Kevin took Liam for his morning constitutional walk to harass the neighbor dogs and leave his markings to drive the coyotes nuts. We then loaded into the car for a tour of Tucson. There is no crosstown freeway as there is in most larger cities in Tucson; hence getting around takes some time. Although the city population is only 200,000 greater than Omaha, the area is much more spread out. The apparent reason is the ridges and mountains around which the city grew - much of the land is unbuildable so spread is the solution.
Tucson was founded as a military fort by the Spanish in 1775 eventually became a part of the Sonoran state of Mexico. In 1853, the United States acquired a portion of southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico from the Mexican government under the Gadsden Purchase. Tucson was the territorial capital of Arizona Territory until 1877 and was the largest city in Arizona until Phoenix surpassed it in 1920. We parked in the downtown Old Presidio area and walked to El Charro Cafe, established in 1922. They claim to be the oldest in the area and we found the food great. Three margaritas and one Negra Modela beer later, we all opted to eat the “original el charro” taco plate. This is a taco, but not with loose meat but rather a hamburger patty in the center. We also had an hord‘oeuvres of table made guacamole. The waitress brought all the ingredients, and stood mashing the avocado, tossing in the chillis, cilantro, tomatoes, onions, queso cheeses salt and pepper. A normal sounding guacamole but so much better for its freshness.
After lunch, we wandered the area a bit and found the Old Town Artisans building, a maze-like series of rooms in an old building where artisans, artists and other purveyors all had rooms filled with local and not so local merchandise. Customers found what they wanted and then carried it to a central cashier. In the central open courtyard of the structure, food and drink were available along with the sounds of a single guitarist/ singer on a small stage. An intriguing set up custom made for tourists, and there were plenty of these (ourselves included) on this mild Saturday afternoon. We made our purchases and then loaded up for the drive back to home base.
Upon return, we napped, read, walked the dog, and then repaired to the deck to discuss our plans for the evening. Although we originally were going to dine att an upscale Italian restaurant, we made a group decision, following our late lunch, to just sit in the cooling evening, drink our wine, nibble on nuts and “goldfish” and just talk.. An enjoyable evening, and we were in bed at a reasonable hour without that stuffed feeling if we had again dined out. A laid back and enjoyable day in Tucson.
