October 30<\/em><\/strong>:\u00a0 Sent a note off to Steev and Greta, went to breakfast at the hotel, walked to 4th Avenue and discovered none of the shops were open except Epic Cafe where we purchased coffee. After returning to the hotel, we decided to find WalMart so Edith could get her favorite cappuccino mix; they did not have the mix but I did pick up some flowers for Steev and Greta plus a book for Savanna. We headed over to Steev’s where everyone was home. We decided to go to lunch at Roma; Greta stayed behind to do some work from home. After a delicious meal, we returned to Steev’; Savanna fall asleep during the drive back so she was down for the afternoon. Edith had reserved a massage and facial for me at the Karma Day Spa; what a relaxing, refreshing experience! I need to pamper myself more. We then did another WalMart run so Edith could have another look for her cappuccino mix; we did not find the store so ended up at Safeway where the mix was available. Another return to Steev’s where Greta was preparing a delicious meal of pasta, salad, and bread; Steev got home from work around 6:30 and we sat down for a great feast. Both Edith and I were quite tired so we did not stay to even help clean up. Went to bed upon our return to the hotel.<\/p>\n October 31<\/strong><\/em>: After breakfast, we headed to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. The 98 acre museum is made up of zoo, botanical garden, art gallery, natural history, and aquarium exhibits. There are 21 acres with two miles of interpreted walking paths, 230 animal species, and 1200 types of plants. Upon arrival, we went to the gift shop so Edith could purchase a hat.\u00a0 She did not find one that she would wear all the time, so I purchased one for myself and loaned it to her for our stay…I also got some cactus candy for Mary and Joe. We hurried outside to get to a spot where they were letting raptors fly. Fun experience. After the flight, we stuck to the main path and wandered around; it was a great time. Had late lunch at Mother Hubbard’s in Tucson; burger was good but took a long time to arrive. We spent the rest of the afternoon lazing around our room; Edith took a nap while I read the paper. We took a walk down to a gas station where Edith bought some lotto tickets. After showering, we headed over to Steev’s; Greta was still at work. She had ordered pizza from Magpie for the evening and it arrived just when she did. It was very good! After eating, they gave each of us birthday cards and brought a cake with candles along with singing Happy Birthday into the living room; that was so kind and thoughtful of them. I cleaned up the kitchen and we the headed back to the hotel where we retired around 10:00. Tomorrow all of us are going for a drive up Mt. Lemmon.<\/p>\n Raptor in flight<\/p><\/div>\n Graceful swan<\/p><\/div>\n Time for a nap<\/p><\/div>\n Wild flowers in desert terrain<\/p><\/div>\n Teddy Bear Cholla<\/p><\/div>\n Sweet Savanna<\/p><\/div>\n <\/p>\n November 1<\/strong><\/em>: We had breakfast and relaxed at the room until Steev picked us up around 10:30 or so. Because Savanna has been fighting ear infection, we decided not to take the long drive to Mt. Lemmon but visit the Tucson Botanical Gardens instead. The Gardens consists of seventeen specialty gardens within 5.5 acres; it was originally the home of Bernice and Rutgers Porter, dating back to the 1920’s. The featured exhibit was Butterfly Magic; within the greenhouse, we were able to see some of the most beautiful and exotic butterflies of the world. What a delightful, tranquil oasis; we walked through all the gardens and enjoyed every moment of it! We left the gardens and came back to the hotel to pick up our car; Steev, Edith, and I went to lunch at World Wide Wrappers while Greta went to their home to put Savanna down for her nap. After lunch, we took Steev home and then returned to 4th Avenue where we did some shopping. I found three neat things at the store Greta, Savanna, and Steev gave me a gift certificate from for my birthday. Because Savanna had broken out with a rash the night before, Greta took her to the emergency room; we waited at the hotel until we heard from them on whether we were going out to eat at the Mexican restaurant or staying in. We sat outside and relaxed; when we did hear from Steev, we decided to stay here and give them a night to relax without having to cook and entertain us. So we ate at the motel restaurant and both of us enjoyed our meal. Lights were out by 9:30.<\/p>\n Savanna ready to go<\/p><\/div>\n Butterfly Eating<\/p><\/div>\n Blue Frog<\/p><\/div>\n Family enjoying gardens<\/p><\/div>\n Lovely cactus garden<\/p><\/div>\n Edith and I<\/p><\/div>\n Savanna likes water on the rocks<\/p><\/div>\n November 2:<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 We went over to Steev’s for coffee and left with them for Cyclovia Tucson which is the local interpretation of an international phenomenon known as Open Streets events.\u00a0 Open Streets events are exactly what they sound like \u2013 they open streets to people by closing them to cars for one day, and allow people to explore different parts of their city by jogging, walking, bicycling, skating and just playing. They are non-competitive and there is no start or finish line.\u00a0 There are all kinds of activities, such as rock climbing, that everyone can enjoy.\u00a0 This event had approximately 30,000 people participate.\u00a0 Edith and I broke off from Steev, Greta, and Savanna; we continued to walk the route but stopped at Caruso’s (an Italian restaurant) on 4th Avenue for lunch.\u00a0 On our way back to our car, we ran into Greta who was taking leftover Halloween candy to Steev, who was volunteering at one of the cross street intersections, to hand out to folks are they passed by.\u00a0 That evening, Steev and Greta got a baby sitter and took the two of us out for a birthday dinner celebration at Proper, an upscale restaurant which features fresh, straightforward food with quality ingredients from local and regional sources whenever possible.