Tucson, I'm Going to Tucson, Tucson...

And don't you know I'm bound to visit here if I can....

the homepage says that the owner walked into his bookstore one day with his friends and put all the bookshelving on wheels. Now they push the bookshelves aside in the evening and turn the place into a music venue... seats 50 or so.  Don't I wish there was a place like this in Miami? That fine young bird, btw, appears on the eponymous bookstore's t-shirt. I'm thinking that would look fine with the addition of a brief bath in some screaming jel*l-o dyebath...yes?  So does anyone have places to see and MOST especially, places to eat real Mexican food whilst in Tucson?  I don't mean tex-mex, I mean MEX-mex.  I'd be obliged.

There seem to be two main knitting stores both of which have two locations each. I'll call but since I will be in a workshop all day on Saturday, that only leaves Sunday and I'm not too optimistic about a store being open then. And Monday morning bright and early I hop in the car to drive back up to Phoenix.

I'll be attending a one-day novelist seminar for writers held at the Endicott Studio West and taught by Will Shetterly and Emma Bull.  If anyone out there has read any of the Borderland books or War for the Oaks, then you know of Will and Emma.  You can check out Will's blog here. Forgive me, Emma. Am sure you've a blog or website, too, but I haven't gotten there yet.

So why am I doing this? The short answer is I'm damned if I know. I just feel really strongly that I'm supposed to do this thing.  Some connection, some something...I just don't know. It's like a word that's on the tip of your tongue and you can feel it, you can taste it, but you can't quite get it. That's how this feels.  We shall see. 

But back in the here and now, I really would welcome any recommendations you have on what to see where to go with only one evening and a full Sunday and Sunday evening to explore the area.  I've got two weeks to put this together.  Mwah.

Comments

[juno]

I think you can find Mexican food nearly anywhere - Tucsons so close to Mexico, it is saturated with Mexican culture.

And the Reid Park Zoo is a wonderful way to spend a morning.

The local yarn store has two locations and I only made it to one - on Oracle. It was OK - lots of cottons, which were pretty, but I don't use, decent selection of Koigu, first place I saw the Catalina alpaca/wool in person (very nice). They had all season's cotton at 40 percent off a month ago .

Enjoy the trip - say high to the Santa Catalina Mountains for me. Just look up and take it all in.

[Susan]

Wow, have a fab time. I love both of them and their work (works?).

[Michelle]

Can't help you with the trip planning, but I'm excited for you - it sounds great!

[Margene]

What a different place it will be from Miami. If you feel it is something you must do, well then you must!! Have a wonderfu adventure. You never know what door(s) will be opened.

[Moni]

Have a great time! I know what you mean about feeling like something feels like it's the right thing to do. I get those feelings, too.

[mari]

I wish I remembered more details. There's a great casual place, "The Blue Willow," on Cammelback, but that might be the name of a street in Phoenix. Get out at night and look up at the sky; they have all kinds of light-pollution regulations because of the University's Kitt Peak Observatory an hour south. Both daytime and nighttime skies will blow you away.

And everything around you: color, it's your lair, maybe, the desert - keep us posted. Will you have email, although, if you do you should stay away and immerse yourself in "thisness."

So, further south, Kitt Peak, and two hours south - NOGALES - for real Mexican food, really cross the border. I wonder what the Department of H Security has done to that simple process? I woke up to a report on NPR this morning about how we now tag immigrants with GPS location devises. We are a razor's edge from totalitarianism.

Sorry, I've digressed! One afternoon, drive up into the mountains until you find saguaros.

[tucson girl]

Blue Willow does have some pretty good breakfast items--it's off of Campbell Rd. just north of Grant Rd. For real Sonoran Mexican food you need to go to La Poca Cosa. This is located as part of the Santa Rita Hotel in downtown Tucson on Broadway. It's really a must do--gourmet Mexican with a rotating daily menu. If you're looking for more 'fun' Mexican then El Charro is the place. If you have time, hit the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum--the drive through Saguaro National East is gorgeous, and the museum is a really nice way to spend your day outside.