Our next stop was the University of Arizona campus in Tucson. I always enjoy checking out college campuses. School was not in session, but there were still others milling about like us.
We lucked out with a prime parking spot just outside the campus. The surrounding neighborhood had some trendy restaurants and shops and looked like a fun place to hang out.
Nice landscaping and buildings.
I liked how this sculpture has saguaros intermixed with scientists. I’m not sure what was so funny!
Wildcats!
Next we checked into Towneplace Suites courtesy of D’s Marriot points. The kids slept on the pull out sofa bed.
A kitchen is always nice to have. The first night we ate the free chicken breast sandwiches offered by the hotel.
I was excited to try the regional specialty: Sonoran Hot Dogs. The menu describes them as: “Bacon wrapped Frank, Beans, grilled onion, fresh onion, tomato, mayo, mustard, & jalapeño sauce”.
The condiment bar was quite diverse, with various peppers, onions and salsas.
The hot dog was all I hoped it would be. The pocket bun was nice and soft, but did its job in holding all of the ingredients. The beans were an interesting addition and the overall combination of flavors was quite delicious. I can see why this place is a local institution.
At the very end of last year, we took a quick trip to Arizona to visit Saguaro National Park (pronounced Sa-wahr-o). The drive took about seven hours, so it is just like our drives to Northern California. The park is divided into two parts, and Tuscson is in the middle. Our first stop was the west side, known as the Tucson Mountain District. Warning: there will be A LOT of pictures of cacti from this trip!
On the 10 freeway, we passed this notable exit:
The visitor center had nice southwest architecture that blended into the environment. We picked up our junior ranger booklets and did not have to pay the $10 parking fee since we had k’s 4th grade pass.
We watched the introductory movie. It had a great ending, but I will not ruin the surprise!
There is a loop for cars that is fairly rough and gravel-y. However, all of the hiking trails we took were fairly level and some were paved.
The weather was quite mild and pleasant. I would hate to be here in the summer!
Saguaros have so much personality. I can see why they are often depicted as people. It takes around fifty years for them to develop an arm!
The junior ranger packets were no joke. We had to finish them up that night at the hotel.
There was a little elevation gain on the Valley View Overlook trail.
Saguaros as far as the eye can see!
I’m not sure why n is making faces in so many of these pictures. He was not in a bad mood, but just not in the mood for pictures, I guess!
Don’t get too close, D!
Barrel Cactus
Teddy Bear Cholla
This trail was notable for the petroglyphs in the rocks.
A Palo Verde, the state tree.
I told n to pretend to look scared–ha!
This portion of the park took us about three hours to explore.
A couple days after Christmas we went to Victoria Beach in Laguna for a quick picnic. The tips on Yelp for finding this hidden spot were helpful. Park on the beach side of PCH for free! Do not even attempt to park in the residential neighborhood, or you are basically asking for a ticket.
Walk down Victoria Street…
and admire the multi-million dollar homes…
…until you dead end into Sunset.
There you will see a set of stairs which lead you to the beach.
Take the stairs down…
to Victoria Beach:
Climb over the rocks to the right and you will find a children’s pool…
Our Christmas break has sadly come to an end. I love the Christmas season because there is so much family time together. However, we inevitably end up driving each other crazy…and then it is a relief to get back to a routine and productivity.
Christmas Eve peppermint brownie sundaes.
Part of k’s expanding Hello Kitty ornament collection.
Exhibit A of “driving each other crazy”.
The kids set their alarm at 5 a.m. on Christmas morning unbeknownst to us. We put on the KTLA virtual fireplace. It was pretty entertaining watching the fire grow and being stoked.
I bought the kids matching PJs since there are probably not too many more years where they would comply.
No Christmas is complete without my mom’s Yule Log cake.
D grew up skiing with his family. It has been D’s dream to take the kids skiing since they could walk. Finally, last week, this dream became a reality. Before Christmas, we went on a day ski trip with a girl who is on k’s b-ball team and in her girl scout troop and her mom. We went in their car to Mountain High, which is conveniently located just off the highway. The snow was not that great but they were expecting a storm that night and flurries started just as we were leaving. The good part is that I think a lot of people were waiting for the snow and the mountain was not too crowded on the day we were there.
We were able to borrow all of our gear, but I did buy the kids base layers from Costco. Now that we know that the kids enjoy it, we may invest in some pieces.
The helmet rentals were $5 extra, but I would say they are a “must-have”, even on the bunny slopes.
Taking the magic carpet ride to the top of the bunny slope.
Both of the kids practiced on the bunny slope before their lessons. I could not believe how fast they picked it up! I have been skiing a few times and snowboarding once, and I think they are already better than me. Learning when you are young is definitely the way to go.
Don’t get me wrong, there were definitely some tumbles in the beginning. At one point, n fell and then D had to jump over him with his skis to avoid him (this was when I was grateful for the helmet!)
We explained how k had just turned ten a couple of days before, so we were able to but k and n in the same beginner’s class for 7-9 year olds. There were three 9 year olds, and n, but he was able to keep up. After the class, we ate lunch at lodge cafeteria (where I hung out most of the time).
Then everyone went on the green runs “Snowflake” and “Coyote”, and tackled the ski lifts. D reported that k and n never fell down. This is amazing to me, who has experienced many a fall on greens!
These were taken by my friend when they were on the bunny slopes before the lesson. I like the “GoPro” angle!
D learned to ski when he was ten years old, so he is glad that k was able to go this year. n has a head start, since he is younger, but he was still frustrated when k went on one extra run at the end that was a little harder with her friend and her mom. I guess I will never fully understand the youngest child mentality, but D can relate.
k will always be our best Christmas present, and we celebrated her tenth birthday a couple of weeks ago. She invited some friends to see the movie SING and then we ate lunch at Chick-Fil-A.
We hope everyone had a lovely Christmas yesterday. I am determined to catch up with posts by the end of the year. Earlier this month D and I had the opportunity to use VIP tickets to the equestrian show Odysseo that my dad had won through the OC Register. He and my mom even included free overnight babysitting for our kids on a weeknight!
Our VIP tickets included dinner and intermission dessert buffets, so you know D and I took full advantage of that!
The food was an interesting mix, with Mediterranean, Indian, and Italian flavors, along with beef and shrimp.
Unfortunately, but understandably, photography was not allowed during the show. However, the stunts done by both the riders/dancers and horses were truly spectacular. The set was amazing too. The guy behind us kept making comments such as “WHOA!”, “NO WAY!”, “WHAT THE?!”, which was pretty funny. All in all, it was a unique, memorable experience!
Last month n’s cub scout den went on a behind-the-scenes tour of our local In-N-Out. k had missed this tour when her Girl Scout troop went, so it was nice that she was able to go too. I was also fortunate to be one of the chaperones this time, so I was able to take pictures, learn about the company, and eat!
We met before the restaurant opened, so we had the place to ourselves.
The Fry-O-Lator!
Each kid had a turn at the potato-cutting machine.
It was hard work!
Working the potato peeling machine.
I felt like they should provide some goggles, or something, to the woman who was hand-slicing the onions. She was really tearing up!
We learned some fun factoids. One was that many In-N-Outs have two crossed palm trees outside to symbolize the cross. I know we always look for the hidden Bible verse printed under the cups and fries.
Standing in line to order. Each person could order a hamburger or cheeseburger, fries and a drink!
