Restaurants and Tucson shops

Hi guys!

If you find yourself in search of a good restaurant while you're here, below are some recommendations near the downtown area, both high and low-end. Below that are some recommendations for "Arizona tourist" shops in case you want to buy some turquoise for the someone back home.

Restaurant, High End ($$$)
- Cafe Poca Cosa - arguably the best Mexican(ish) restaurant in Tucson, some would say any restaurant. Mole sauce made (supposedly) with Godiva chocolate. Try the margarita. It tastes too good to be true in our age of ready-bought mixers. 110 E Pennington St, (520) 622-6400
- Kingfisher - Seafood in the desert? Yes, including mussels. We recommend the shrimp cakes and the whisky. Great atmosphere. 2564 E Grant Rd, (520) 323-7739

Restaurant, Mid-range
- Joel's Bistro - "phenomenal for BREAKFAST" in Drew's opinion. Located next the University on University Blvd, between Euclid and Park Ave. (520) 529-7277, 806 E University Blvd
- El Charro and Guadalaja Grill. Both nice Mexican restaurants with some fun Mariachi bands. El Charro has the added bonus of being downtown (311 N Court Ave, (520) 622-1922). Guadalajara Grill is still quite central (1730 E Prince Rd, (520) 323-1022)
- Gentle Ben's - a relaxing pub near the university with artery-clogging food, some nice salads, and a variety of beers. We recommend sitting outside if possible, though beware of crowds during happy hour and Friday/Saturday nights.
- Sinbad's Restaurant - Mediterranean food in a lovely courtyard right next to the University, 810 E University Blvd, between Park and Euclid, (520) 623-4010

Restaurant, Lower-end
- Chipotle - fast, they make it in front of you, and tastes great. Locations are all over town, including on University Blvd next to the university.
- La Salsa - another good quality fast Mexican food (no, not the greasy taco type). Also located on University Blvd near Park Ave and the University as well as all around town
- Upper Crust Pizza - Located just northeast of the University (near Penny/Drew's house). 1909 E Grant Rd, (520) 881-7000


SHOPS
If you really want to get lots of Arizona-ish items, it might be worth your while to drive south to Tubac. It's about 45 minutes south on the freeway, but has very reasonable pricing.

The 4th Ave Street Fair will be going on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Essentially, the street shuts down and vendors set up stalls all up and down 4th Ave, between the University and downtown. The shops on 4th Ave also offer a variety of items.

Mac's Indian Jewelry is a small, reasonable shop with various items including Navajo, Zuni, Hopi, and Santo Domingo Jewelry, Hopi Kachinas, Navajo Rugs, etc. Located very close to Drew and Penny's house, at 2400 E Grant Rd, (520) 327-3306

Problems with some links

Hey everyone,

Some people have reported having problems with some of the links, so here are the urls to just copy and paste into your browsers.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/regGiftRegistry.asp?order_num=-1&wrn=%2D213880504
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/gr/guest/viewRegistry.aspx?grid=1352040
http://www.rei.com/online/store/GiftRegistryDetailsDisplay?storeId=8000&registryId=GR1447682&errorViewName=GiftRegistryErrorView

Cheers,
Drew

Don't forget...This is Arizona

Hello everyone!

As the big day approaches, I just wanted to remind everyone to wear a generous amount of sun screen, drink lots of water, wear a hat and becareful around those cacti. Also because we're in a desert, there is very little humidity to retain that heat from the day, so make sure you also bring a light coat for the nights which can be somewhat chilly (by our standards)!

Can't wait to see you all soon!

Drew

Friday night, March 23rd

The bachelor and bachelorette parties will be on Friday, March 23rd. That same night, my parents, Mary and Rodney Letts, will be hosting a casual dinner in the garden for out-of-towners already in Tucson. A buffet dinner will be available starting at 7:30 but people are welcome to stop by at their convenience anytime after 6pm.

Please RSVP for the dinner to grjletts@yahoo.com

Meteor Site

It has been pointed out that the previously posted list of Arizona sites omitted an important and unique location: the meteor crater! Honestly, it is impressive. http://www.meteorcrater.com/index.php

Airports

If you're looking into your flights, it's worthwhile checking both Phoenix and Tucson. Tucson is a small, well-run airport 20-30 minutes drive south of central Tucson. The Phoenix airport sometimes has much cheaper flights. However, it's a larger airport and traffic within Phoenix can be frustrating. The airport is on the south of Phoenix (in the direction of Tucson), 90 minutes to 2 hours drive from Tucson.

There is a shuttle from the Phoenix airport to Tucson. However, in general, Arizona is a driving state with some limited public transportation. We recommend either renting a car or talking with Drew, myself, or other guests to discuss possible arrangements.

:-) Penny

We love Tucson!

Drew and I love Tucson and Arizona. We hope that you'll feel the same when you (hopefully) come to town. Below is a list of recommended sites and activities in Tucson and the surrounding area. For more information, visit the Arizona tourism website (follow the link on this page). Also, a map of Arizona and Tucson is found below (click on them to enlarge). At some point in the future, I'll also list nice restaurants, etc. in Tucson.

