TravelBlog: 2021

Not my photo

My photo 💓

This weekend getaway will be a little different for us. We're taking a road trip to Tubac, Arizona which is south of Tucson. Approximately 3 hours south of Phoenix.

Tubac is a village in Santa Cruz County, 45 miles south of Tucson. Mr. Google says:
“Known as a center of art and history, Tubac, Arizona is a unique village that brings together local and national artists. With tours, art galleries, wine tasting rooms, and one of the largest organic communities in the world, Tubac is truly a special location worth the visit.”

We are taking Romeo with us. He's been having some medical issues and he's a little high maintenance to care for in his senior years. This will be Romeo's first weekend getaway since the road trip home after adopting him in California when he was 14 months old. He's now 14 1/2 years old. It's our first experience searching out dog-friendly everything. Paul found a place to stay that looks nice. We've been researching restaurants with dog-friendly patios. Romeo has never gone out to eat with us so that will be a whole new experience too. Fingers and paws crossed he does okay. I have a dog carrier that is like a front backpack. I plan on using that when we are out-and-about shopping and exploring the area. He's never used that either! I used to use it for his sister when she was younger. She liked it because she was up higher and people would stop to pet her and tell her she was pretty.👸💗 I miss my little social butterfly. He's more skeptical of strangers. It will be interesting.

Another interesting tidbit, we've lived in Arizona for over 25 years and we've never really explored much of the state on weekend getaways. Maybe it's time for us to start exploring our state!

Friday, October 29, 2021

Road trip! The necessary evil. I'm not much of a fan of traveling to and from destinations, but since I can't just snap my fingers, or wiggle my nose, or click my heels to be there, you gotta do what you gotta do. The nice part is we don't have to be on a schedule to start our day.
I probably won't update today's adventures until tonight or tomorrow morning.

Saturday, October 30, 2021

Typically when we go away my morning ritual is to get my coffee and sit on our patio or balcony to update my blog. Here I have several choices. We have a balcony upstairs, a patio downstairs, and a sunroom. Outside there is a shared backyard and a gazebo across the front grounds. I’m currently in the sunroom however when it gets light out I’ll probably walk across to the gazebo across the way to finish up.

Romeo did okay on the drive down, we stopped for a potty break but he wasn’t interested. When we arrived at the resort (our unit is called an apartment) the lady I’ve been communicating with had just pulled in. She welcomed us and asked if we needed help bringing our things in. The apartment and the property are beautiful. Paul did a great job scoping out the destination.

After we got settled in we drove down the street and around the corner into the town. We wondered in and out of the stores for a little while.

I had Romeo in my little backpack for a little while but it’s very hot here (95) so I ended up taking him out of it so I could take it off and then we walked around a while. I brought water for him but he wouldn’t drink. I think it was a little too much for him because he seemed a little exhausted and stressed. We drove around a little bit checking out the town and stopped at the cemetery. Paul stayed in the car with Romeo while I walked around.

Tubac Cemetery

Highly decorated gravesites

Stickers-Stickers everywhere!

Good thing they waited in the car because look at all those crazy stickers stuck in my shoes! If you zoom in you can see how bad they are. The debris on the paper towel is from the other shoe. One down/one to go. Can't imagine if Romeo would have gotten any stuck in his paws.

Anyhow, we headed back to the apartment. We walked around the beautiful property. There’s a gazebo directly across from our apartment, a nice walking path to a Koi pond where they have lights strung for the evening and a fire pit.

Tons of butterflies

I made dinner reservations at Elvira’s for two and a dog. When we arrived the patio is full so she asked us to wait in the Wine Lounge until she set up another table. We waited a few minutes and then she came in and asked if we just wanted to sit in there. There was nobody in there so it was nice and quiet, however out-of-sight out -of-mind, the service was okay but not great. The food was very good. We had an appetizer of Mushrooms Ajillo, which was mushrooms with olive oil, Chile de arbor, butter, garlic and guajillo Chile. They were delicious. Paul ordered a filet Soto Style. They don’t have it on the online menu so I can’t give you a great description like I did on the mushrooms however it was topped with some cheeses and greens and something spicy served with rice and beans. I ordered one of the specials of the day which was grilled salmon with sesame crust and a Chinese spicy glaze. It was fantastic. I’d rate it right up there with one of the best salmon fillets I’ve ever had.

