Hello everyone!
Yesterday, we made a special trip out of town. Our dear family friend is getting married, and he needed our help getting his home ready for his fiancee to move in! She can't move in right away because her lease is not up and she would incur a stiff charge if she were to break it now, but he wanted to set up a room for her so she would have a place to stay when she came over.
Our friend lives in Green Valley, which is a suburb of Tucson, AZ. I'd seen the town on maps many times, but I'd never been there. I never had much of a reason to go because the town is largely a retiree community. When our friend called us to ask for help, I immediately said yes. I wasn't sure how much I'd be able to help since I'd have the baby in tow, but I went along for the ride as much as anything. Also, since his fiancee would be there, I knew she'd be happy to see the baby and play with her for a bit.
The trip there was relatively uneventful. I never knew exactly what lay south of the Desert Diamond Casino on the Nogales Highway prior to yesterday, but there we were, cruising south past the casino and the local missile plant Raytheon. There was also a Thai Buddhist temple perched on a hill among a smattering of trailer parks, mom-n-pop businesses and semi-rural scrubland. From there, the scene morphed into pecan orchards as far as the eye could see. I knew that southern Arizona had quite a few pecan orchards as there was one I used to pass between Marana and Eloy when traveling up to Phoenix with my brother during our college days. As we wound our way through the orchards and into suburban consumerama, I marveled at how large they were, but also how much water these trees required. I thought Arizona was too dry to sustain large-scale agriculture like this. Guess not.
We would have arrived at our friend's home sooner, were it not for a poorly labeled sign for the frontage road pointing to the highway entrance instead of the actual road. Naturally, we followed it only to realize we were going south on the highway. After cursing a blue streak, my husband and I got off at the next exit and pulled into a nearby Safeway. My husband needed to use their WiFi, and cool his temper for a bit. After a few minutes in there with his computer, we had a better map and could actually navigate our way back to our friend's home. Since suburbs are never aligned on the grid pattern the way cities are, we had to go back on the highway and get off at the previous exit. We finally made it to our friend's home just before noon.
While my husband helped our friend move some furniture around the house, the baby and I kept his fiancee entertained. She was delighted to play and sing French nursery rhymes to the baby, but I didn't enjoy her company as much as usual. I unfortunately caught the baby's cold so not only did my sinuses feel like they were full of concrete, but I dealt with waves of nausea and being lightheaded on and off all afternoon. We had pizza for lunch, but later on after I got home, the nausea finally won. I suspect the slightly-undercooked pizza had something to do with it, but my husband ate it and he was fine! As usual, a good night's sleep did wonders for me and I felt much better today.
Despite my poor health that day, I did manage to enjoy the trip. I got to see our friend's home for the first time and expand my local geography a bit. I expect this won't be the last time we visit them. Our friend's fiancee was planning a birthday get-together for us because our friend and my hubby both share June birthdays (on different days, though). She hasn't set a date yet, but she'd call and let us know when she did. I'm eagerly anticipating this get together.
Thank you for reading this post and please don't forget to share, comment, and subscribe!
Yesterday, we made a special trip out of town. Our dear family friend is getting married, and he needed our help getting his home ready for his fiancee to move in! She can't move in right away because her lease is not up and she would incur a stiff charge if she were to break it now, but he wanted to set up a room for her so she would have a place to stay when she came over.
Our friend lives in Green Valley, which is a suburb of Tucson, AZ. I'd seen the town on maps many times, but I'd never been there. I never had much of a reason to go because the town is largely a retiree community. When our friend called us to ask for help, I immediately said yes. I wasn't sure how much I'd be able to help since I'd have the baby in tow, but I went along for the ride as much as anything. Also, since his fiancee would be there, I knew she'd be happy to see the baby and play with her for a bit.
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| Green Valley pecan orchard |
The trip there was relatively uneventful. I never knew exactly what lay south of the Desert Diamond Casino on the Nogales Highway prior to yesterday, but there we were, cruising south past the casino and the local missile plant Raytheon. There was also a Thai Buddhist temple perched on a hill among a smattering of trailer parks, mom-n-pop businesses and semi-rural scrubland. From there, the scene morphed into pecan orchards as far as the eye could see. I knew that southern Arizona had quite a few pecan orchards as there was one I used to pass between Marana and Eloy when traveling up to Phoenix with my brother during our college days. As we wound our way through the orchards and into suburban consumerama, I marveled at how large they were, but also how much water these trees required. I thought Arizona was too dry to sustain large-scale agriculture like this. Guess not.
 |
| Once a major thoroughfare, Nogales Highway has seen better days |
We would have arrived at our friend's home sooner, were it not for a poorly labeled sign for the frontage road pointing to the highway entrance instead of the actual road. Naturally, we followed it only to realize we were going south on the highway. After cursing a blue streak, my husband and I got off at the next exit and pulled into a nearby Safeway. My husband needed to use their WiFi, and cool his temper for a bit. After a few minutes in there with his computer, we had a better map and could actually navigate our way back to our friend's home. Since suburbs are never aligned on the grid pattern the way cities are, we had to go back on the highway and get off at the previous exit. We finally made it to our friend's home just before noon.
 |
| Playing with a drink coaster, just like mommy did at that age too |
While my husband helped our friend move some furniture around the house, the baby and I kept his fiancee entertained. She was delighted to play and sing French nursery rhymes to the baby, but I didn't enjoy her company as much as usual. I unfortunately caught the baby's cold so not only did my sinuses feel like they were full of concrete, but I dealt with waves of nausea and being lightheaded on and off all afternoon. We had pizza for lunch, but later on after I got home, the nausea finally won. I suspect the slightly-undercooked pizza had something to do with it, but my husband ate it and he was fine! As usual, a good night's sleep did wonders for me and I felt much better today.
Despite my poor health that day, I did manage to enjoy the trip. I got to see our friend's home for the first time and expand my local geography a bit. I expect this won't be the last time we visit them. Our friend's fiancee was planning a birthday get-together for us because our friend and my hubby both share June birthdays (on different days, though). She hasn't set a date yet, but she'd call and let us know when she did. I'm eagerly anticipating this get together.
Thank you for reading this post and please don't forget to share, comment, and subscribe!
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