Welcome to vacation! By which I mean, hello! I am now on vacation! Seven days at Canyon Ranch in Tucson, which translates to six whopping days out of the office. Six! Okay, I will stop rubbing that in. Here are some highlights of day one, transit:
2:00 AM
Jarring realization that it is actually now 3:00 AM. Thank you, Daylight Savings! Sleep! NOW!
8:15 AM
Less jarring realization that I can take the 146 to State/Lake and hop the Orange line to Midway there. This means I do not have to walk to the Red line. This makes me smile
8:45 AM
Making me smile more: A perfectly clear, blue Chicago morning. And not one like the wintry ones we’ve had. During this one, when the sun hits you, it actually imparts some warmth! I take off my sweater!
10:00 AM
Hello, Midway. Executive decision: it is too early for a Superdawg.
10:45 AM
Hello, people who are really excited about being in Southwest’s A boarding group. Fine, you wanna stand in line now even though our flight doesn’t board till like 11:30? Okay. I will stand here with you. Oh, old guy, you want to read the NYTimes article about “The Namesake” over my shoulder on my computer screen? Sweet, awesome.
1:00 PM Pacific Time? Who knows. Mom and I are really bad at time zones. Alls I know is that it is now 2 hours earlier here than it is in Chicago. Arizona also does not do daylight savings, so whatever that means, it means.
HELLO ARIZONA! You are dry. Also warm and sunny, in fact, warmer and sunnier than Chicago, which was starting to get kind of overcast and glary when we took off.
2:00 PM – 6:30 PM
Miscellaneous driving around Tucson with Mom, who kinda-sorta knows her w
ay around. During which we take funny pictures in front of a 250-year-old cactus, have a terrible lunch/dinner at Loews Ventana (Mom had some vague memory of the food being good there), buy belts, tops and summery scarves at Banana Republic, and go to no less than 5 different establishments in search of small, touristy cacti to bring home to the kids at the office. Some luck, not much.
6:30 PM
Clearly the highlight of my evening: After an exhaustive and exhausting search for the aforementioned office cacti, Mom and I decide it’s time to drive up to the Ranch and check in. We are smelly (I of bar and airport, Mom of mainly just airport) and tired, but alas, we must stop at the Circle-K to top off the gas tank of the ol’ Enterprise, which they will be picking up from us tomorrow morning. No, the car did not come wrapped in a tight-fitting piece of brown paper.
Anyway, as we cruise down Sabino Canyon Rd., I navigate the radio away from the AM mumbo-jumbo (seriously, they were talking about SKIN TAGS) to see what’s playin’ on the FM radio (sorry, Everclear). And lo, and behold, there I find the 1812 Overture. Which we blast all the way down Sabino Canyon while I laugh hysterically and wish I could call KP, who is across the pond for many more days. We blast it all the way into the Circle K, we leave it on while Mom pumps gas and I stick my head out the window and sing, poorly, “GOD SAVE OUR GRACIOUS CZAR/ VALIANT AND RIGHTEOUS/ REIGNING IN GLORRRY / REIGNING AAAGAAAINST HIIIIIS FOOOOOOOES,” et al, all the while taking pictures of the sunset in the rearview mirror. Mom abides all of this very well. It is particularly hilarious because this particular recording (Budapest Orchestra, 2001) does not feature a chorus. So it is just me, screaming. Somewhere in Texas, Pam Elrod‘s ears bleed.
7:30 PM
On to the Ranch! We stroll, we get cookies, we find our room and the internets. Now it is a bit after 8:00 here, and we are in need of showers and sleep. I was dumb and forgot the cord that connects my camera to my computer, so those will all have to come later. Tomorrow I will probably make a fool out of myself doing some cardio hip hop whatsit, but it will all be worth it come my 3:00 massage. MASSAAAAAGE!
Ok, it’s my turn to shower and plan my glorious days of relaxation among the crazies. Not that I’m not one of them, I’m just sayin, this place is crawling with them. Also with JAVELINAS, which we are not supposed to feed. FYI.
Funny, skin tags always make me think of you…