Ceiling in the Wine Lounge

Ceiling in the restaurant

They have the ceiling light game down.

Back to the apartment. Romeo was exhausted but had a hard time settling down being in a strange place. We blocked the stairwell upstairs with our luggage because I was afraid if he was wondering in the night he might fall/trip down the stairs. I think his senior years were not the best time to start travel adventures.

I’m having a little issue with my new iPad getting my pictures to pull in. They downloaded from my camera to the iPad perfectly with the little adapter gizmo that I bought. But when I go to select the photo it pulls up the photo but won’t let me actually “select”. Therefore I’m going to fire up my old mini laptop that I brought just in case. Then I’ll be able to come back and add photos. Hopefully. In the meantime I’ll post some on FB.

As you can tell, I uploaded the pics from my mini.

Stay tuned for today’s adventures. I’ll update in the morning which will include our failed attempt for breakfast, The Presidio Museum, lunch, the failed attempt to tour the Mission, the spice store, a little shopping, some R&R, more shopping, dinner.

October 31, 2021 Happy Halloween! 🎃 👻

Yesterday morning we headed out for breakfast at 9. Nothing opens until 11. We decided to go to The Presidio Museum and eat afterwards. The Presidio was great. Very nice lady greeted us as we entered into the gift shop. It is dog friendly and she even offered Romeo a treat. We watched a short video on the history before the self guided tour of the grounds. This Presidio was the first European settlement in Arizona. Housed the first printing press in Arizona. They were also the first to set a cross land to the Pacific ocean and founded San Francisco. There is a building with artifacts, underground excavation exhibit, old school house, a building with the printing press, ambulance wagon, and the Rojas residence. That’s your history lesson do the day! ETA - more history about the feathered hat, to conclude your history lesson!

The large rocks are marking the footprint of the original fort

The Schoolhouse

Excavation treasures in underground exhibit

Romeo enjoying the dog friendly grounds at the museum

Ladies Feather Hat

In the late 19th Century hat feathers became a fad. The fashion trend started one of the first environmental movements. More than five million birds were massacred to satisfy the desire for fashion. The Santa Cruz River Valley benefited from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which made it "unlawful to pursue, hunt, take, capture, kill, possess, purchase, barter, import, export, or transport any migratory bird" and effectively put an end to the omnipresent bird and feathered hats. ~Source: plaque at display in museum.

Stole ~ Embroidered silk applique with gold and silver.
Only deacons, priests, and bishops wore the stole.

The ambulance wagon

Rojas Family Kitchen ~ VintageGeek

Rojas Family Kitchen

We left there and went to Shelby’s Bistro. We sat on the dog friendly patio which is also fly friendly. Annoyingly fly friendly. We had burgers which were really good.

Paul got a beer and a fly almost immediately dove in.

Romeo is * O U T *

We went to the Mercado and Paul stayed in the car with Romeo who was asleep from walking the Presidio, while I went into the Crows Nest and supported the local economy. We drove down to some other shops where I went in and Romeo stayed with his dad.

Then we got to the Mission in Tumacacori. There was a big sign on the entrance door that said masks required. Paul went back to the car to get a mask. We went inside where the Ranger was talking to another couple. When he was finished with them he told us that dogs are not allowed. Boo. The Mission must be Federally funded and Federal guidelines overrule State guidelines.

This is the view from across the street.
Not very impressive from afar

We drove down the frontage road a couple of miles to Santa Cruz Chili in Tumacacori. It’s a local spice store where Paul’s former boss Mary told him they always stop at when in Southern Arizona. It's been there for like 75 years. It smelled amazing. The lady had no issues with me holding Romeo while in the store. I’m pretty well set with spices but I did buy some of their local made Chili Barbecue Sauce and a jar of Christmas Red and Green Chili Jelly.

