Sunday Wanderings

Well, I've been a hermit, an old stick-in-the-mud, for far too long.  Last weekend was really beautiful, so I decided to embark on a long-awaited Sunday drive.  I might as well take advantage while the weather is beautiful and I'm still living in the Old Pueblo....

I headed down Houghton Road to Sahuarita Road, west to Green Valley, then hit 19 towards Tubac.  I pulled off at the Amado cut-off, but deicided that I'd wait to drive the 40-or-so miles to Arivaca until a Saturday, when there's something to see (like the farmer's market) since you have to turn around and retrace the road back...it's the only way out of there.  So I got back onto 19 and headed to one of my favorite places in the world, Tubac, Arizona.

I wandered around the cemetery for the umpteenth time, sat on a bench, took some pictures.  Wandered around the shops, taking the time to go into Tumacookery and La Paloma.  Then I headed north, again, on 19, going through the Border Patrol stop just north of Tubac, and turned off into San Xavier, another favorite place.  I sat in a pew for awhile, taking it all in.  Of course it was a Sunday, shortly after a mass, so the place was packed.  Ah, well, not as bad as it was last March...

When I got back onto 19 I decided to continue west on 10 and turned off onto Congress in downtown Tucson.  I swung over to the Tucson Museum of Art.  They were setting up outside for an evening wedding.  What a cool venue!  I wandered around the gift shop, where Arizona craftspeople are fetured, and then had a good yack with the women tending to the entrance.  Wonderful lady let me in for free, since I am a teacher that loves her kids (that's what she said!) Made me feel like a million bucks.

The place wasn't crowded, but the main attraction, wildlife paintings by*** , although wonderful, didn't strike my fancy.  A very small exhibit entitled was quite cool *** as was another, slightly larger exhibit, that was all about hands.

Before I left I ventured up to the second floor to see the museum's own collection of Latin American artifacts.  This was particularly interesting to me because I'm in the middle of teaching about the history and background of Mexcio, primarily the Olmec and Maya so far.  And there were some great artifacts!  Imagine my delight when I discovered that some of the pieces in this exhibit are on loan to the museum by the grandparents of one of my students!

I ended my day by strolling around the Downtown Artisans galleries, which used to be wonderful but is almost gone and not very exciting.  The huge fake marigold encrusted Dia de los Muertos altar in one of the shops always interests me, though.

A nice day, and nice ride.  I hope to keep it up!