Which meant a trip to the airport, eeek! I've been in quite a few airports, but the traffic lanes at Skyharbor are beyond silly. And I always end up in trouble, in the wrong lane, missing the terminal completely, and having to leave the airport to circle around for a new try, sigh. However, this time was different! They have finished the light rail connection to the airport. Triple dog score! I drove to the free park and ride lot, left wee George and boarded the train for Skyharbor. Its totally amazing, after leaving the light rail, you ride up an escalator to a beautifully designed moving sidewalk hallway, then a light rail trip to the airport, and if need be a shuttle bus ride to the correct terminal.
details of the floor design
It was the best trip ever to pick up someone from the airport. I arrived in plenty of time, was cool, calm and relaxed. TH liked the trip on the light rail as well. Oh, and the price was right. $6.00 for the both of us!
We had some great talks about our future and how long he should work, it looks like June is the new retirement date. But that could change, and its ok if it does.
On Friday, we packed George up with suitcases and a cooler full of drinks and headed out to Tombstone and Bisbee, which we never managed to see, we fell in love with Tombstone. We decided to drive state roads as much as possible to really see more of small town Arizona. One thing we learned is just how much cotton is grown here! Its truly amazing to see cotton as far as the eye can see.
Early afternoon we pulled into the hotel, dropped off our bags and headed out to see Tombstone. The old main street is off limits to car traffic, something we both really enjoyed. Most of the "downtown" area is original to the 1880's era. While most of the bars and business buildings are all converted into gift shops the buildings themselves are mostly untouched. There are a few that have retained their unchanged identity. The Tombstone Epitaph Newspaper building and the Bird Cage Theater. The cool thing about the Bird Cage is that when the silver mines went bust, in 1889 the owners, just locked the doors and walked away! With thousands of dollars of mirrors, a grand piano and other furnishings. The building remained sealed until new owners bought it in 1934 and found it mostly untouched! I didnt take any pictures inside of this amazing building, because your gentle blogger followed the rules about no photography within the theater. However, not all is lost as there are others who aren't as rule following as I.
A long horn steer at Big Nose Kate's Saloon, where we had great burgers. They had a fun thing where you can don a duster, handkerchief and stetson and they toss a sign around your neck, along with a noose, to hang the "town drunk". And your loved ones can snap a photo. I wanted TH to be hanged, but he declined.
These are the lovely horses that pulled the stagecoach around the main part of town. The man on the seat is Tom and he narrated the history of Tombstone as we slowly rode for 15 minutes. The company is owned by a 4th generation native of the town, his family came into the area a few years before the town was established. Tom was a fountain of information, so much so that I wanted to ride again just to listen to it all again.
Complete with sniffing dogs and very serious looking boarder patrol men. I didnt know if they would allow me to snap a picture closer in, so I took one where they couldnt see me. I actually got yelled at entering Canada for attempting to snap a pic of the crossing where the guards could see me!
We slipped into Tucson in time for lunch, and yes we timed it so we would be full on hungry for our favorite restaurant in all of Arizona, The Tucson Tamale Company.
And then, it was time for TH to head home again.