Back to town and a couple of quick stops in a few stores before heading back to the apartment for some R&R. Romeo was happy about that!

We headed out about 4:30 with the intention of checking out more of the town however everything closes by 5 PM. We walked around for a while and I picked out some metal yard art that we will go back to get before we head home. We went to Soto’s Outpost Mexican Restaurant for a Margarita and dinner on the dog friendly patio.

They had mariachis who came by the table and told stories and sang. Romeo was so impressed he threw up his dinner! How embarrassing. I had a shrimp and cod combo and Paul had a chimichanga. Food and service were good. I asked the server if there was anyplace open for breakfast. She said there is a restaurant at the golf course, The Stables, that has breakfast but she didn’t know if they have a dog friendly patio. We had parked on the ”other street” when we first arrived. Probably should have moved the car because it was very dark walking back. When the town closes, it really closes.

Today we head home. I’ll research the restaurant at the golf course to see if Romeo can go and if not we’ll probably just get something on the way home. I’ll come back later and add photos. My mini is charging and it’s the only device I’ve ever had that you cannot use while it’s charging. Real world problems.

****later***

We had breakfast at The Stables (at the Golf Course) on their dog friendly patio. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect.

I had French Toast with Bananas and Pecans, Paul had an omelet.

After breakfast we went back into town and I bought my yard art (colorful metal plant). Then we headed home. It was smooth sailing most of the way until we got closer to home and the freeway was closed so we had an out-of-the-way detour but still made pretty good time.

~~I still need to download my photos and come back with a recap. Hopefully soon!~~ ETA done!

RECAP

THE ACCOMODATIONS: We stayed at the Secret Garden Tubac. Our unit was the Desert Willow Casa which is referred to as an apartment. It's two stories. Entry, sunroom, living room, kitchen, bathroom downstairs with a front patio and a shared backyard. The bedroom was upstairs with a balcony.

There are not my photos, they are from their website because I didn't have the proper angles to get such great pictures.

Two story apartment, two smaller units attached,
one larger unit next door

Entry towards the stairwell

Entry towards the sunroom and living room

Sunroom

Living Room with Fireplace

Dining Room / Kitchen looking towards the back

Dining Room / Kitchen looking towards the front

Bedroom and Balcony

Hammock and Gazebo

Koi Pond and Waterfall in the Secret Garden

I just realized I didn't get any pictures of the backyard. It was big and grassy, with a wrought iron table and chairs. It also had a covered area with a nice built in BBQ. The apartment was every bit as fabulous as it looks in their photos. It is very clean also well stocked with supplies. The grounds were very nice and well kept. It was nice and quiet even though all units were occupied. We would stay at the Secret Garden again, but not in the apartment because... we're old! The bedroom is upstairs and the only bathroom is downstairs. That means going down the spiral staircase in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, not such a great idea. We left a light on downstairs so it wasn't a problem, just not something we'd want to do again. Next time we'd stay in the big house next door. The two units attached to the apartment are small-ish. Their front patios are shared but they have also have a side patio and of course, the large shared backyard.

BEST FOOD - Elvira's. My salmon was fantastic.

BEST SITE SEEING - The Presidio Museum.

BAH HUMBUG - The Mission in Tumacacori.

VIBE - People said Tubac has a Santa Fe / Sedona vibe. I don't agree. It was more like a mini Town of Cave Creek vibe. The Downtown area is two blocks with a street that T's off before the frontage road. I enjoyed it, just sayin' it's no Santa Fe / Sedona. Yes, I would go back.

DOG FRIENDLY - Everyplace we went was dog friendly except the Mission. That being said we wouldn't take Romeo again. It was too hard on him. He'll live out his golden years at home. Next time with a dog sitter.

HOME - A big thank you to Diane and Jay for taking care of Angel while we were gone. She really missed her Dad! *meow* 🐱

NEXT STOP - TBD. We're thinking about taking Viking's Mississippi River Boat Cruise, however they already are booked for 2022. We're considering 2023.

Here are some other random photos: