Yuma to Tucson

JAN 16, 2009 ::: We are staying in this great hotel called the Hotel Congress, open since 1919. It's famous for the capture of John Dillinger in 1934 during a fire at the hotel. The place has a great, funky feel to it and the rooms are docorated much like they would have been in 1934... no TV, just an old-timey radio.

We left Yuma yesterday morning after breakfast at the Mad Greek's and then a stop at Roxaboxen. The place isn't much and doesn't even mention what it actually is, but we sensed a deep emotional feel there... like it's a monumnt to children playing throughout the ages. We brought the book with us and compared the pictures and the houses are still across the street, although in a more-suburban setting than rural.

The drive through the desert was spectacular and we spent much of it on the smaller roads with the top down. We finally spotted Seguaro cactus and then they took over the landscape. We still haven't seen a cloud in the sky since we left L.A. and the temps have been in the high 70s, except for on the mountain passes, when they dip down into the high 60s.

We arrived in Tucson around dinner time and had a fabulous dinner in the hotel's restaurant, where we chatted with a fellow who was dining alone who turned out to be the club's entertainment (2Mex, "The hardest working man in underground rap," or as he told us... Alex).

We couldn't get into the club or even sit outside in the patio area because Pete is under 21. So we wandered across the street into the old train station, where we found a small gourmet grocery that was technically closed. The owner showed us around, sold us a couple of Mexican Coca-Colas in glass bottles (real sugar!) and let us sit out on his patio and watch the trains go by. The Tucson Amtrak station is still there, but the passenger trains arrive in the middle of the night. Several freight trains went by while we sat and talked and enjoyed the cool evening and great company (each other!).

Today we're off to Bisbee and Tombstone, Arizona, and then up to Truth or Consequences, N.M. We may dip into Mexico... at least that's our plan.