Tucson, AZ

The Reid Park Zoo has been a Tucson staple for as long as I can remember. Located on 22nd Street, just west of Alvernon off Randolph Way, it is a place that evokes pleasant childhood memories for those of us who can remember field trips from our youth. I can still remember spending the day at the zoo – the polar bears were and still are my favorite—then going across the street and having a picnic, while feeding the ducks at the pond.

Opa! We attended our local Greek Festival again this year at the end of September. St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church hosts the event over the course of four days and there is terrific food, great music, and interesting cultural dancing. The delicious aroma of the food cooking over open fire greets you long before the food stands come into view. If you weren’t hungry before you got there, one whiff and you will soon be starving. The cost is $3 for admittance (kids are free) and then the food ranges in price from $5 to $9 depending on the meal you order.

When a friend brought up going to a corn maze, I was startled to realize it was one of those things that I’ve heard talked about a lot, but had never actually been to myself. It just seemed like something I could swear I’ve been to before, you know, that time we went out to…and, I really had nothing. Luckily, Buckelew Farm has exactly that. So I was definitely all for it, and off we were for that quintessential activity I’d missed out on!

Our family has the majority of our produce delivered on a bi-weekly basis from a local organic farming company. It is a delivery our children look forward to, as the produce that gets delivered is different every week. Since our three-year-old daughter has shown a recent interest in learning about where our fruits and vegetables come from we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to take her and our son to a nearby orchard and farm.

This past week my husband and I took our children to the La Encantada shopping center, located on Skyline just west of Campbell on the North side of the street, simply to enjoy some time outdoors with the weather being gorgeous. Both kids gravitated toward the many fountains throughout the outside portion of the “mall.” They found joy and pleasure in the simplest of things: water dripping from an old rusty pipe, the lilly pads floating in one of the water displays. They spent twenty minutes just throwing pennies in one fountain. Amidst all these shops and restaurants is an entire park with beautiful flowers, green foliage, running water, and stone tortoises, which the children took pure delight in climbing on.

I am not known for being the biggest fan of live theatre. But if I can be talked into it, it is usually performances with local cast and crew that can keep my attention. Recently, my friend Nikki insisted I go with her to see a late night performance of “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead” at the Live Theatre Workshop, located in a shopping plaza at 5317 E. Speedway (between Rosemont & Broadway). Since she had seen the performance the week before, which is based loosely on the characters in the Peanuts gang, and was raving about the cast and script, I decided to accompany her to play on a Friday night.

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The first thing that actually attracted me to the Native Foods Demonstration at Bookman’s was the chance to learn some local history – to maybe learn it in a hands-on way, or even a tastebuds-on way, was an added bonus. But then it occurred to me – at food demonstration, there might be free food! And at that, I was completely sold.
And as it turned out, plenty of free food there was – Celebrando el Pueblo de Tucson offered a great mix of history, hand-on, and food in the fun and laid-back Bookman’s setting.

We’ve been having a pretty mild summer in Tucson, but it’s still something hot, of course. When there was a dearth of rain for a few days in the middle of the monsoon, that didn’t stop us from still finding a way to cool off, though, and we even got to play in the mud at Mud Monster, mud puddle party in Reid Park!

I love flowers. One would be hard pressed to find a flower that evokes a negative emotion – even a black rose or orchid would rather be described as darkly beautiful, not depressing or sad. And for those in search of the vibrant sunset and rainbow colors of blossoms, Tucson does not disappoint, with vivacious wildflowers sweeping across most any slope around town.

Of course, if you’re less inclined to make that more outward drive, all that same desert beauty can be found within Tohono Chul Park!