We left Bisbee on Monday, December 2.  On our way to Tucson we stopped at Tombstone Brewing in Sierra Vista. It is a nice, big, new place and there was hardly anyone there.  We had a delicious lunch of Brussels sprouts and burgers and sampled some tasty beers. We continued to Tucson to our Airbnb. It is a very nice house but it is in a very industrial area. We unpacked and spent some time getting settled. We went for a walk and less than two blocks away we found MotoSonora Brewery. We tried a couple delectable beers and I got a six pack to take back to the Airbnb.

Our second night in Tucson we had tickets for Iris DeMent at the Rialto Theatre in downtown. We went a little early and walked around the neighborhood. We stopped at Tabu and had some messy but good tacos and some drinks. We went to the Rialto and settled in. It is a nice theater and we really enjoyed Iris DeMent. She had Liz Draper on bass and Myra Burnette on guitar and mandolin (both are from Minnesota). After the show, we went across the street to the Congress Hotel and the Tiger’s Tap Room for a nightcap.

Our first weekend in Tucson started on the afternoon of Friday, December 6 when we went out on foot. Our first stop was the nearby Barrio Brewing. We each had a beer and kept moving. From there we walked to the Philibaum Glass Gallery. They have a lot of very cool, expensive glasswork. We kept going towards downtown and stopped at another gallery called Woman Kraft. They had a lot of different local artists and some interesting stuff. From there we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. There were three installations that were kind of interesting but I was a little disappointed. By this time, we were not too far from Pueblo Vida Brewing, so we walked over there. We tried a couple beers and thought about getting something to eat. Just across the street was Charro Steak & Del Rey. It was a place I had read about and wanted to check out. Also across the street was Brick Box Brewery. It used to be Thunder Valley and we had been there a couple years ago. I suggested stopping at Brick Box and then Charro Steak. Sure. Brick Box was nice and we had a beer and talked to the people working there. We went over to Charro Steak and they were busy. We did not have a reservation so we sat at the bar. We ordered some meatballs and some asparagus. Both were very good. We had some drinks and finished with some delicious chocolate cake for desert. It was a nice evening so we decided to walk back. We were close to some busy road for some of the walk, but it wasn’t too bad. Until we got to the railroad tracks. There was a train and we had to wait. However, the train stopped. It blocked our way home. We waited a bit and it didn’t move. I thought about crawling through, but that was not a good idea. I knew there was another brewery around so we went to Iron John’s to wait it out. We sat at the bar and had a beer. We went out and the train was still there. Karla walked along the tracks for a while and could not see the end. The train moved a little, but we still could not get past. We went back to Iron John’s and I requested a Lyft. He picked us up but had to go back downtown and around to an underpass to get past the train. What a hassle. Back at the Airbnb we turned on Beetlejuice Beetlejuice but I was soon falling asleep.

Not too far from the park is Saguaro Corners Restaurant. We went there and got a table outside. I had the delicious green chili carnitas mac & cheese and Karla had an excellent steak salad. After lunch we drove up Mount Lemmon. I had downloaded the U of AZ app and we listened to that on the way up. I pulled out at a few places and there were more great views.

Sunday we went to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. Not a long drive but it was more remote than I thought. They have a lot of interesting exhibits and habitats and trails for walking. We spent several hours there and looked at almost everything. We went back to the Airbnb and  watched the Vikings handily beat Atlanta. That evening we walked over to MotoSonora Brewing for trivia. It was speed trivia and that is not something we are used to. We did not do too well. In the first round we only got 4 correct and we were last. We did better in the next rounds and even got a couple that no one else knew. We were still last, but at least we had a respectable score.

During our second week, on Wednesday after work, we went downtown to Pueblo Vida for Trivia. There were a lot of teams and some of them had a lot of players. It was not speed trivia and we started out really good. We got behind a little but ended up in fifth place at the end.

Our second weekend started Friday afternoon, December 13. After work we went to the Tucson Museum of Art. They have a big collection and we spent a lot of time enjoying the exhibits. There was a show of local artists and I enjoyed a lot of the contemporary art. Not far away was the Old Town Artisans Shops and we looked around a little. We may have to go back and do some more shopping. I wanted to get a beer so we went to Jo Jo’s and sat in the courtyard. We got some nachos and drinks. We walked around downtown some more and ended up at Batch. They have over 200 bourbons available. And doughnuts. So we got some drinks and doughnuts. When we were done, we took an Uber back to our Airbnb.

Saturday we slept in a little before heading to 4th Ave. It was a nice day so we walked. The 4th Ave Street Fair was in full swing when we got there and we spent a lot of time looking around all the vendors. Lots of art and crafts and food. We had some drinks and burritos and watch some live music on the performance stages. There was more in the neighborhood so we left 4th Ave and went to Crooked Tooth Brewing. I was really impressed with their beer and bought a t-shirt. Just a couple blocks away was Corbett Brewing so we checked it out. Their beer was just ok. There is one more brewery in the neighborhood so we walked to Screwbean Brewing. They have some delicious beer. By this time we needed some food so we went down the block to NYPD Pizza. After pizza we took an Uber back to our Airbnb.

Sunday we went to Tumacacori National Park. They have an amazing history and some cool old buildings. After the park, we drove into Tubac. We walked around a little and looked into some shops. It was time for lunch so we went to Tubac Jack’s. We were not sure about the menu but Karla got an incredible tasting smoked pulled pork green chili burrito. After lunch we went to the Tubac Center of the Arts and admired the work by local artists. We did a little more shopping and headed back to our Airbnb. That evening we went back to MotoSonora Brewing for Trivia. It was speed trivia again but we did better than last time. We will be back again.