Christmas Vacation – Arizona

Greg and I did something out of the ordinary this year for Christmas…something we had never done before. We went away for Christmas and took Charlie with us. We traded our timeshare at the beach for one in the desert….Tucson, Arizona to be specific. We left on Friday, December 21st and were gone a week. Greg and Charlie played golf and I did a lot of reading, some writing and a ton of relaxing. It was DEEEEE–VINE!! With that said, I really missed being at home with extended family for Christmas. Greg and I had always wanted to go away for the Christmas holiday, but have decided we much prefer to stay home.

Today I’d like to share a few pictures and memories with you from our week. Clicking on any of the following pictures should allow you to view them in a larger format.

 

I love the stark beauty of the desert. It is so different from our lush greenness in Georgia. I’m always awed by how creative God is and the vast difference in the landscape is a wonderful example.

Day 1 was all about getting settled in our condo, finding food and a grocery. Greg, Charlie and I ate at a Mexican restaurant on the way to the grocery. Perhaps we are too accustomed to southern/Georgia Mexican food, but we were bitterly disappointed (well, maybe that is stretching it a bit) that this restaurant did not offer warm flour tortillas and cheese dip. NO CHEESE DIP? Really?

The next morning we went to a wonderful restaurant called the Blue Willow for breakfast….a recommendation from the condo staff. The omelets at this restaurant were huge and crazy good. I could only eat half of my spinach, mushroom and jack omelet. Yummy!!

Thanks to my wonderful inlaws, Greg and I share timeshares with Greg’s sister and her family. The condo we stayed in is part of a Marriott property called the Starr Pass resort.

One of the goals of this trip was for Greg and Charlie to have lots of father-son golf time. Here they are headed off for their first golf game on our second day in Arizona. Charlie told me secretly that he is pretty sure he beat his dad!!! Charlie got new golf clubs for Christmas from his mom and her family so he was very eager to try them out.

We had been duly warned about the wildlife in Arizona, but be sure I was stunned when THIS trotted by our patio door. I might have said outloud to myself, “What in the sam hill was that?”  It looked like a small cousin to the Russian boar that hangs on our downstairs wall. There were three of them and a baby. I opened the sliding glass door and eeekkkk it walked right up to the door. Mercy, did it stink!!!  I’m sure it would have come right in and made itself at home had I not slammed the door in its face. It was not at all frightened of me. Greg called it a javelina. I just called it ugly and stinky!! Next time I’ll bring my deer rifle with me!!

Greg and Charlie saw this roadrunner on the golf course. Yep, Arizona is replete with wildlife.

I spent much of the week right here in this cozy living room with my NOOKcolor in hand reading several wonderful books. Two Francine Rivers novels and one Tozer book were on the agenda. I did not finish all three, but did finish two of the three. The Tozer book is one that needs to be relished and pondered and so it will take me a while to finish it.

The landscaping at this condo complex is beautiful. I took several walks around the property, delighting at the uniqueness of the desert plant life.

 

Time spent in the desert requires a cactus picture and here are a couple of ours. Greg and Charlie were intrigued by the thorns on this big boy.

Christmas Day found us relaxing at the condo. I cooked lunch ( which turned out to be huge FAIL because of not having quite the correct pans and dishes ) and then we went to the movies. I had been eagerly anticipating the release of Les Miserables. I have long loved Les Miz’s music, having seen it on Broadway twice. I have to say I was a tad disappointed in the movie, but overall going to the movie was a good Christmas Day activity to pass the time.

I had wanted to be sure we got at least one picture on Christmas Day of the three of us, so Greg set up my camera and the above is the result. At one point, he must have set the camera, by accident, to take about 5 pictures in a row. We did not realize it so after the first one was taken we were starting to move so we could get the camera and look at the pic, suddenly the light began to flash for a 2nd and a 3rd and a 4th… Here is what was captured. I just love Charlie’s face on this one.

 

On the day after Christmas, I was needing a change of scenery. I had spent five days with my men and loved every minute of it. After breakfast, I dropped them at the golf course and I headed to one of the Tucson malls. Just needed a little bit of girl/retail time. A few weeks ago when the latest Chico’s catalog showed up in my mailbox, I had coveted thought a cute denim jacket. The day the catalog came, I got online and tried to order it, but no luck. It was already sold out. So, while I was at the mall, I wandered into Chico’s and lo and behold, what do you think they had? Yessiree….ONE jacket left and it was my size. I took that as a sign from the Lord that He had ordained that jacket just for me!!!!! I snatched it up, laid my $25 dollar off coupon on the counter and asked the sales lady to wrap it up. I told her I had traveled all the way from Georgia for this little jewel. My souvenir from Arizona! Can’t wait to wear it! A denim jacket is truly a wardrobe staple as far as I am concerned.

On Thursday, we did a bit of sight-seeing. We began the morning at the San Xavier Mission. It is a beautiful, very old building…from the 1700s.It is currently an active Catholic church. We toured the mission and learned some fascinating things about it.

 

We left the Mission and went to visit the Tucson Desert Museum. I had to have my picture made with this sign. We saw several coyotes around the area…just running around on the highways. They did not seem to be frightened of the cars. There was little chance I would try to feed one. About the time I saw my first one, I wash wishing for my rifle.

This beautiful owl was being shown outside the museum. It was so neat to see it. It weighs just under two pounds and has a 3 foot wingspan. It has an acutely sensitive sense of hearing. We learned a lot from the lady holding it.

The highlight of my trip to the Museum was going into the Hummingbird Aviary. We saw three different types of hummers: an Anna’s Hummer, a Black throated Hummer, and a Costa’s Hummer. Unfortunately, I did not have a camera with me appropriate for taking up-close pics, but here are a few of the decent ones I got.

 

 

 

 

 

Greg, Charlie and I had a great vacation. We made some great memories that will last a lifetime. We are blessed and so grateful the Lord allowed us the opportunity to get away and relax together.