to further explore, and possibly even implement.

Having said all that, I would like to complement your City on its wonderful Desert Botanical Gardens. While we only spent a little time there, it is obvious you take great pride in this place. I can imagine few places that would be a better setting for a sunset.

Thanks for letting us visit, Phoenix. We may come back someday, but probably not to visit you. Maybe as a gateway to your surrounding desert. Or to visit friends and go to weddings. But we almost definitely will not be coming in the summer. 120 degrees is not really my cup of tea. Even if it is a dry heat.

XOXO
PEter