The Great Road Trip of 2010 - Part 3 - Golfing

During our stay in Scottsdale, we mostly just enjoyed each other's company. We also went swimming, to the movies (Toy Story 3 in 3-D!) and I took the kids to visit a good friend from college days, Jennifer, and she brought her 2 kids! We had a nice time visiting and catching up while the kids played at in indoor adventure place. :D
I did not take my camera along for any of those activities, however.

I did bring it along when we went golfing, though!! :)

Yes, it was insanely hot (113º), but it was surprisingly bearable, as long as we found frequent shade and stayed well-hydrated.

We had the course to ourselves!



Don, Carol, Todd, and Luken golfed, while I took photos and Keeley enjoyed the rides on the golf cart! :)





There were many bunnies!








A view from the golf cart I drove.




More bunnies!
























Cuties!!






Whoops!! ;)




It was simply sooooooo gorgeous out there!! The moon popped up, and the muted colors in the sky were just beautiful!!






Desert foliage.






The Fabulous Foursome!






I was trying to experiment with sun flare, but little kids don't stay still long enough... This was the best I got.




Seriously, couldn't you look at this forever....?






















It was a really lovely afternoon. Everybody had a great time - nobody whined or complained! I didn't want to leave, but the sun was disappearing, and everyone was hungry.


The next morning, we packed up and started on the long drive home. We spent the night in Albuquerque - we were beat and just had a snacky dinner in the room from a quick jaunt over to Trader Joe's, and then it was back in the car on Saturday morning for the home stretch!

Our trip was wonderful - the kids were amazing in the car for all those hours, and we really enjoyed our time in the desert. But we were SO happy to be home!

The Great Road Trip of 2010 - Part 2 - Tucson, AZ

Phew! I'm having trouble getting to the blog this summer!

Anyway, after we left my sister's place in Pecos, we drove another 9 hours to Scottsdale, AZ. The kids were great in the car - they just watched many movies, and it was even pretty quiet in the car most of the time!

We arrived in Scottsdale around 8pm, and Don and Carol greeted us in the vacation unit, which was like a little 3-bedroom apartment, and a great set-up for us all.

We mostly relaxed and swam on Monday, and on Tuesday, we all packed up into our van and drove down to Tucson for the day!

We arrived at lunchtime, and went to my FAVORITE sandwich place for lunch, Baggin's sandwiches! Yum, yum! I ordered my all-time favorite - the Sundown Baggin's, with a Cinnamon-Orange Spiced Iced Tea. Heaven!
Here's a silly picture I snapped when we drove back by on our way out of town later! :D


Here was my lunch!! (Photo from my phone, heehee!)


After lunch we headed to the University of Arizona campus to show the kids where we went to school, and see what's new!
A lot has changed - there are a few funky new buildings (that don't meet the 80% red brick requirement - what gives?), but it is still a stunningly beautiful campus, and it was really neat to be back. Todd and I hadn't been there in about 5 years, and we had never taken the kids there.

It was, of course, ridiculously hot, but we sought shade as we made our way around.

Our first stop was McKale stadium, as Don and Carol have their names in a cement brick out front, and they wanted photos of us all together there. :)




(Yes, I edited out the last name, for privacy.)








We peeked inside the stadium, also, and watched a basketball camp for kids for a bit. Then we went into the Hall of Champions, which was really neat - a sort of museum for Arizona Athletics, with old uniforms on display, as well as lists of different athletes of accomplishment, like Olympians, professional athletes, etc.

Then we moseyed about campus a bit - Keeley caught a ride on Daddy's back!


From the center of the mall, looking West:


Then East:


Bear Down!


Old Main.


Next, we all got cold treats inside the student union, and then headed to the bookstore for some shopping!!

Our other important stop was to show the kids where Todd and I met!! We were both working for a company that sold geographic data back in 1996, and it was 14 years, almost to the day, when we took these photos!

Of course, that company has long since been sold (it was not called Pomegranate - that's the name of the most recent occupant), and they no longer occupy the building, but we showed the kids, and snapped a few photos for posterity!! <3






It was just inside these doors, and a few feet to the right, where we first laid eyes upon each other! :D


After that, it was time to head back up to Scottsdale.

We did not stay in Tucson long enough to experience a beautiful sunset there, but I had to grab a pic of the magnificent mountains through the windshield, nonetheless.


I miss those mountains!!

See ya later, Tucson!