Tupac, AZ Weekend Getaway

ROAD TRIP

Friday, March 31, 2023

We decided on a do over of Tubac since last year we had Romeo with us and a few places were not exactly dog friendly. Like the Mission.  All the restaurants with outdoor patios allows dogs though. Tubac is a little artsy historical touristy town in Southern Arizona, 24 miles from the Mexico border.  The word is derived from the O’odham name Cuwak meaning “place of dark water”.  I haven’t seen any dark water yet, but I will be on the lookout.

First stop was the little local grocery store so Paul could get beer and I was going to get some muffins for the morning since there are no breakfast places open nearby (as we discovered last year), however they were seriously hard as a rock. Pass.  We were able to have early access to our unit.  We dropped off our stuff and headed into town for some shopping. There is a little coffee house on the main street that has some bakery items. We stopped in there, but being later in the afternoon there was not much of a selection. They open at 6:30 so I will zip there in the morning to grab something to have with our morning coffee. 

We wandered in and out of artsy-craftsy stores, boutiques, and tchotchke shops.  Tubac is full of heavy metal!!  

Paul bought me a pair of super cute funky pants at a very eclectic boutique.  We wandered around for a little while before heading back to our home away from home for the weekend for a little R&R before our dinner reservations at Elvira‘s.

Ready for date night

We had dinner at Elvira‘s last year and decided to go back because it was so good. It did not disappoint. We started off with the mushroom appetizer, which we also had last time. They are delicious. They are sautéed in garlic guajillo chile butter. We also got an order of chicharron, and those were not very good, although they were still crackling when they got to the table! Paul got the Filet Sosa again. It’s topped with two different cheeses and salsa verde. I got Tamarindo Shrimp. It has a tamarind-morita sauce on grilled pineapple. There was a warning *tamarindo sauce has seeds. Let me tell you they were not just whistling Dixie. If you have never experienced that sauce, I highly recommend it but do so with extreme caution. The seeds are about the size of a black bean, and they are hard as rocks. They are a dental emergency, waiting to happen! Luckily, we had no casualties. It was completely delicious. The sauce is tangy and a little spicy, just a little challenging to eat. We shared Caribbean Treat for dessert. It was flamed banana with rum, brown sugar, and cinnamon, with vanilla bean ice cream topped with peanuts. Pretty darn good.

They still have the best ceiling game around

It’s so pretty in there. Food and ambiance were great. Service was mediocre.

Saturday, April 1, 2023

This morning after I SFP (showered fluffed and puffed) I drove over to the bakery as planned. It’s technically not a bakery, it’s called Tubac Deli, and Coffee Co. But look at this bakery case.

I got a sugar-free cranberry- pecan muffin for me and a cinnamon blossom for Paul. And then they brought out the blueberry muffins, so I added one of those cause that’s what he really wanted. All three were still warm. Of course it only been open for five minutes so fresh out of the oven. I had half of my muffin and a little piece of the cinnamon blossom. Very good and now I don’t have to go back tomorrow.

Today, we plan on going to the Mission and having lunch at a Mexican restaurant near there. We might go into the spice shop again just because it’s smells delicious, not because I really need any spices at the moment. Then a little more shopping on the agenda. It’s supposed to be 80° today.

We got ready to go and had some time before the Mission opened so we took a walk around the property. 

We wondered through the mission and museum for about two hours. There was a couple selling handmade jewelry. He makes silver items and she makes beaded jewelry so I supported the locals!  

My good friend Mr. Google says it's technically called the Tumacacori National Historical Park. 

Tumacácori sits at a cultural crossroads in the Santa Cruz River valley. Here O’odham, Yaqui, and Apache people met and mingled with European Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries, settlers, and soldiers, sometimes in conflict and sometimes in cooperation. Follow the timeworn paths and discover stories that connect us to enduring relationships, vibrant cultures, and traditions of long ago.

After the Priests left, treasure hunters vandalized the graves.
The last burial in this cemetery was 1916, infant Juanita Alegria.
That is the one raised up with the flowers 

This was the Pima Rebellion in 1751
Four men with guns shooting at their enemies out the window,
trying to protect their people and their property.
And yet, the man in the middle of the photo, killed by an arrow.
They reason for the rebellion still remains a mystery.  

From there we went to the spice shop which is practically across the street.  She had gualillo chile powder so I’ll be trying to make those delicious mushrooms. 

Then we had lunch at Wisdom's which was great. We ate on the patio. I had Baja Fish Tacos. Paul had the Mary Hixson Plate which looks like a salad in the picture but it was meat stuffed tortilla with enchilada sauce, topped with lettuce and cheese. Both were very good. 