Outside Tucson:
1. The Grand Canyon (5-6 hours drive. Be sure to the time the trip so you don't hit Phoenix during rush-hour)
2. Sedona - gorgeous red rocks, great restaurants, antique and artist shops, etc. Highly recommended
3. The Chiricahua National Monument - fascinating rock structures and great hiking and camping. Approximately 120 miles southeast of Tucson (http://www.nps.gov/chir/planyourvisit/directions.htm)
4. Bisby (approximately 2 hours) and Tubac (45 minutes) are both small towns with many classic and reasonable southwestern shops (eg. selling beautiful turqoise, pottery, etc). Bisby is much bigger and more beautiful than Tubac, and is more of an artist town in its own right. Still, if shops are what you're going for, Tubac should do the trick. There's also many southwest shops in Tucson, but fewer and more expensive than in Tubac.

In (or almost in) Tucson:
Museums, Observatories, and Parks:
1. The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum - a unique combination of a zoo, a botanical garden, and a museum of the natural history of Tucson and Arizona itself. Highly recommended. The location is shown on the maps in earlier blog posts. http://www.desertmuseum.org/
2. The Museum of Creative Photography - located on the university campus. The free exhibits change frequently. www.creativephotography.org/
3. The Pima Air and Space Museum (http://www.pimaair.org/index.php). We've never been but it's recommended as a fascinating tour of an airplane cemetery
4. The Titan Missile Museum - the only publicly accessible Titan II missile site in the nation, approximately 25 miles south of Tucson. (http://www.pimaair.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=39&Itemid=51)
5. The Kitt Peak National Observatory, located 56 miles southwest of Tucson. We've heard good things about the tours, but be sure to check the schedules beforehand (http://www.noao.edu/kpno/)
6. Biosphere 2. The tour is interesting but a little pricey. Don't worry - you won't run into Paulie Shore. I believe it's about 30 minutes north of downtown Tucson
7. Tohono Chul Park (www.tohonochulpark.org) It has many easy trails that wind thru the various gardens found throughout the park. If you'd rather sit and relax, there is also a Tea Room that offers breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. It's located in the north of town, near the Letts residence.
8. Tucson Botanical Gardens www.tucsonbotanical.org. The botanical gardens are much smaller than Tohono Chul, but there’s still a lot to see here. The cactus and succulent garden is really neat, but there are also several other small gardens to check out, including the butterfly garden (at some times of year), herb garden and shade garden. It's very centrally located (near Penny and Drew's house)

Outdoor activities:
Tucson is a great city for hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, etc. There are several mountain ranges surrounding town, each with a different ecosystem. If you haven’t done much hiking in the desert, we have one word for you: WATER. Bring lots of water. Feel free to ask us for specific recommendations.
1. For the Coronado National Forest, a list of trails, their difficulty, and other such useful information can be found at: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coronado/forest/recreation/trails/trails.shtml.
2. Sunsets at Gates Pass. The sky in Tucson, particularly the sunsets, are often spectacular. A great place to watch the sunset is Gates Pass. Starting from central Tucson, take Speedway Avenue west out of the city until you reach the mountains (~15 minutes), then pull into one of the parking lots near the peak to enjoy the view.
3. Sabino Canyon. Located at the base of the Catalina Mountains. There was some storm damage there recently, but you can still hike around and/or take a tram partially up into a canyon, with great views and a verbal description of the surrounding area. http://www.sabinocanyon.com/
4. The Tucson mountains have the quintessential Sonora desert, with lots of saguaro and other forms of cacti.

Accommodations

Where to stay depends on personal preference. The wedding venue is a little isolated with a limited number of restaurants and shops within a couple miles. The downtown area (approximately 20 minute drive from the wedding venue) has more options. Tucson itself is a sprawling, driving city - a car is very useful. Below are some hotels/B&B either near the wedding venue or downtown.

Near the wedding venue:

Comfort Inn North

4930 W. Ina Rd. , Tucson, AZ, US, 85743
Phone: (520) 579-7202
Several people are already staying at this hotel.

Coyote Crossing B&B (located right next to the wedding venue)
www.coyotecrossingBB.com
6985 N. Camino Verde, Tucson, AZ 85743
(520)744-3285. Toll Free 1-877-740-3200

Near the downtown/university area:

Best Western Inn

1015 N Stone Ave, Tucson, AZ

520-622-8871

Super 8 motel
1248 N Stone Ave, Tucson, AZ

520-622-6446

Peppertrees B&B

724 East University Blvd.
Tucson Arizona 85719-5045
Phone: 520-622-7167
Reservations: 800-348-5763

Catalina Park Inn B&B
309 E. 1st St.
Tucson, Arizona 85705
(520)792-4541
(800)792-4885 (reservations)

Another map

Almost all of the information on the map below is already found on the links to the right. However, it seemed useful to have them onto one page, to give a sense of relative locations.

A. Penny and Drew's house (2814 E. Waverly St. #1)
B. Oasis at the Wild Horse Ranch - wedding and reception location
C. Tucson International Airport
D. Arizona Sonora Desert Museum
E. Rodney and Mary Letts's house (7800 N Paseo Monserrat)

Welcome to Linktown

Hey you,

I have added a bunch of links including a map to Penny and My house, the airport, the wedding location and the Sonora Desert museum (which you should really take the time to check out). I have also included a link to the Tourism Arizona webpage with information about all of the cool things you can see in Arizona, such as the Grand Canyon, and the Sonoran Desert Museum webpage (did I mention that it is worth checking out). Adding links is really a lot of fun so keep your eyes peeled for more links!

Drew

Welcome to our blog

Hello everyone,

This site will initially serve as a place for people coming to our wedding to get information about hotels, things to do in Arizona and Tucson, etc. We'll try to keep it up to date as we go along and if you don't get the information that you need please feel free to call us.

Cheers,
Drew