\u00a0\u00a0 My lamb curry was excellent!\u00a0 After the meal, we went to another establishment for ice cream…yummy!\u00a0 We were dropped of at the hotel where we made plans to drive up Mt. Lemmon the next day.<\/p>\n Getting wagon ready for Savanna<\/p><\/div>\n Animals out of paper<\/p><\/div>\n Rock climbing<\/p><\/div>\n Arizona Party Bike<\/p><\/div>\n Greta\/Savanna delivering candy<\/p><\/div>\n November 3:\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em>Before leaving on our ride to Mt. Lemmon, we went to Steev’s where Greta had made us scones…delicious!!\u00a0 After eating the scones, we were driving off toward Mt. Lemmon.\u00a0 Mount Lemmon, with a summit elevation of 9,159 feet, is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains and is located in the Coronado National Forest.\u00a0 Mount Lemmon was named for botanist Sarah Plummer Lemmon who trekked to the top of the mountain with her husband and E. O. Stratton, a local rancher, by horse and foot in 1881.\u00a0 The Catalina Highway, also called the Mount Lemmon Highway, runs up the Santa Catalina Mountains from the east side of Tucson up to Summerhaven, at the top of Mt. Lemmon.\u00a0 What a beautiful, curving road; it is no wonder it has been recently designated as the Sky Island Parkway<\/em>, part of the US National Scenic Byway system.\u00a0 Summerhaven is a very small community and it did not take us long to explore all four shops in the area.\u00a0 We had lunch at the Iron Door Restaurant, across from Ski Valley.\u00a0 It was a relaxing lunch in very pleasant surroundings with a personable waiter.\u00a0 After our drive back to Tucson, we went to our hotel where we packed for our departure the next day and took showers.\u00a0 Greta, who had taken Savanna to the doctor that afternoon, called with an update and invited us over to hang out while waiting for Steev to return home from work.\u00a0 However, he got home before we were able to get out of the parking lot so Steev\/Savanna picked us up for the drive to La Indita, a Mexican restaurant, where we ate dinner; Greta had biked to her work place so met up with us at the restaurant.\u00a0 Every time I am in Tucson, I love going to La Indita’s because of the great tasting food in a relaxing and family friendly environment.\u00a0 And they love Savanna!\u00a0\u00a0 Because of an early flight in the morning, we said our “good byes” to Greta, Steev, and Savanna after dinner.<\/p>\n Edith at scenic turn out<\/p><\/div>\n San Pedro River Valley<\/p><\/div>\n Aspen leaves turning yellow<\/p><\/div>\n Five of us at La Indita<\/p><\/div>\n November 4:<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 Because our flight was leaving at 7:00 AM, we were up at 4:30.\u00a0 Got our bags in the car, checked out of the hotel, and headed for Hertz car rental drop off at the airport.\u00a0 Returned our vehicle, checked in at the American counter, and got through security.\u00a0 Since we had such a short time in Dallas, both of us decided to check our bags. \u00a0 We then found a place for coffee and breakfast.\u00a0 And it was time to board; however, American announced that their aircraft did not have any lights in the main cabin and maintenance was working the issue so there might be a slight delay in departing.\u00a0 After 15 or 20 minutes, American announced it was ready to board so on the plane we went.\u00a0 However, the captain came on the public address system and announced there was still a problem with the electrical but maintenance was working the issue.\u00a0 After another 15 to 20 minutes, the captain announced that our flight was being cancelled so we should disembark the plane, retrieve our luggage, and check back into the American ticket counter to be placed on another flight.\u00a0 Once we got to the ticket counter area, American personnel handed us an 800-number we could call to see if our problem could be resolved before getting to the counter.\u00a0 At this point, Edith took off to retrieve our luggage while I called the 800-number on my cell…and, miracle of miracles, I got a gal on the first try!!\u00a0 She was able to get us booked on a 9:45 AM flight which got into Cedar Rapids around 4:00 PM.\u00a0 Again, we went through Security and, while waiting at the gate for us to board, I called Mary and Joe to let them know the change in travel plans.\u00a0 And, of course, there was a slight delay because of bad weather in Dallas.\u00a0 However, we got off the ground about the original departure time and arrived in Dallas about 1 hour and 15 minutes before our next flight.\u00a0 But there was another problem…there was no gate for us pull into so another wait.\u00a0 FINALLY, we arrived at the gate and had 15 minutes to get from one terminal to the other for our next flight.\u00a0 Needless to say, that flight was delayed about 15 minutes which helped; once we arrived from Terminal C to Terminal B, we heard the announcement of “last boarding call to Cedar Rapids” so I took off running!\u00a0 Made it to the gate where they assured me that we would be able to get on the flight.\u00a0 Once Edith arrived, we boarded and encountered another 20 minute wait before we took off.\u00a0 The flight went well and we arrived in Cedar Rapids shortly after 4:00; it was wonderful to be back home with Mary and Joe greeting us with smiles on their faces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My sister, Edith, and I have birthdays five days apart so each year we do something special to celebrate them.\u00a0 With having many fly miles with American, I was able to get both of us round trip tickets to Tucson.\u00a0 We left Cedar Rapids on the 29th of October and returned on the 4th of … Continue reading ![\"Raptor](\"http:\/\/jan.hise.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/BdayTucsonEdi-007.jpg\")
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