And this guy!

Back to our HAFH for about an hour before going back into town to buy a piece of metal art for the yard (similar to the large flower I bought last year) and then mowsie around. 

Cool light fixture at a local restaurant 

I can never resist a photo with the locals 

Then we drove down to Apple Valley to the historical Canoa Ranch. It's no longer  working ranch.  With no heirs to the estate it was purchased with the plan to build a housing development, however it bought by Pima County for historical preservation.  

We wandered around there for awhile before heading back to relax before dinner. 

Photo op of funky pants from the upstairs patio for Connie. You need to zoom in to see the pattern. They look like a skirt when I stand with my feet together. And they have POCKETS!!  I will wear them with a different kind of top.  Limited options with me.

Dinner at Melio’s Italian Restaurant. 

Date Night Part 2

Little story about the dress. Clothing Hack as the influencers would say on IG. It had a weird necklace that feeds through the fabric that was kind of a gold plate with a chain across the back. A - it was silver in the picture on the website where I ordered it from and B - it was very difficult to clip because when it was clipped it was too tight to go over my head and because it threads through the fabric it was really hard to get it clipped without dropping it and having to re-feed it through the casing again. So, I found this pearl necklace in the jewelry archives of “I haven’t seen this in years” and I think it worked perfectly. I also think it goes better than the cheesy gold plate looking thing since there is no gold in the fabric. It’s also just the right size to fit over my head without having to clip when it’s on. Hack achieved!!

Back to dinner chat. 

I **LOVE** this pic that was hanging on the wall

Paul started with minestrone soup. I had shrimp again, this time with fettuccine in a light cream sauce. He had veal with a lemon sauce. Like veal piccata but they called lemone’ to be fancy. They were good but not the best Italian food I’ve ever had. We split a tiramisu for dessert. Or as Jennie called when we were in Italy, wet boozy cake. It was wet but not very boozy and a little bland. Next time, if there is a next time, I’d try something different. Service was good, but our server was very difficult to understand. She had a very thick accent, and even when I asked her to repeat things I still couldn’t understand what she was saying. We probably missed out on some good specials due to the language barrier. I’m not even sure what her language was. Not your typical Spanish accent.  Maybe Guatemalan. The place was packed so they are doing something right.

Sunday, April 2, 2023

This morning we are going to check out early-ish and go home the back way through Southern Arizona Wine country. He wants to leave around 8 AM. It’s almost 6 and sleeping beauty is still snoozing.

We actually were out shortly after 8.  We head to Patagonia.  We stopped at the Jim Ward Ranch along the way to look at the memorial.  

Patagonia is a VERY small town and nothing was open except the breakfast place and two coffee houses.  

That said, Paul can always find a historical marker!

We drove to Sonita which is a few miles up the road.  Nothing was open there either.  There isn't even a breakfast place so we went back to Patagonia and had breakfast at the Gathering Grounds.  He got a omelet and I got a bagel and two sausage links.  It took an extraordinary long time to get our food. I'm still silently judging their entire staff's lack of putting any thought into getting ready for work. 

Sorry-Not-Sorry.

Back to Sonita and to the first winery Arizona Hops and Vines.  It's women owned, women operated.  The have an nice outdoor patio and a band was setting up.

"SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL GIRL GANG"

The lady was really nice. She asked what I like and I said "Red, bold and woodsy".  She hit then nail on the head with two great samples.  We bought a bottle of Grosso Cassandra Sangiovese and moved onto the next vineyard, Rune.  They had a nice outdoor seating area where they were doing their sampling.  We bought a bottle og Graciano there and headed up to Hannah's Hill.  Meh.  The lady was... interesting...  They only produce white wine. We tried two.  Not my favorite but Paul bought a bottle of Malvasia Bianca Quartz.  Gotta support the local businesses.  We left Sonita and came across another winery in Vail. Charron Vineyards.  The lady was super nice.  We bought another red, this time Merlot 2015 and a kitchen towel.  The first and last were my favorites.  I'd skep the middle two next time. 

Future vino

We continued home the back way through Pinal County, Florence, Chandler.  Paul thinks it took about the same amount of time as if we would have gone straight up the I-10 through Tucson.  It was a much more scenic drive.  

Home-Sweet-Home.  I planted my metal art already.  

Current purchase on the left.  Last year's purchase on the right.

I hope you enjoyed following along on our weekend getaway. 

Special thanks to my sis for taking care of the kit-kat. 

Next stop for us is still up in the air.  

Next stop for me is girls trip to the North Pole.  Fairbanks AK, get ready for the Spice Girls Travel Club.  Check back in August to follow along for those shenanigans.