Detours of Past & Present

The weather changed so much overnight that we thought it would be best if we headed closer to Tucson to get some warmer weather and try to get in touch with my sister and her family. We also wanted to get some other things done since we would be moving the van anyway. So back to Tucson we go!

[caption id="attachment_3875" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Interstate Walls[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3876" align="aligncenter" width="300"] On our way[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3877" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Downtown Tucson[/caption]

We started driving into the streets of Tucson to look for a self-serve car wash and ended up on the streets of Downtown Tucson, there is a lot of construction right now but it was nice to see the city. I don't think as many times as I've been to Tucson...and I was born here...that I've ever actually driven into Downtown...that I'm aware of at least! We drove around where the University of Arizona is, now that is a place I remember very well. When I was about 15-16 years old I came out and visited my sister and her hubby, pre-kids, for the entire Summer.

While I was here I had to keep up with my swimming routine and the University of Arizona was kind enough to let me practice with them during the week and even swim in a couple of swim meets...I was in Heaven!! It was really fun and good for me to have to "keep up" with college swimmers and some of them even had to keep up with me...it was a good confidence booster, plus I got a lot of amazing training from some of U.S.A.'s top swim coaches...and the pool was beautimous! So driving past the University was a little blast from the past for me.

[caption id="attachment_3879" align="aligncenter" width="300"] The outside of the pool[/caption]

We found our self-serve car wash right behind the University, where we stripped Joon Van down to her bare skin and cleaned her up, nice and good! She looks amazing, inside and out!

 The car wash took us about an hour and a half, then we were off to do our other errands, finishing our day driving back to the Casino del Sol.

[caption id="attachment_3884" align="aligncenter" width="300"] T-Rex at a stoplight!!![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3885" align="aligncenter" width="300"] "A"- Mountain[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3886" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Casino del Sol[/caption]

So, we're back here for...I don't really know. Hopefully I'll get in touch with my sista' soon and we can hook up and get our visit in. I can't wait to see my lil' noodlebugs...they are gonna freak!

Hope you all had a lovely day!

PEACE

 

 

A Surprisingly Fun Afternoon

We have been at the Casino del Sol for a few days and it's been great but we decided to switch it up a bit and go to a different casino, ya know...for options. Options are always great to have and to know about. We drove to what we thought would be a closer casino to my sister, when we decide to visit her, but it was totally not our cup of tea, there was an aviation training field right across the street meaning very very loud planes at all hours of the day and night,

the parking lot was not full of any RV's not really making us settle in very well, the neighborhood didn't make up for any of these other things either, so we moved on down the road to a casino in Sahuarita called Desert Diamond Casino.

What a huge difference! This casino had quite a few RV's of all sizes and was the biggest parking lot we've seen so far. We found our parking spot and thought we'd go inside and see what the casino was like. The building was really pretty, it had a really pretty fountain in a covered walking area into the entrance of the casino.

The casino itself was smaller than most we've been inside but it was nice. J' turned to me when we walked inside and said, "Let's play a game!" Now, he never plays the slot machines so it was a little out of the ordinary but...okay! We put a dollar into a penny slot machine and pulled a couple of times, the dollar ran out, put another one in, made a little bit of money then it ran out again. We put one more dollar in and we hit a few good rolls and ended up winning $9.30! haha How awesome is that!? We got up and walked around for a little bit, passing by the buffet restaurant, saw the prices: $9.99 for lunch buffet from 11-2...it was 1:51! The ladies at the buffet counter even gave us 10% off, usually if you have a player's card you get 10% off, since we wouldn't be able to go, stand in line, get one and get back to the buffet by 2 p.m., she gave it to us! Funny how things work sometimes huh!? The buffet was great, the most amazing thing too was they had all you can eat ribs! Cha-ching...Jackpot!!

The buffet was great and the best part was with our winnings, it was buy one get one free! Woo hoo! It was a fun unexpected afternoon...those are always a ton of fun! Now we're just waiting for the weather to change, it's supposed to get pretty cold again tomorrow and stick around for a couple of days...we might just have to get the heater down again!

Wish us warm!

PEACE

All is Well at the Casino del Sol!

I think we may have found our resting place for a minute! This Casino del Sol is something else! The parking lot is humungoid, the casino is really nice inside (with a very good ventilating system for the smoke) and almost felt like we were in the Venetian in Vegas.

The landscaping is beautiful and there's a ton of room to walk Savannah, also feeling very safe while doing so. We were able to put our antennae up on the van and are getting somewhere around 60 channels or so...crazy, a lot of them are Spanish but we're still bringing them in...that's what counts!

[caption id="attachment_3807" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pick a spot, any spot![/caption]

The parking for the RV's is in the back of the casino over by the amphitheater, which reminds me of a place in Denver called Fiddler's Green, well it used to be called that until Coor's took over. It's gorgeous!

[caption id="attachment_3811" align="aligncenter" width="300"] AVI Ampitheater[/caption]

I wish it were open to the public so we could kick our soccer ball in there, but I understand why it's not. For lunch we made our first round of smoothies...yummy scrum-diddly-umptious smoothies! We bought a single serve blender, which actually works pretty darn good with all of the stuff we jam-packed in there! haha

[caption id="attachment_3809" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Serving One...at a time[/caption]

We're still learning. I'm going to call this smoothie the Tutti Frutti...I might just call all of them that, since the name is so much fun! The contents of the Tutti Frutti consists of: Apple juice, ice, strawberries, blueberries, banana's, peanut butter, Muscle Milk protein powder, yogurt and ground up Flax seed. Yes, all in this single serving cup....it was overflowing with scrumptiousness!

[caption id="attachment_3808" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Tutti Frutti awww Rootie[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3810" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Thumbs Up to my babaa'[/caption]

We're both pretty stoked that this is going to be a normal part of our days now. We just have to get another blending cup for easier smoothie making...today we shared and made two. The blender is pretty small too so it fits right in with our stuff in Joon...welcome to the family Blenderella! haha

In the early evening I took Savannah on a hunt, making sure she got to sniff every single cactus, rock and shrub! That's when I saw this little guy...the red and pink caught my eye, but he almost looks translucent!

[caption id="attachment_3805" align="aligncenter" width="225"] Lil' Liam the Lizard[/caption]

All in all I'd say this place is pretty nice and welcoming of travelers ..which is always nice to find, especially when you don't know where you are! I spent the majority of my day finding out exactly where we are and what is nearby, like parks, Wal-marts, Farmer's Markets, where my sista' lives and if there are any other places to camp, either Casino's or BLM. I feel like I have done a fairly good job with this, but we shall see when it comes time and we are there either parking for a few days... or driving to the next place! For now though, we will be parked right here at this casino, enjoying the mountain scenery, each others company and being able to channel surf...woo hoo Surf's Up Dude's and Dudette's!

PEACE